Making columns with lines in word

In Word, you can add newsletter style columns to a document. If you’d like to add a vertical line between the columns, open the Columns dialog box.

  1. Choose Page Layout > Columns. At the bottom of the list, choose More Columns.

    Columns menu

  2. In the Columns dialog box, select the check box next to Line between.

    Columns dialog box with Line between selected

Notes: 

  • You can also use the Columns dialog box to adjust the column width and the spacing between columns.

  • If your document has more than one section, the new layout will only be applied to the current section.

  • Insert a column break to control how text flows between columns. For example, insert a column break to end a paragraph in one column and start a new paragraph at the top of the next column.

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To add columns to a document:

  1. Select the text you want to format.
  2. Select the Layout tab, then click the Columns command. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. Select the number of columns you want to create.
  4. The text will format into columns.

Contents

  • 1 How do I create columns in a Word document?
  • 2 How do I create two columns in Word?
  • 3 How do I make columns in columns in Word?
  • 4 How do I make Columns with lines in Word?
  • 5 How do I make Columns and rows in Word?
  • 6 How do I put columns side by side in Word?
  • 7 How do I make two columns in one section in Word?
  • 8 Why are my columns not working in Word?
  • 9 How do I create a table with sub columns in Word?
  • 10 How do I make 3 columns in Word?
  • 11 How do I make two columns in Word 2020?
  • 12 How do I keep columns separate in Word?
  • 13 How do I split a text box into two columns?
  • 14 How do I create a control table in Word?
  • 15 How do you make a nested table?
  • 16 What is splitting and merging cells?

How do I create columns in a Word document?

On the Layout tab, click Columns, then click the layout you want.

  1. To apply columns to only part of your document, with your cursor, select the text that you want to format.
  2. On the Layout tab, click Columns, then click More Columns.
  3. Click Selected text from the Apply to box.

How do I create two columns in Word?

How to Make Two-Column Text in Word 2016

  1. Start up a new document. Or if you have an existing document, move the toothpick cursor to the document’s tippy-top by pressing Ctrl+Home.
  2. Click the Layout tab.
  3. Click the Columns button and choose Two. You’re done.

How do I make columns in columns in Word?

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  1. Select the text you want to format.
  2. Click the Page Layout tab.
  3. Click the Columns command. A drop-down menu will appear. Adding columns.
  4. Select the number of columns you want to insert. The text will then format into columns.

How do I make Columns with lines in Word?

How to Add a Vertical Line and Separate Text into Columns

  1. Select the text.
  2. Go to Ribbon > Layout > (Page Setup group) Columns. Click on the dropdown and select the number of columns you want.
  3. The text is now arranged into columns.
  4. In the Columns dialog box, check the Line Between box and click OK.

How do I make Columns and rows in Word?

Add a row or column

  1. Click where you want in your table to add a row or column and then click the Layout tab (this is the tab next to the Table Design tab on the ribbon).
  2. To add rows, click Insert Above or Insert Below and to add columns, click Insert Left or Insert Right.

How do I put columns side by side in Word?

How to Make Two-Column Text in Word 2016

  1. Start up a new document. Or if you have an existing document, move the toothpick cursor to the document’s tippy-top by pressing Ctrl+Home.
  2. Click the Layout tab.
  3. Click the Columns button and choose Two. You’re done.

How do I make two columns in one section in Word?

Select the Page Layout tab, then click the Columns command. A drop-down menu will appear. Select the number of columns you want to create. The text will format into columns.

Why are my columns not working in Word?

Double-check the column settings you have in place to make sure the formatting is configured as required. Select the section of the text you’re working with, then choose “Columns” and “More Columns” from the Page Layout menu tab.

How do I create a table with sub columns in Word?

Go to the “Insert” tab and click “Table.” When the submenu opens, click and drag the mouse to select the numbers of rows and columns you will need. For example, to create a 3-by-3 table, click and drag the mouse to the right 3 columns and then down 3 rows.

How do I make 3 columns in Word?

If two columns are not enough, you can also create three or even more columns in your Word document. Write your text, select it, and go to the Layout tab. Click Columns, and choose Three or click or tap More Columns if you need even more.

How do I make two columns in Word 2020?

To create columns in Word, place your cursor where you want the columns to start. Alternatively, you can select the text to separate into columns. Then click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the “Columns” drop-down button.

How do I keep columns separate in Word?

You can insert your own column breaks for more control over the document format.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the column to break.
  2. Click Layout > Breaks. In Word 2013 or Word 2010, click Page Layout > Breaks.
  3. A menu with options will appear. Click Column.
  4. A column break is inserted. Click Home > Show/Hide. to see it.

How do I split a text box into two columns?

Right-click the text box, placeholder, or shape border, and click Format Shape . Click Columns , enter the number of columns in the Number box, and the space between each column (in inches) in the Spacing box. If the Columns button is grayed out, it’s likely because you are working on a table.

How do I create a control table in Word?

