Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 26, 2019)

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 Word in Microsoft 365. 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

Adjusting Shadow Settings

Insert a graphic into a document and Word allows you to add a shadow behind the graphic. You can also adjust the ...

Discover More

Calculating Weekend Dates

Do you look forward to the weekend? Well, you can use Excel to let you know when the next weekend begins. Here's how you ...

Discover More

Replacing the Style of a Paragraph that Follows a Heading

Do you need to change the style assigned to a paragraph depending on the style of the previous paragraph? This is the ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Quickly Changing Columns

You can use the Columns tool, available on the Page Layout or Layout tab (depending on which version of Word you are ...

Discover More

Making Columns the Same Length

Balancing the length of each column in a multi-column page layout can be a challenge. Here's a quick way to get Word to ...

Discover More

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

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 seven less than 7?

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.