Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Using Parallel Columns.

Using Parallel Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 24, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Those coming to Word from WordPerfect may long for a way to create parallel columns, as could be done in WordPerfect. Those who never used WordPerfect, of course, may not even know what is meant by the phrase "parallel columns." In WordPerfect there are two types of columns you can create: newspaper columns and parallel columns. The difference between the two is how they behave in relation to a printed page.

WordPerfect's newspaper columns are essentially the same as the columns feature in Word. For instance, imagine that you have a two-column layout in a three-page document. Text begins in the first column of the first page. When the text reaches the bottom margin of the first page, the text continues at the top of the second column on the first page. When the bottom of that column is reached, text begins at the top of the first column on the second page, and so on. Columns are filled left to right, page by page. This is the same way that text "flows" in a newspaper, so WordPerfect referred to this layout as newspaper columns.

The parallel columns behavior is different, however. In a layout with two parallel columns, covering the same three pages, text would not wrap from the first column to the second on each page. Essentially, the columns are independent from each other and are nothing more than a way to present side-by-side (parallel) text. When the bottom of the first column is reached on the first page, WordPerfect continues with the text at the top of the first column on the second page.

There is no equivalent to this in Word. Those who have been with Word since the DOS days may remember the old side-by-side paragraphs that could be used. This was, perhaps, the closest to WordPerfect's parallel columns. (Side-by-side paragraphs were a great feature in Word for DOS. I know of at least one user—me—who regularly misses the feature.)

The only workaround for this in Word is to use tables to emulate parallel columns. (In fact, if you import a WordPerfect document that contains parallel columns into Word, Word converts them to a table.) All you need to do is create a single-row table with either two or three columns. (If you use a three-column table, the center column can be used for white space between the outside columns.) Simply start typing in the left-most and right-most columns. Your table depth will expand, as necessary, even across multiple pages.

The only drawback with the table approach is that Word assumes you want a border around your table. You will need to remove the border from the table using any number of methods described in other WordTips articles. You may also need to play with the table layout so that your columns are the desired width and that they appear "proper" in relation to the other text in your document.

Another potential drawback is if your single-row table runs a large number of pages in length. If your table fits on two, three, or even five pages, you should be fine. If it is longer than that, then you need to make sure you break the table into multiple rows, as appropriate for your content, otherwise your document could become unstable. (WordPerfect users shouldn't be too smug about Word's instability with large, single-row tables. A quick search through WordPerfect's Knowledge Base shows instability problems with excessively long parallel columns as well.)

If you know that the content of your parallel columns will fit on a single page, then you can also use text boxes. Simply place your text boxes side-by-side and place the text that you want in them. You can format the text boxes to appear as you desire. If your content runs multiple pages, you can also use linked text boxes to flow the text properly from one page to another.

Another way to emulate parallel columns is to use the regular columns feature of Word. This approach will only work if the content in the columns will fit on a single page. All you need to do is place the second-column content right after the first-column content. You can then separate the content by a column break (press Shift+Ctrl+Enter).

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6206) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using Parallel 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

Tracked Changes Won't Go Away

Track Changes is a great tool when editing a document, but the ways that it affects your document can sometimes be ...

Discover More

Keyboard Shortcut for Switching between Workbooks

When you use Excel with multiple workbooks open at the same time, you can use the ribbon tools to switch between ...

Discover More

Dissecting a String

VBA is a versatile programming language. It is especially good at working with string data. Here are the different VBA ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing the Number of Columns

If you need to change the number of columns used in a portion of your document, it's easy to do when you use the Columns ...

Discover More

Disappearing Column Formatting

Two things go into making your documents look just right: content and formatting. If the formatting seems to disappear on ...

Discover More

Mixing Column Formats On a Page

Want to switch the number of columns used for your text, in the middle of a page? You can do this very easily by ...

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 five more than 0?

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 ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu 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.