Right-click on the table and select Table Properties from the context menu. The Table Properties dialog box is for precise control over the data and its display. Control the size, alignment, and indentation of the table. By default, Word aligns a table on the left.

How do you make a nested table?

How to Create Nested table type collection based on primitive datatype

  1. Step 1: Set Server output on. SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;
  2. Step 2: Create Nested Table type collection.
  3. Step 3: How to use nested table?
  4. Update all the values of the nested table type column.
  5. Update single instance of nested table.

What is splitting and merging cells?

You can split and merge cells in a table. Splitting cells is similar to adding a row or column, but it all takes place in one cell instead of a group of cells. Merging cells, however, is similar to deleting a cell and then adjoining it with a neighboring cell.

When creating a newsletter or brochure, a large block of text can be boring and even irritating to read. Instead, the text should run in space-saving and visually pleasing columns. Microsoft Word has a feature that allows you to create neat, uniform columns separated by a vertical white space, which can even include thin vertical lines for that sharp newspaper look.

Save your Word document before making any changes. If some sections will need to have different numbers of columns (one through five), break the document into sections by choosing Insert>Break>Section Break Types>Continuous.

Place the cursor in the section where you want to create columns. Click and drag to highlight the text you want to put into columns. From the standard toolbar, select the «Columns» button, which looks like two little columns of text; alternatively, you can choose «Format>Columns» from the drop-down menu at the top of the document window.

From the Standard toolbar, when you select the «Columns» button, four little columns drop down. Drag to choose how many columns you want. From the drop-down menu, a Columns dialog box opens. Click to choose the number of columns you want, and then click «OK.»

To add vertical lines between columns, you cannot use the Standard toolbar. Choose «Format>Columns» from the drop-down menu at the upper left of the window and a dialog box will open. Select how many columns you want. Then click the «line between» button, and hit «OK.» A vertical line will appear between the columns.

References

Tips

  • Highlight your text and choose «Format>Paragraph>Alignment>Justify» to get the straight margins you would see in a newspaper.

  1. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 1

    1

    Open Microsoft Word. Its icon resembles a blue background with a white «W» on top.

    • If you’d rather edit an existing document, simply double-click the document in question.
  2. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 2

    2

    Click Blank document. It’s in the top-left corner of the templates page.

    • If you’re editing an existing document, skip this step.

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  3. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 3

    3

    Click the Layout tab. It’s at the top of the Word window, to the right of the Home, Insert, and Design tabs.

  4. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 4

    4

    Click Columns. This option is below and to the left of the Layout tab. Clicking it will prompt a drop-down menu with the following options:

    • One — Default setting for Word documents.
    • Two — Splits the page into two distinct columns.
    • Three — Splits the page into three distinct columns.
    • Left — Concentrates most of the text on the right side of the document, leaving a narrow column on the left.
    • Right — Concentrates most of the text on the left side of the document, leaving a narrow column on the right.
    • If you highlight a part (or all) of your document before clicking a column option, your document will be reformatted to appear in columns.
  5. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 5

    5

    Click a column option. Doing so will apply invisible columns to your document; as you type, you’ll notice that your text jumps to a new line before reaching the standard right-most margin. Once you reach the bottom of the page, your text will continue in the next column until you reach the bottom of the page again, and so on.

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  1. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 6

    1

    Open Microsoft Word. Its icon resembles a blue background with a white «W» on top.

    • If you’d rather edit an existing document, simply double-click the document in question.
  2. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 7

    2

    Click Blank document. It’s in the top-left corner of the templates page.

    • If you’re editing an existing document, skip this step.
  3. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 8

    3

    Click the Layout tab. It’s at the top of the Word window, to the right of the Home, Insert, and Design tabs.

  4. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 9

    4

    Click Columns. You’ll find this option below and to the left of the Layout tab.

  5. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 10

    5

    Click More Columns. It’s at the bottom of the Columns drop-down menu.

  6. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 11

    6

    Click a number of columns. You’ll see options like One, Two, Three, and so on at the top of this window. Clicking an option will apply it to your document.

    • If you highlighted text, your settings will be applied only to the highlighted text.
  7. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 12

    7

    Modify the column width and separation. You can do this by clicking the up or down arrow to the right of «Width» and the «Spacing» values, respectively.

    • You can also uncheck the box next to «Equal column width» in order to make one column wider than the other.
  8. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 13

    8

    Check the box next to «Line between» to draw a divider. Doing so will place a visible line between your columns.

    • If you don’t want a visible divider, leave this option unchecked.
  9. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 14

    9

    Click the «Apply to» drop-down menu. Doing so will allow you to click Selected text or Whole document to apply your column settings to the respective amounts of text.

  10. Image titled Add Columns in Microsoft Word Step 15

    10

    Click OK. This will apply your settings and divide any selected text as per your customized column rules.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    How do I add columns to the middle of the document without changing the format of the entire document?

