Columns in word documents

You don’t need to create tables to structure text into columns. Tables are useful for displaying translated versions of the legal document side-by-side, but table cells break the text flow and are not recommended for multi-column layouts. It is more convenient to use columns for text formatting in most other cases. Word also allows you to adjust your columns by adding column breaks.

Format text in columns

To format a text into columns, do the following:

   1.   Do one of the following:

• To use the same number of columns for an entire document, click anywhere in the document (empty or with content).

  If you choose to format text in columns, Word fills the first column with text on the page and then moves to the beginning of the next column. When all columns on one page are filled, the text moves to the next page.

• To format only a part of the document, select the paragraphs that you want to wrap in columns.

  If you select a part of the text and wrap it in columns, Word inserts section breaks at the beginning and end of the selected text to delineate the area where the column layout is applied:

  

  See more about breaks and how to display them.

To manually specify where the text in each column should end, you can use a column break.

   2.   On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Columns button:

   3.   In the Columns dropdown list, select one of the options:

• One (used by default),
• Two, Three to create two or three columns of equal width,
• Left, Right to create two columns of unequal width,
• More Columns… to specify more options in the Columns dialog box:

  

  • In the Presets section, you can choose the same options as in the Columns dropdown list – One, Two, Three, Left, or Right.
  • If you need more columns, type or select the number of columns you need in the Number of columns field. The maximum number of columns may vary depending on the font, font size, margins, etc. E.g., 13.
  • The Line between checkbox inserts a vertical line between columns. This line clearly defines column borders, especially if you want to fit as much content on the page as possible (very handy for cheat sheets).
    See more options below.

Format columns

   I.   It is recommended to justify the paragraphs in columns to give the page a clean and organized appearance. To justify the column text, select it and do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Justify button:

  

• Press Ctrl+J.

   II.   To change the width of columns or the space between them, do the following:

   1.   Click anywhere in the columnar text.

   2.   Do one of the following:

• On the Layout tab, in the Page Layout group, click the Columns button, then choose More Columns…

  In the Columns dialog box, in the Width and spacing section:

  

  In the Width box for any columns, enter or select a new width.

  The Width measurements for the other columns change to match, and the width of all the columns changes.

  See how the columns will be displayed in the Preview section.

• On the horizontal ruler, drag the margins to change the width of the columns:

  

   III.   To reduce white space on text lines, you can set up Word to hyphenate the text and break long words into syllables. See how to hyphenate automatically and manually for more details.

Remove columns

To remove column layout for the selected text or entire document, do the following:

   1.   Click anywhere in the columnar text.

   2.   On the Layout tab, in the Page Layout group, click the Columns button, then choose One.

Insert a column break

In the Word document, you can manually break columns. When you break a column, the text after the break moves to the top of the next column:

You can display column breaks as regular nonprintable symbols. Word displays them as .

To insert a column break, position the cursor at the beginning of the line you want to start in the new column, and then do any of the following:

• On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Breaks button, and then click Column to insert a column break:

  

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

The column break is inserted, and the cursor moves to the beginning of the next column.

Remove a column break

To remove a column break, click at the left end of the break or select the break and press the Delete key.

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Updated: 01/18/2023 by

Columns are a great organizational tool. In a document, they can divide a page to present specific content in an orderly fashion. Microsoft Word accommodates 1 to 13 columns on one page. The following sections show you how to create, add, and delete columns in Word documents.

Creating columns

1. Open the Word document where you want to add columns.
2. In the Ribbon, click the Layout tab.
3. In the Page Setup section, click the down arrow under Columns, then select More Columns.
4. For Number of columns, you can type in a number or use the up and down arrows to select a number. If the Equal column width option is checked, Word automatically sets the columns to be evenly spaced.
5. Click OK to add the columns to the Word document.

1. In Image 1 below, you can see how the text «The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog» looks with three columns. In Image 2 below, you can see what the same text looks like with the maximum 13 columns.

Image 1

Image 2

Inserting column breaks

After creating a document with multiple columns, it may be necessary to enter column breaks into the text to move text to the next available column.

