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A professional report has to be organized, visually appealing, and easy to read. Multi-column layouts can help with all three, which is part of the reason why newspapers, magazines, and scientific publications use them. The good news is that multi-column layouts are not exclusive to big publishers—you may easily use them in Word too.
What Is a Multi-Column Layout?
A multi-column layout, as the name implies, separates your document’s text into multiple columns. It is quite popular in magazines, brochures, newspapers, and scientific articles.
A multi-column layout isn’t for aesthetics alone; it helps to save space, makes the document easier to scan, and can be used to organize separate sections in the text.
Microsoft Word offersflexible page layout settingsthat allow you to customize the number of columns in your document, whether the multi-column layout applies to the entire document or a section of it, as well as the column width and spacing.
Adding Columns to the Entire Document
To add columns to a document, go to theLayouttab, selectColumns, and chooseTwoorThreeto separate your text into either two or three 3-inch columns with 0.15-inch space between them. For more than three columns, selectMore Columnsand enter your desired number in theNumber of Columnsbox. you’re able to create up to thirteen text columns in Microsoft Word.
To restore the default number of columns, simply selectOnecolumn from the drop-down list inColumns.
Adding Columns to a Single Paragraph
To add columns to a paragraph and keep the rest of the document in the default, one-column layout, select the paragraph, go toLayout>Columns, and choose your preferred option from the drop-down list. The paragraph will be split into columns while the rest of the text remains the same.
Adding Columns to a Section
Section breaks allow you to use a multi-column layout in a single section of the document. you’re able to add a section break by navigating toLayout>Breaks>Section Breaks. Then, choose where you want the next section to start: the next page, the same page, the next even-numbered page, or the next odd-numbered page. Once section breaks are in place before and after a particular point, you can apply a multi-column format to only that section.
Next, place your cursor within the section, selectLayout>Columns, and choose the number of columns you want to add.
To make section breaks visible, navigate to theHometab, and select the Show/Hide button (Pilcrow symbol) from theParagraphgroup.
Tips for Making a Professional Report
After adding columns to your document, you can make your report look more professional with the following:
1. Use Text Wrapping for Images
Word’s text wrappingallows the images in your document to blend seamlessly with the text. To apply text wrapping, select the picture, click theLayout Optionsicon next to it, and pick a text wrap layout from theWith Text Wrappingoptions. you’re able to now resize your image outside the column’s boundaries and have the text flow naturally around the image.
2. Customize Beyond Presets
You can customize your multi-column layout further by selectingMore Columnsfrom theColumnsmenu. In the next window, you can add up to 13 columns, customize their width and spacing individually (uncheck theEqual column widthbox), and add lines between the columns.
3. Use Column Breaks
Column breaks can be used to control the flow of text within columns. You can use it to force a line in one column to start in the next column. To insert a column break, use the shortcutCtrl + Shift + Enteror select Column fromLayout>Breaks.
Multi-column layouts can elevate your report’s visual appeal and readability. They are quite easy to set up and customize. You can experiment with different column layouts—like two or three columns or uneven column widths—to see which one fits your document best.Tables are another great way to organize informationin Microsoft Word.
