how do I insert two column into a word document before I enter text

Question

I'm trying to insert two column into a word doc... one for ingredients and another for recipe directions. How do I do this without entering text?

Answer 1

To insert two columns into a Word document without entering text, you can use the table feature in Microsoft Word. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open your Word document.
2. Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon.
3. Click on Table.
4. Hover over the grid to select a 2x1 table (2 columns and 1 row) and click to insert it into your document.
5. You can adjust the table properties as needed, such as setting the width of each column.

This will create a table with two columns where you can later enter your ingredients in one column and recipe directions in the other without needing to enter any text immediately.

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References:

• Programmatically add rows and columns to Word tables
• Insert a table into a word processing document
• Inserting Text in a Document
• Use the Word add-in for report layouts

Answer 2

Hello

Do you already have an existing table and you want to insert two additional columns, or you just need a table with two columns?

If you don't have a table yet, go to Insert > Table, then choose how many columns and rows:

If you already have an exiting table but need to add two additional columns, then put the cursor in the cell in the column closest to where your new column will be added next to, then right click > insert, and choose Insert columns to the left, or to the right, and you can do this twice to create two additional columns.

Answer 3

You want a Table, not Columns (as far as Word features go), as others have pointed out.

Here is my writing on this: https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/sections2007.htm#ColumnTable

References:

• https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/4UseTablesTabs.htm
• https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/tables.htm

I've been advising people about Word for more than twenty years. Often when people ask about columns, what they really want is a Table. The appearance can be very similar but how they work is profoundly different.

Columns in Word work like columns in a newspaper or magazine, with the flow of text going from the bottom of one column to the top of the next. This has been described as "snaking." Tables operate more like a matrix with rows and columns. A table is good when you are trying to compare or explain and want related parts to be next to each other on the page. See also: Using Columns by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP