WD97: "Merge Cells Before Split" Setting Causes Unexpected Results

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For example, if you have the following table in a document:

   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |                   |                   |                  |
   | Item 1            | Item 2            | Item 3           |
   |                   |                   |                  |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |                   |                   |                  |
   | Item 4            | Item 5            | Item 6           |
   |                   |                   |                  |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |                   |                   |                  |
   | Item 7            | Item 8            | Item 9           |
   |                   |                   |                  |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
				

and the "Merge cells before split" check box is clear, you get the following results when you select rows 1 and 2 and click Split cells on the Table menu:

   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   | Item 1  |         | Item 2  |         | Item 3  |        |
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   | Item 4  |         | Item 5  |         | Item 6  |        |
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |                   |                   |                  |
   | Item 7            | Item 8            | Item 9           |
   |                   |                   |                  |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
				

However, if the "Merge cells before split" check box selected, Items 1 through 6 are first merged into 1 cell, and then they are split into cells, making them all appear in the first row, as in the following example:

   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   | Item 1  | Item 2  | Item 3  | Item 4  | Item 5  | Item 6 |
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   |         |         |         |         |         |        |
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   |                   |                   |                  |
   | Item 7            | Item 8            | Item 9           |
   |                   |                   |                  |
   ------------------------------------------------------------