Share via

How do I create columns in a Word 365 document

Philip Fugit 0 Reputation points
2026-03-30T00:54:05.76+00:00

I WANT to create multiple columns in my document in Word 365

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
0 comments No comments

3 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Charles Kenyon 166.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-30T03:05:17.14+00:00

    Word has two independent methods of doing columns. One is like a newspaper or magazine (snaking) and the other is parallel columns. Here are links about how to decide and handle this:

    You could also use tab settings but that is really doing it the hard way.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments

  2. Sophie N 14,205 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-30T01:24:04.3466667+00:00

    Dear @Philip Fugit,

    I would be happy to help you set up columns in your Word 365 document. It is a very straightforward process.

    Depending on whether you want to format the entire document or just a specific section, please follow the steps below:

    To create columns for the entire document:

    1. Open your document in Word 365.
    2. Go to the Layout tab on the ribbon.
    3. Click on the Columns button.
    4. Select the number of columns you want (e.g., Two, Three) from the drop-down menu.

    User's image

    To create columns for only a specific part of your text:

    1. Highlight/select the specific text you want to put into columns.
    2. Go to the Layout tab.
    3. Click on Columns and choose your desired layout. Word will automatically create section breaks before and after your selected text to keep the rest of your document in a single-column layout.

    If you want to adjust the exact width of your columns or add a vertical line between them:

    1. Go to Layout > Columns.
    2. Click on More Columns at the bottom of the menu.
    3. Check the box for Line between or manually adjust the width and spacing.

    For further visual guidance, you can refer to the official Microsoft documentation on Create newsletter columns - Microsoft Support

    Please try following the steps mentioned above and let me know if you are able to create columns. If you need any further assistance, I would be happy to help.


    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

  3. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-30T00:54:13.7733333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    To create multiple columns in a Word 365 document:

    1. Open the document in Word.
    2. To apply columns to the entire document:
      1. Go to the Layout tab on the ribbon.
      2. Select Columns.
      3. Choose one of the built-in options (e.g., Two, Three) or select More Columns to customize the number and width of columns.

    To apply columns to only part of the document:

    1. Select the paragraphs that should appear in columns.
    2. Go to Layout > Columns.
    3. Choose the column layout you want, or select More Columns to set a custom format.

    If needed, insert a column break so text moves to the next column at a specific point:

    1. Click where the column should break.
    2. Go to Layout > Breaks.
    3. Choose Column.

    The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Enter also inserts a column break at the cursor position.


    References:

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.