To insert a column break, move your cursor to where you want to insert the break and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter shortcut key. Alternatively, you can go to the Layout tab on the Ribbon, click Breaks, and then select Column.

Removing columns

If you need to delete columns in a Word document, follow the steps below.

1. Open the Word document where you need to remove columns.
2. In the Ribbon, click the Layout tab.
3. In the Page Setup section, click the down arrow under Columns, then select More Columns.
4. For Number of columns, you can type in a number or use the up and down arrows to select a number. The number entered or selected must be less than the current number of columns, if you want to remove columns.
5. Click OK to remove the columns in the Word document.

Tip

If you don’t want the document to have any columns, click Layout, Columns, and select One.

Showing the content in full width of a document may quickly bore the reader. Sometimes, it is a good idea to create your document like newspaper layout with multiple columns. This is one of the easy ways to show attractive content similar to newsletters and brochures. It helps to add different types of content in a single page and highlight the actionable part. In this article, we will explain how to insert columns in Word documents and arrange text using columns. If you have a long content, then make sure to add table of contents for easy accessibility of headings.

Using Default Templates with Columns

Though creating a custom column layout is easier, it takes
time to setup the layout. However, Microsoft offers predefined column templates
that you can choose for your use.

• Launch your Word application. On the backstage view, you can see the predefined layouts to select under “Featured” section. If you do not see backstage view, navigate to “File > New” menu and look under “Featured” section. You can also search for the column layouts using the search box.

• Select the template and Word will download it from the Microsoft Office library.
• As you can see, there are lot of beautiful columned layouts for resumes, brochures and events that you can choose from and modify.

Creating
Columns in Your Documents 

If you do not want to use the template and start from the
scratch, you can create your column layout. It is possible to set a whole text,
a selected area or a section into columns. Let us take an example document
having two text paragraph like below:

In order to break the two paragraphs into two columns, simply
go to “Layout” menu. Click on “Columns” dropdown and select “Two”. Word will
automatically split the two paragraphs into two columns as shown below.

Related: How to create eBook in Word?

Inserting
Manual Column Break

In the above example, you do not have to highlight the
section when you have two paragraphs. Just place the cursor in the section to
split into two columns based on the previous section break. If this does not
work for you or you want to manually decide the column break point, then follow
the below instructions.

• First click on the search box on the top menu and type
  “show”. Select “Show All” option to show all formatting markups on your
  document.

• Position your cursor where you want to create a column
  break.
• Switch to the “Layout” tab and click on the “Breaks”
  list box.
• Select “Columns” option to set a column break in the
  selected cursor position.

• You can see the “Column Break” markup on your document
  and Word will move the content below the column break to next page.  
• Now go to “Layout > Columns” and select “Two” to
  create two columns at the column break point.

You will notice that Word continue the content from the first
column to next. The column break will make your document like a newsletter or
newspaper layout that continues from one column to next. However, you can also
manually type different content after creating columns.

Adjusting
the Column Width

By default, Word will adjust the columns to have equal width.
However, you can change the width of each column as per your need. In order to
adjust the column width, go to “Layout > Columns > More Columns” option.

You can customize the following options:

• Presets – choose one of the existing preset layout options.
• Number of columns – change the number of columns.
• Line between – enable the checkbox to insert a line between the columns.
• Equal column width – disable this checkbox and setup custom width and spacing for your columns.
• Apply to – apply the changes to whole document or only to this section.

After customizing your column layout, you can continue to
type in a columned layout.

Related: How to change embedded file name in Office?

Using
Markers in the Ruler

When you are working with columns, Word will split the
document into sections. You can view the width of the sections on the marker
available in top ruler.

Simply, double click on the ruler marker to open “Columns”
pop-up box to customize the options as explained above. Alternatively, you can
also set the width by dragging the markers in the ruler using mouse.

Undoing
Column Layout

If
you do not need the distribution into columns anymore, you can simply undo this
setting. Afterwards your text will appear in the original structure.

• In order to do so, open the “”Layout > Columns” list box and select the entry “One”.
• The formatting markups will remain intact. You can remove the column break by placing the cursor in front of the formatting symbol and remove it using the delete key.

Creating
Mixed Layout

You
can also easily create columns and full width layout sections in a single
document.

