Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Adding Vertical Lines Between Columns.

Adding Vertical Lines between Columns

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 14, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

As you already know, Word allows you to add columns to your page layout. As part of your page layout, you may decide to add vertical lines between each column on your page. To do this, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point at the beginning of the material you want to appear in columns.
Display the Page Layout (Layout if you are using Word 2016 or a later version) tab of the ribbon.
Click the Columns tool and then click More Columns. Word displays the Columns dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Columns dialog box.

Specify the number of columns desired, as you normally would. (You need to specify at least 2 columns, but if you are already using 2 or more columns in your layout and you don't want to change the number of columns, leave this setting unchanged.)
In the Apply To box, select whether you want this change to apply to the whole document or just the current section of the document (if you have multiple sections in your document). Alternatively, you can choose This Point Forward, which causes Word to apply columns beginning where the insertion point is located.
Click on the Line Between check box. (The check box is available only if you choose two or more columns.)
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 (8877) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Adding Vertical Lines Between 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Printing All Open Documents

Have a bunch of documents you need to print? If all the documents are open, you can use a handy little macro to print ...

Discover More

Using the WEEKNUM Function

Need to know which week of the year a particular date falls within? Excel provides the WEEKNUM function so you can easily ...

Discover More

Determining if a Document is Corrupt

Think you might have a corrupt document? There is no easy way to tell if this is the case, but there are some things you ...

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 (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

Setting Up Multi-page Columns

Do you need a page layout that features columns that progress vertically across pages instead of horizontally across a ...

Discover More

Displaying a Column Number

Word allows you to format your document to use columns. If you want to number those columns for a printout, Word provides ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four more than 0?

2019-10-29 15:59:32

Janis Boyd

Unless you specifically want to use newspaper columns I think using tables offers far superior control of formatting columns.

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.