Someone asked how to make a 20x20 multiplication table in Word, but I
lost the thread so I am posting a new message.

Obviously the easy way to do it is to make a table and type in the
numbers.

The second easy way is to use Excel.

However, it is perfectly possible to make such a table in Word without
typing a single number.

Create an empty 20x20 table to hold the answers.

In some scratch space, create at least 400 empty paragraphs.
Autonumber the paragraphs, then convert the numbers to text. You now
have the numbers from 1 to 400 or so.

Select the numbered paragraphs, copy, and paste back into the document
until you have twenty copies.

Select the first list of numbers and convert it to a one-column table.
Select the second list of numbers and convert it to a two-column
table. Select the third list of numbers and convert it to a
three-column table. Continue until you have converted the twentieth
list to a 20-column table.

Now select the first twenty numbers from the last (only) column of the
first table, copy, column-select the first column of your final 20x20
table and paste the numbers into it.

Select the first twenty numbers from the last column of the second
table, copy, column-select the second column of your final 20x20 table
and paste the numbers into it.

Continue pasting the first twenty numbers from the last column of each
successive table into successive columns of your answer table.

You should now have your desired multiplication results.

Add an extra row at the top and an extra column at the left, select
the first twenty numbers from the fist scratch table and paste them
into the appropriate places in the added row and column to get the
1-20 numbers along the edges if desired.


For extra credit, try the following.

Start with your list of 400 numbers, and on some other line type an
asterisk. Select the list of numbers and convert it to a two-column
table. Select and copy the asterisk, column-select the last column in
the table, and paste the asterisk. Convert the table back to text,
separating on paragraph marks not tab characters.

Now look down the list for the next (ignore the 1) non-asterisk number
(3), select the list and convert it to a table with that many columns.
Column-select the last column in the table, and paste the asterisk.
Convert the table back to text, separating on paragraph marks not tab
characters.

Do this whole process again for the next non-asterisk number (5), and
keep doing it until the smallest number that is not 1 or an asterisk
is greater than 20.

At this point you have a list of all the prime numbers less than 400,
without typing a single number or doing any arithmetic.

Bob S