• In order to exit the column layout and go to full width section,
  position your cursor at the end of the last column.
• Go to “Breaks > Continuous” and apply a section break on the same
  page. Now your cursor will go to next section and you can see a section break
  in the formatting markup.
• Go to “Columns” and select “One” to disable the columns and continue in
  a full width.

Tips and Tricks

• In order to divide a section of your document into columns, select it with the mouse and create columns. When creating columns, Word defines the area automatically for individual sections.
• You can apply column break only to particular section of your document when your document has multiple sections.
• Use keyboard shortcuts, “Control + Shift + Enter” to create a column break.
• You can adjust the column width via the markers in the ruler only when you have selected “Equal column width” checkbox in the “Columns” dialogue window.
• Column changes are an important element to structure texts with multiple columns.

Sometimes, you need more space on a single page. In Word documents, the best way to do that is to learn how to make columns in Microsoft Word. These give you more space and improve readability.

There are many options for creating columns in Word. Maybe you want two, three, or even more column Word options. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a column in Word and explore all the options.

Why You Should Add Columns in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word columns are a popular and stylish way to format text. You’ll often see them in printed form, and they’re very easy to create for yourself. I like to add columns in Word to help lay out my documents in an elegant way. 

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create columns in Word. Like I said, it’s a fast and easy process. Once you learn how, you’ll be creating columns in Word often. 

But before we get started, it pays to ask: why learn how to make columns in Microsoft Word? The advantages are many, so let’s explore them.

By adding column Word designs, you can fit more content onto a page. With columns, you can visually define different sections of your document. Learning how to create columns in Word gives you new options for positioning your content.

Imagine for a moment the front page of your favorite newspaper. Think of how many different topics — in the form of sections and articles — can fit on a single page! Yet, these layouts accomplish this without appearing messy or cluttered. At a glance, you can distinguish unique sections. 

This isn’t the only benefit. When you’re creating columns in Word, you’ll also enjoy:

• More readable designs. Vast sections of text clustered in paragraphs aren’t visually inviting. With columns, your document layouts are cleaner and easier to read.
• Foldable layouts. With text in columns, you can fold pages once you print them, to create sleek newsletters and more. 
• Paper savings. By packing more content onto each page, you’ll create shorter documents. This is especially valuable if you’re planning to print copies. 

As you can see, the benefits of Microsoft Word columns are many. And in moments, you’ll know how to make them for yourself.

The best way to start is with a premium Microsoft Word template from Envato Elements. These expertly-built designs help you build stylish documents in seconds. 

In this tutorial, we’ll be working with the Newsletter | MS Word & InDesign template from Envato Elements. Download it today to follow along.

Now, let’s get started!

How to Add Multiple Columns in Word

With the Newsletter template downloaded and open in Microsoft Word, let’s get to work. It’s time to learn how to create columns in Word. We’ll get started by working on a blank page inside the template. Think of this page as a clean slate. On it, you want to feature text in a column layout.

We’ll start by constructing a basic two-column layout in MS Word. Place your cursor on the blank page. This tells Word that you’re ready to edit and add style elements to the selected page. 

Now, you’ll want to find the Layout tab in Word. This sits on the ribbon. If you’re unfamiliar, the ribbon is the row of menus that sits on the upper left side of your Word screen. Find it by looking for the buttons labeled Home, Insert, Draw and more.

Here, click on Layout. The Layout tab is really the hub for your Word document’s visual format. It controls how and where text and content fits onto the page.

With the Layout tab open, you’ll see an array of options available to you. In this case, Columns is the button that you need. Click on it, and a popup menu appears.

On this menu, you’ll have several choices for multi-column layouts in Word. Remember, here we want to add a simple two-column layout. Click on Two. Word instantly adds two columns to the selected page and all subsequent pages in your Word doc. 

Keep in mind, on a blank page you won’t see anything happen. But once you start typing, you’ll see that Word splits the text you type into a two-column layout. 

As you imagine how to use Microsoft Word columns, remember that you’re not limited to only two columns. In fact, Word offers you wide flexibility as you create your own column layouts. 

