After creating a table to hold data in your document, you may have a need to reorganize the table. One common way of reorganizing is to move columns so that they are in a different order than they were originally. Here's the general process for moving columns:. Select the column you want to move.
Press Ctrl+X, click on the cut tool on the toolbar, or choose Cut from the Edit menu. This removes the column from the table and copies it to the Clipboard. Move the insertion point to the beginning of the top cell of the column before which you want to place the column you just cut. Press Ctrl+V, click on the paste tool on the toolbar, or choose Paste from the Edit menu. It should be noted that the above steps don't work as expected if you have Track Changes turned on.
If you do, then when you attempt step 2 you are told that if you continue, your edit will not be 'tracked' (marked). You will then need to make a decision as to whether this is a 'deal breaker' on the edit. For most people it probably isn't, since you are going to paste the column elsewhere. I have a table in an exercise with various cells in gray tone to identify which cell in a row the reader is to put their answer.
To insert a column break, click the Page Layout tab and choose the Column Break from the Breaks drop-down in the Page Setup section. In Word 2003, choose Break from the Insert menu.
I followed the instructions above. When I highlighted the column and hit ctrl+x, the column disappeared from the screen. I moved the cursor to where I wanted the column to go (to the right of the last column, next to the top cell) and hit ctrl+v. The column reappeared with the appropriate heading, but the gray cells were changed to mimic those in the column to the left of the moved cell.