Unlike paragraph styles and contrary to the dialog title, new table styles do
not pick up the formatting of the table the cursor is in.  Instead, you must
select the settings from the  create/modify table dialog.   Most settings
available to tables are available to table styles.  Two that aren't are table
width and column width.  

Table styles are great if you have a variety tables, particularly if they are
already created, that you want to give the same general look to.  But if you
have a particular table structure-- the same number of columns with set
column widths, same table headings and spanner headings, etc., that you want
to be able to fill in--then  saving that structure as auto text might be the
better way to go.  

HTH,

PamC