CSS Multiple Columns

The CSS multi-column layout allows easy definition of multiple columns of text - just like in newspapers

CSS Multi-column Layout

The CSS multi-column layout allows easy definition of multiple columns of text - just like in newspapers:

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CSS Multi-column Properties

In this chapter you will learn about the following multi-column properties:

  • column-count
  • column-gap
  • column-rule-style
  • column-rule-width
  • column-rule-color
  • column-rule
  • column-span
  • column-width
  • Browser Support

    The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

    Property
    column-count 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-gap 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-rule 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-rule-color 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-rule-style 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-rule-width 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0
    column-span 50.0 10.0 71.0 9.0 37.0
    column-width 50.0 10.0 52.0 9.0 37.0

    CSS Create Multiple Columns

    The column-count property specifies the number of columns an element should be divided into.

    The following example will divide the text in the <div> element into 3 columns: 

    Example

    div {
      column-count: 3;
    }

    CSS Specify the Gap Between Columns

    The column-gap property specifies the gap between the columns.

    The following example specifies a 40 pixels gap between the columns:

    Example

    div {
      column-gap: 40px;
    }

    CSS Column Rules

    The column-rule-style property specifies the style of the rule between columns:

    Example

    div {
      column-rule-style: solid;
    }

    The column-rule-width property specifies the width of the rule between columns:

    Example

    div {
      column-rule-width: 1px;
    }

    The column-rule-color property specifies the color of the rule between columns:

    Example

    div {
      column-rule-color: lightblue;
    }

    The column-rule property is a shorthand property for setting all the column-rule-* properties above.

    The following example sets the width, style, and color of the rule between columns:

    Example

    div {
      column-rule: 1px solid lightblue;
    }

    Specify How Many Columns an Element Should Span

    The column-span property specifies how many columns an element should span across.

    The following example specifies that the <h2> element should span across all columns:

    Example

    h2 {
      column-span: all;
    }

    Specify The Column Width

    The column-width property specifies a suggested, optimal width for the columns.

    The following example specifies that the suggested, optimal width for the columns should be 100px:

    Example

    div {
      column-width: 100px;
    }

    CSS Multi-columns Properties

    The following table lists all the multi-columns properties: 

    Property Description
    column-count Specifies the number of columns an element should be divided into
    column-fill Specifies how to fill columns
    column-gap Specifies the gap between the columns
    column-rule A shorthand property for setting all the column-rule-* properties
    column-rule-color Specifies the color of the rule between columns
    column-rule-style Specifies the style of the rule between columns
    column-rule-width Specifies the width of the rule between columns
    column-span Specifies how many columns an element should span across
    column-width Specifies a suggested, optimal width for the columns
    columns A shorthand property for setting column-width and column-count