Make a PlanMaker Table Expand with New Rows

Create a real table with Insert → Table, enable Expand tables automatically, and enter data directly below its last row. That typing-below method requires the table’s Total row to be off. With a total row enabled, use the documented Tab method or an explicit table-row insertion instead.

Start with a small order table

This workflow targets the English PlanMaker 2026 desktop documentation. FreeOffice, mobile and older releases were not verified. Use a blank practice workbook with room below and beside the table.

Enter these headings in A1:D1 and records in rows 2:3:

Item	Quantity	Price	Amount
Notebook	2	5	=B2*C2
Folder	3	4	=B3*C3

The initial amounts are 10 and 12. Do not put a grand total directly under the range yet.

Convert the range to a table

1. Select A1:D3 and click the main Insert → Tables → Table button.
2. Confirm A1:D3 as the source and enable Source range contains titles. Confirm the dialog.
3. Click inside the table, open Table → Properties, and give it the name Orders. Keep Total row off for the first experiment.
4. Outside the table, put =SUM(Orders[Amount]) in G2. It should return 22.

The creation instructions distinguish the table object from ordinary cells. The structured-reference guide documents named columns and says a bare table reference excludes headers and the total row. Here the formula deliberately addresses only Amount, not all numeric columns.

Check automatic expansion

1. Open File → Options → Edit and ensure Expand tables automatically is on. In classic menus start with Tools → Options.
2. Type Pen in A4, immediately below the table, then enter 4 in B4 and 3 in C4.
3. Verify that the table now includes row 4. Use Table → Range to inspect the boundary if shading alone is ambiguous.
4. Inspect D4. If a formula has not been propagated, enter =[@Quantity]*[@Price] there. Its expected result is 12.
5. Confirm G2 has become 34.

This is a test of two things: the row belongs to the table, and its Amount contains the intended formula. Do not assume automatic range expansion also guarantees a correct calculated formula in every added row. The @ reference addresses the same table row; it does not mean “sum this whole column.”

SoftMaker’s table-editing guide documents adjacent typing, Tab expansion and explicit resizing. The Edit settings document the global auto-expansion option.

Add another record with a total row enabled

1. Turn on Table → Style → Total row. In its Amount cell, use the small arrow to choose Sum. With all records visible, it should show 34.
2. Select the table’s bottom-right cell and press Tab. The documented behavior is to add a row and move the total row down.
3. In the new data row above the total, enter Envelope, 5, 2. Check its Amount formula, entering =[@Quantity]*[@Price] if needed; its result is 10.
4. Check both the unfiltered table total and G2: they should now be 44.

Do not type a new transaction below the total row expecting the adjacent-typing rule to absorb it. If you prefer a visible insertion command, select an existing data row and use Table → Edit → Insert below, then check that the new row is inside the table and before its total.

The total-row documentation says its menu-generated summaries use SUBTOTAL. The external SUM(Orders[Amount]) remains an all-record total when you filter; a total-row SUBTOTAL can instead follow visible data. See SUM and SUBTOTAL.

Recover when the table does not grow

• Remove a gap between the last table row and new data, or explicitly use Table → Range to include the intended range.
• Check whether the total row is on before using adjacent typing.
• Ensure the selection is a real table; colored ordinary cells do not provide structured expansion.
• Check the global auto-expansion setting, then restore it if you changed it only for the exercise.
• After pasting many records, inspect the full range and each formula column. This tutorial verifies single-row entry, not every paste pattern.

Save, reopen, and inspect the table name, range and 44 total. CSV would preserve only a flat data representation, so use a spreadsheet format for the completed exercise.

Testing note: The totals were independently calculated. Table expansion, formula propagation and total-row behavior were not tested in the application; the instructions are documentation-based and include explicit checks for those behaviors.