Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Changing the Number of Columns.

Changing the Number of Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 15, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you have already added columns to your document, Word lets you easily change the number of columns you are using. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. If your document is formatted using more than one section, position the insertion point in the document section that you want to affect.
  2. Choose Columns from the Format menu. Word displays the Columns dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Columns dialog box.

  4. Change the value in the Number of Columns field to the number of columns desired.
  5. In the Apply To box, select Whole Document or This Section (depending on what you want your change to affect).
  6. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (185) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Changing the Number of Columns.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Turning Off Track Changes without Unsharing

The Track Changes tool in Excel can be helpful, but it can also be aggravating because it doesn't allow you to use it on ...

Discover More

Embedding an Excel Chart in a Word Document

As components of the Microsoft Office suite, one would expect Excel and Word to work together. One of the most common ...

Discover More

Increasing Undo Levels

Each time you take some action in Excel, the action is saved in an "undo stack" so that the action can be undone, if ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Quickly Changing Columns

One of the tools on the Formatting toolbar is the Columns tool. You can use this tool to make quick changes to the number ...

Discover More

Adding Vertical Lines Between Columns

Columns can be an integral part of your document layout. In some instances you may want Word to insert a vertical line ...

Discover More

Adding Columns to Your Page Layout

Most documents are created using a single column of text. Word, however, allows you to use many, many columns in your ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 3 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.