Download Article
Download Article
This wikiHow teaches you how to create columns of text (similar to a newspaper or magazine) in Microsoft Word.
Quick Steps
- Open Word and either go to an existing document or make a new one.
- Highlight the text of your document, if you've opted to open an existing one.
- Click the Layout tab and then click the Columns button at the top of the screen.
- Select how many columns you'd like to add to your document.
- Click More Columns if you want to set up custom column settings for your document.
Steps
-
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.
-
Click Blank document . It's in the top-left corner of the templates page.
- If you're editing an existing document, skip this step.
Advertisement -
Click the Layout tab. It's at the top of the Word window, to the right of the Home , Insert , and Design tabs.
-
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.
-
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.
Advertisement
-
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.
-
Click Blank document . It's in the top-left corner of the templates page.
- If you're editing an existing document, skip this step.
-
3Click the Layout tab. It's at the top of the Word window, to the right of the Home , Insert , and Design tabs.
-
Click Columns . You'll find this option below and to the left of the Layout tab.
-
Click More Columns . It's at the bottom of the Columns drop-down menu.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Click OK . This will apply your settings and divide any selected text as per your customized column rules.
Advertisement
Community Q&A
Search
-
QuestionHow do I add columns to the middle of the document without changing the format of the entire document?Ps46Community AnswerIn 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.
-
QuestionHow do I rotate a page in Word?Community AnswerSelect 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.
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Tips
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
About This Article
Article Summary
X
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.
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 558,779 times.
Advertisement