    Ps46

    In Word, type the lines of text in a single column anywhere in the document. Then, select the lines of text and click the Page Layout tab. In the Page Setup options, click Columns and select the desired number of columns. Word automatically creates continuous section breaks before and after the columns. In some cases, it may be impossible to do without changing the format of the document.

  • Question

    How do I rotate a page in Word?

    Community Answer

    Select the pages or paragraphs whose orientation you want to change. Click Page Layout > Page Setup Dialog Box Launcher. In the Page Setup box, under Orientation, click Portrait or Landscape. Click the Apply to box and click Selected text.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Open Microsoft Word or an existing Word document.
2. Click Blank document.
3. Click Layout.
4. Click Columns.
5. Click a number of columns.

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There are at least five six ways to add a vertical line in Word. Vertical lines can help accentuate a piece of text in Word, but knowing how to add them is not as intuitive as adding a horizontal line.

  1. Adding a border
  2. Or a Page Border
  3. Using the shape tool
  4. Adding a bar tab
  5. Adding lines to columns
  6. Add lines either side of text

These are most common options available.  With all the features in Word there are other more complicated choices. We thought of four more vertical formatting tricks in Word

Adding a Border

Add a vertical line next to a paragraph is to simply add a side border to the paragraph.

Highlight the paragraph you wish to add a line to, go to Home | Paragraph, and click the Borders dropdown.

This gives you options to insert borders in various locations. To insert a vertical line to the left or right of the text, select Left Border or Right Border.

The Left or Right border options insert a plain black line next to the text. If you want to have more control over the color or style of your line, instead select Borders and Shading at the bottom of the list.

Custom Borders

Click Custom on the left-hand side of the dialog box, to enable you to choose individual borders to add. In the middle section, you can select the style, color and width of the line. On the right-hand side, click the box to indicate where you want the border to appear (top, bottom, left or right). The preview will give you an indication of how your line will appear.

Note that the boxes for the border positions are toggle keys, so if a border that you don’t want is appearing in the preview, just click the appropriate box to remove it.

A line inserted by this method is anchored to the paragraph(s) it is applied to and will move if you move a paragraph.

Add a Page Border

The same thing can be done at the page level.

Design | Page Background } Page Borders | Page Border.

Like a paragraph border, select the style of border you want then click the Preview sides.  Remove the top and bottom borders, leaving left or right depending on your needs.

To add a vertical line using the shape tool, go to Insert | Shapes and select the Line tool.

Place the cursor where you want the line to start, and drag to where you want the other end of the line to be. Holding the Shift key while you drag will ensure that the line is straight.

Once you have finished creating the line, the Format tab becomes live on the ribbon, where you can change the color, shape and style of the line.

Click the Layout button next to the line to see options regarding how you want the line to interact with your text.

To move or resize the line, grab one of the end points and move it. If you hold the Control key while you move, both ends of the line will move as if around a fulcrum.

Adding a Bar Tab

Another way to add a vertical line to text is to use the Tab feature, but instead of inserting a tab, you will add a ‘bar’ or vertical line.   Bar tabs are the lesser known Tab formatting option which separate tabbed items with a visible bar like this:

The shape tool can be used to add a line in any location and of any length, a bar tab can only be applied to whole paragraphs.

Make the ruler is visible at the top of your document, to help you find the correct position for the bar tab. If you cannot see the ruler, go to View | Show, and tick the Ruler box.

To insert a bar tab, select the paragraphs that you want the bar to appear beside, go to Home | Paragraph and open the Paragraph dialog box.  Then click the Tabs button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Tab Stop Positions

In the Tab Stop Position box, enter the position where you want the line to appear. You can use the ruler at the top of the screen to work out what value to enter. In the example pictured, the text starts at 0 on the ruler, so if you want the line to appear to the left of the existing text, you may enter “-0.5”. If you want it to appear to the right of the text, you may enter “17”.

Then select Bar under Alignment and click OK.

With the values entered in the above figure, the text would then look like this:

Note that a line inserted by this method is anchored to the paragraph(s) it is applied to. If you move a paragraph around, the line will go with the paragraph to its new location.

If you wish to later delete the line, highlight the paragraph, open the tab dialog again and click Clear.

Adding Lines to Columns

If you are arranging your text into columns, you can insert a vertical line between the columns.

To arrange your text into columns, select the text, go to Layout | Columns and select the number of columns you want.

Now that your text is arranged into columns, click anywhere within the columns, and go to Layout | Columns again, but this time select More Columns at the bottom of the list. In the dialog box, simply tick the Line Between box, and click OK.

Vertical lines either side of text

One way to put vertical lines on both sides of text is to add empty columns either side using Layout | Breaks | Column Break. Three column breaks will do the job, two to make empty columns plus one at the bottom of the middle text column.

Note that if you wish to add a line to the left or right of the columns, this can be done using any of the other methods described above.

See Color the Column dividing line in Word

Four more vertical formatting tricks in Word

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