CREATING COLUMNS
You can divide the page into one, two, three, or more columns to make the text well-organized easy to read. Documents such as books, magazines, catalogs, newsletters, brochures, and even advertisements often are divided into columns. Word makes dividing your documents into columns easy. To see your text formatted in columns, you must be in Page Layout view on Print Preview.
Normally, divide an 8 ½ by 1 inch portrait-oriented into no more than three columns; divide the same size landscape-oriented page into no more than five columns. When you use too many columns on a page, the lines of text become too short and hard to read.
You can create equal-sized columns by holding down the mouse pointer on the Columns button of the Standard toolbar and dragging down to choose the number of columns.
You divide a document into columns by using the Columns dialog box. You can select a present number of columns and designs or enter a number of columns and each column width, if you prefer. When you enter your own column width, you must specify spacing called gutter space, between columns.
If you like, you can add a line, or rule between the columns by selecting the Line Between options. Word even enables you to start a new column at the insertion point by selecting the Start New Column option. Preview our column choices in the Preview box before accepting or rejecting the changes in the dialog box.
To format the columns in your document, follow these steps:
If you have different numbers of columns throughout your document or if only a portion of your document is to have columns, select the text for which you want to change columns.
Choose Format, Columns. The Columns dialog box appears.
In the Presets area, select the number or type of columns you want. One, Two or Three will create that number of equal columns. Left or Right will create two unequal columns with the left or right column smaller than the other. You can add additional columns through the Number Of Columns increment box.
Use the other options in the dialog box to customize columns. You can adjust the Width of the columns in the Width and Spacing section.
Choose OK to accept the changes and close the dialog box.