The best way to explore these features is to again start by working with a blank page in your Word document. Return to the Layout > Columns button and click on it. But this time, choose More Columns from the list of options displayed to you. 

When you click, Word opens the Columns menu. On it, you’ve got a full suite of customization options. 

At the top, you’ll see Presets. These are defined layouts that you can apply with a single click. There are options for one, two, and three columns per page. 

Also, you can add left and right columns. As shown in the previews, these are two-column layouts with unique widths. The Left option adds a narrow left column and a wide right column. Choosing Right delivers the opposite result. 

Below, in the Manual group, you’ll find that Word gives you full control over column layouts. Here, it’s possible to set a custom number of columns to display on each page. For example, you can type 4 into the box, and Word adds four columns. The Line Between checkbox helps you add a visual delineation between each of the new columns. 

Here are other settings that help you harness complete control of creating columns in Word:

• The Width and Spacing section controls the dimensions of each individual column.
• At first, this section is grayed out, as Equal Column Width is automatically checked. To work with this group, uncheck the Equal Column Width box.
• With the section active, you can adjust the dimensions and proportions of each column.
• The Width boxes control the specific columns. The Spacing boxes control how far apart columns are from each other.
• Finally, you’ve got the option to choose where to apply your column settings. Choose between the Whole Document and This Point Forward. The latter applies settings to your file only after the point where your cursor is placed. 

Once you’ve made your selections, click OK to apply the settings that you’ve chosen. Now, you’re ready to start working with Microsoft Word columns.

From here, you can add text and other content just like you normally do in Microsoft Word. Start by typing in your own words. As words flow, you’ll see that Word drops them neatly into place using the column layout that you’ve chosen. 

Similarly, other content that you add fits into the columns. For example, let’s add an image. Place your cursor in a column spot where you want to place a photo. Find the Insert tab, and then click Pictures > Picture From File. Select a photo on your computer, and then click Insert. 

Word inserts the photo, perfectly placed into your column. The width adjusts to fit neatly into the space that you’ve specified. This also works for charts, graphics, and more. When you design a column layout, Word’s features place and scale content in the columns.

As you can see, it’s easy to learn how to create a column in Word. With a few clicks, you can split the text into two or more columns on any page. From there, you can easily add text, photos, graphics, and more.

Word helps you size and scale all of your content into column format. This creates an attractive, engaging document for readers to enjoy. 

How to Add Columns from Existing Text in Word

We’ve learned how to create columns in Word. But as you saw in the above examples, we practiced using blank pages. What happens if you already have text on a page, and then decide that you want to put it in column format? 

Fortunately, Word has you covered. You can create column Word designs with text that you already have in place. There’s no need to delete or retype anything! Let’s learn how.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve got a page in your premium template with text on it. Now, you want to display the text in columns, rather than the single, full-page paragraphs that it’s in now. 

To place this text in Microsoft Word columns, you’ll first need to select the text. To do so, click and drag your cursor over the text that you want to move into columns. You’ll see Word select it, signified by pale blue shading.

Then, repeat the steps that we followed earlier to add columns. With the text still selected, find the Layout tab, and open the Columns drop-down. Choose the number of columns you want (or use the More Columns option, if you need to customize the design). 

Word adds the columns that you select. Your selected text will re-format, appearing in one or more of the new columns, depending on length. From here, you can make the same adjustments to column width and more, using the More Columns feature in MS Word. 

The Best Microsoft Word Templates for Column Designs (With Unlimited Downloads) 

You’ve learned how to create columns in Word. And you know that premium templates are the best way to get started. The best source for these is Envato Elements. 

Elements is a creative powerhouse with a winning offer: unlimited downloads. For a low, flat rate, you can download as many stunning premium MS Word templates as you want. With your membership, you also have access to fonts, stock photos, and so much more. 

Explore Microsoft Word Templates

When you choose a premium MS Word template from Envato Elements, you’ll enjoy these key benefits:

• Studio-quality layouts. Designs are built by creative experts. That means you’ll gain the advantage of styles that you can’t build by yourself. 
• Time savings. With layouts already built, you’re filling in the blanks. You get more time to focus on refining your written message. 
• Inspired designs. Pre-built layouts help guide your creative process. You’ll find plenty of inspiration on every page. 
• Full creative control. When we learned how to make columns in Microsoft Word, we added our own designs to a premium template. You benefit from the styles already built but can still add your own design flourishes.

