Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: Changing the Number of Columns in the Middle of a Document.
For some document layouts, columns can be used to present your information clearly and concisely. What if you already have a document and you want to format only part of it in columns? As an example, let's assume you have a five-page document, and you want to format the center part of page two as three columns. You want the rest of the document to remain a single column. To accomplish this formatting challenge, you can follow these steps:
That's it; the section between the two section breaks is formatted to use the number of columns you specified.
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2021-07-07 16:31:44
Annette Carlson
Hi Allen,
Another quick and easy way to change text to columns is to select the text, With the text still selected, go to the Layout Tab, click columns, and select the # columns you want. Done.
2021-07-03 10:36:52
Jane
You can replace steps 3-7 with a single step of selecting the text you want to appear in columns. The Columns tool automatically inserts the necessary continuous section breaks-- at least it does so in Word 2016.
2021-07-03 06:22:50
Padraig McCarthy
Number of columns: you list 9 steps. How about 4?
1. Within the document, select the passage in your usual way.
2. Alt+O (for Format) and type C (for Columns)
3. In the Columns dialog box, select parameters: Number of columns, Width & Spacing, and Line between if desired.
4. Click Okay.
Done!
I use Word 2010, so check for your version.
If your selection is to the end of the document and you want to revert to the original arrangement of columns, just click back one space at the end of the selection before doing the above.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: 
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