In Pages for Mac, select the table, open Format > Arrange, and choose Stay on Page to keep it at its current page position as you edit surrounding text. If you want the table to remain with a particular paragraph instead, choose Move with Text and anchor it to that text. The right setting depends on whether the table belongs to the page layout or to the surrounding content.

Keep the table in place on the page

Click the table, then click the Format button in the toolbar if the sidebar is closed. Select Arrange, then choose Stay on Page under Object Placement. Apple describes this setting as keeping the object where you position it on the page as you add text or other objects. Apple’s Pages guide to moving tables identifies this setting for tables that do not move freely; its guide to placing objects with text explains how page placement behaves.

This is useful for a table intended to stay visually fixed on a particular page while text above it is revised. It does not keep the table attached to the paragraph that introduced it. If edits make the preceding text longer or shorter, the content and page layout can change around the table; check the surrounding text afterward to make sure the table still appears in a sensible place.

Check the document type first

Pages has two document types with different placement behavior. In a word-processing document, a table can sit in the text flow and move with text, or act as a floating object with a page position. In a page layout document, tables are added to the page and can be moved freely. Apple’s table insertion guide describes this distinction.

If you cannot find Move with Text or the table behaves unexpectedly, confirm which kind of document you are editing. The setting controls placement; it does not convert one document type into the other. Page layout documents are designed around objects placed on pages, while word-processing documents flow text across pages.

Make the table follow its text instead

If the table should stay near a heading or paragraph as that content shifts, select it and choose Move with Text in Format > Arrange. In a word-processing document, Pages anchors the object to specific text; it moves with that text while keeping its relative position. To change the anchor, Apple says to drag the object to a new location, which also moves the anchor. Apple’s placement guide explains the anchor and its marker in the text.

For a table that should occupy a position within the flow itself, insert it at the desired text insertion point. Apple notes that a table added within the body text moves with the text as you type. By contrast, clicking outside the text before inserting a table creates one set to Stay on Page by default. The Mac table guide documents both insertion paths.

If it still seems to move

Select the table and inspect Format > Arrange again. If the table is set to Move with Text, its movement may be the expected result of its anchor paragraph shifting. Switch to Stay on Page when its page position matters more than its connection to the text. If it is already set to Stay on Page, remember that this fixes its position on the page; it does not promise that nearby text will reflow around it in the way you want. Review the edited pages and reposition the table if the new layout needs it.

To move a table manually, click it and drag the table handle at its top-left corner. Apple also provides Arrange > Lock to prevent a table from being edited, moved, or deleted accidentally. Locking is an editing safeguard; it is not the setting that determines whether the table follows text. Apple’s table controls guide documents manual movement and locking.

Choose the setting by what should stay together

Use Stay on Page when the table’s location on a particular page matters. Use Move with Text when its relationship to a paragraph or heading matters. For ordinary text-centered documents, inserting the table at its intended point in the text flow is often the simplest way to keep it associated with that content. In either case, make a quick pass through the edited pages after substantial changes: these settings define placement behavior, but do not guarantee a specific final page layout.

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