The value is impossible to match. Sign up for Elements today!

Now You Know How to Make Columns in Microsoft Word

Just like that, you’ve learned how to create a column in Word. It’s a powerful stylistic tool that you can use in seconds! You can create more space for your content now that you know how to create a column in Word to do just that.

With multiple columns, you’ve got a new design dimension in Word documents. Try it out now to create a compelling, readable document. 

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I believe that life is too short to do just one thing. In college, I studied Accounting and Finance but continue to scratch my creative itch with my work for Envato Tuts+ and other clients. By day, I enjoy my career in corporate finance, using data and analysis to make decisions.

I cover a variety of topics for Tuts+, including photo editing software like Adobe Lightroom, PowerPoint, Keynote, and more. What I enjoy most is teaching people to use software to solve everyday problems, excel in their career, and complete work efficiently. Feel free to reach out to me on my website.

If you are working on a text heavy document, or would like to make better use of your page by splitting it in half adding a column is your answer.

Columns split your page into a newspaper style layout, the text will run down two or three narrow columns which can be useful if you are trying to split your content across one page, create a flyer, brochure, report, step by step instructions or even a terms and conditions document.

When inserting a column, Microsoft will spit your page vertically with the text running down the first column before starting at the top of the second and so on.

In this post we will show you how to add one or multiple columns to your Microsoft Word document.

Adding a Column to your Word Document

1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Click the Insert Tab

1. Under the Insert Tab, Click Columns
2. Select the number of Columns you would like to insert

Microsoft Word’s Column Options Explained

One, Two, Three will insert that number of even vertical columns into your document

Left, Right will insert a column smaller on the described side and larger on the other. For example, a Left column will create two columns with the left side covering around a quarter of your document leaving the right side covering the remaining space.

More Columns will give you the option to insert more than three columns and customise.

Looking for an easier way to Merge your Microsoft Word Documents together?

These days we are all about finding the most efficient way of doing things, from saving our eyes with dark mode so we can work without straining them to collaborating with your team on a Microsoft Word document without having to worry about merging two files together at the end.

It’s a simple ask, that Microsoft hasn’t quite solved for just yet.
Microsoft has a feature called ‘merge’ that shows you the differences between the two documents and allows you to manually pull across the accepted changes from each. Its a start, but it’s still fairly manual and can be time-consuming.

With that in mind, the smart guys over at Simul Docs – a very fancy new tool that makes collaborating in Word easy added a simple, merge feature to save you time.

Simul Docs will automatically pick up when two people are simultaneously working on the same document, create two new, separate versions for you, then flag with the document owner that there are now two versions that require their review before they can be merged.

See Simul won’t automatically merge the two files for you without asking, because it also knows you may not want to accept all of the changes in both. So it gives you the chance to run your eyes over both files, take as much or as little time as you like and then when you are happy – press merge. At the click of a button, you can merge the two documents back into one and continue collaborating with ease.

When you merge two documents in Simul, rest assured that all of the tracked changes, comments and fancy formatting will remain the same. Nothing will be lost during the process, unless of course you decided during your review process that you didn’t want to take that comment or change over in the merge. Its completely up to you!

Simul also offers some other pretty fancy features to help you collaborate such as version control, tracked changes, edits and comments, easy sharing and accessibility.

Because so many of us do find ourselves working offline, it’s important to Simul Docs that you can access and collaborate from anywhere, even where there isn’t a strong internet connection.

Simul is accessible from anywhere, if you are offline that’s ok, Simul will allow you to continue working as normal, with all of their nifty features and then the moment your device finds a connection Simul will update a live file and share it with the team.

With the ability to work offline, comes the risk of two or more team members working on the document at once without us knowing. Which is why the merge function exists, so you don’t have to worry about who is working when, or from where. Simul has you covered.

With Simul in your team, you can collaborate without concern. Knowing that Simul will have you covered, making merging, collaboration and working offline as easy as it should be.