How to Add Columns in Word Online?

Microsoft Office is a great tool. It provides the features you require while editing and sharing Word documents. In the online version, it has only basic features.

Is it possible to add columns in Word online? Follow this workaround method to know how to add columns in Microsoft Word Online.

The picture below gives you an overview of a Word online document and the layout options available.

Note: The column option is not included.

How to add columns in word online — How to create columns in Word online

Columns in Word are generally used to create a newsletter or documents with a similar layout. When it comes to editing Word documents you have two options.

You can either do below of the option.

Change the layout of the entire document or
Highlight a portion of the document and change the layout.

Contents show

Add Columns to the Selected Text in Word

Below are the steps to follow to add columns to the selected text in Word Online.

Open the Word document on the desktop version to add the column.
Click Layout and click Columns to add the columns in Microsoft Word.
Click More Columns to see if you can add more columns.

Now, the column page will appear. Here you can give the Number of columns as per your requirement and click OK.

Once selected, the column will look like based on your selection.

As seen above under columns, there are multiple options.

One – No change, the text will look as it is.
Two – The selected text will be divided into two columns.
Three – The selected text will be divided into three columns.
Left–selected– Text will move as a column to the left.
Right – Selected text will move as a column to the right.
More columns – Here you have multiple options like changing the number of columns and width of individual columns.

Once you have decided on the option, simply click on it and the text will be formatted. Repeat the process if you want to change the number of columns or want to undo the formatting altogether.

To undo the formatting click on the undo button or use Clrt + Z on the keyboard.

Adding columns to the entire document in Word

Start by selecting the entire document.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + A.
After selecting the entire text: Click on the layout option > Select Columns > Choose several columns.

The process to add columns to the document remains the same irrespective of the volume of the text.

Add a Column with Existing Text in Word

You also can add a column to the existing document in Word. Follow the steps to do so.

Open the document and select the text to turn into a column in Word.
Once the text is selected, click the Layout option and click Columns.

This is how you can change the Layout like magazine design in Microsoft Word.

Can you add columns in Microsoft Word online?

No, the free version of Word Online does not support column addition. You can however use the desktop app on both Windows as well as Mac systems to include columns.

Can you add more than two columns in Word online?

Yes, you can add more than two columns in Word online. There is a dropdown menu while inserting columns that lets you increase or decrease the number of columns. You also have an option to include lines in between the columns.

Two columns in word not continuous

This is a common problem and the solution is simple. All you need to do is position your cursor where you would like to insert the column. Open the Page Layout ribbon go to Page Setup and click Columns. From here add the number of columns you would like to add.
Additionally, if the text still gets scrambled you can insert column breaks. For this open Page layout in the Page setup section click Breaks and then select Column from the dropdown.
Anything you type after this will automatically go into a new column.

Word columns not working

If the columns are not working double-check the column settings. Secondly, you will not see columns if you are not selecting the text to be formatted.
So, 1. Check the settings and 2. Check if you have selected the text.

Columns not showing in word

When it comes to columns not showing in Word check if you are viewing it in the right format. For example, in the draft view, they won’t show. Everything will show in a single column. To check click on the View tab and check the document views group to see what view is being used. You can change the view from here as well.

Conclusion

The column addition and formatting options are not available on the free version of Word online as of now. To add columns to documents simply access the Word app on your computer. You can also use a normal Word document and make the desired changes. The only drawback is that you will not be able to edit or view columns in Word online.