Many Word users create tables for addresses or other data. They're very convenient, especially if Word is your primary application. But sometimes you'll want to export that data for use in other applications, like databases or personal information managers. Word can quickly convert a table into delimited text, which almost all database applications can import:

1. Check the text in the table's cells for commas. Before converting, add quotation marks at the beginning and end of the text in each cell where commas appear. This move prevents errors when importing the data into another application.

2. With the cursor in the table, select Table-Select Table.

3. To avoid altering the existing document, copy the table to the Clipboard (<Ctrl>-C), open a blank new document (<Ctrl>-N) and paste the table into the new document (<Ctrl>-V).

4. Select the table again, as in step 1.

5. Select Table-Convert Table to Text.

6. In the Convert Table to Text dialogue box, select the Commas option, then click OK.

7. Save the resulting document, choosing Text Only in the "Save as type" list in the Save As dialogue box.

8. Use the other program's import features to import the file.