To select a preset to modify, click the desired preset button in the “Presets” section. Choose your column options by using the buttons, spinner boxes, checkboxes, and drop-down in this dialog box. The “Columns” dialog box lets you set the number, width, and spacing of the columns. To apply a preset column layout in Word, then click one of the listed preset column options.Īlternatively, to apply a custom column layout in Word, click the “More Columns” command to open the “Columns” dialog box. Then click the “Columns” drop-down button. Then click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon. Alternatively, you can select the text to separate into columns. To create columns in Word, place your cursor where you want the columns to start. You can either select the text first or you can create a different section to which to add the columns. If you want to add columns to only a part of your document, you have two options. Also note that you can add columns to your whole document or to a selected section within a document. When you create columns in Word, the text flows from one column to the next on the same page. This is helpful for separating text vertically. You may need to create columns in Word for documents that need them, like a newsletter.