Word – How to balance columns in MS Word to make them of equal length

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How can I balance the two columns of text written in MS Word (see the picture) to make them of equal length?

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Best Answer

How can I balance the two columns of text to make them of equal length?

The following instructions are written for three columns, but should also work for two columns.

If this doesn't work, it is because Word will not override the "keep together" and "keep with" paragraph settings, and you may need to adjust these to give Word the freedom to balance the columns more equally.

See Keeping Paragraphs on the Same Page for more information.

Making Columns the Same Length

The concept of making column lengths (or, more precisely, column depths) the same as each other is referred to as balancing.

Balanced column depth provides a more pleasing appearance on the printed page, but it can be more complicated than one would expect.

The biggest complication is calculating the vertical space required for the columns.

The reason is because vertical space is affected by such settings as line spacing, paragraph spacing (before and after), and font sizes used. Also affecting vertical text flow (from column to column) will be things like your "keep together" and "keep with" paragraph settings, as well as whether there are objects within the columns (graphics or text boxes) around which the text must flow.

Since this flow of text among the columns can be affected by so many different things, it is best to allow Word, itself, to do the balancing. The easiest way to force Word to make the "tough decisions" is to simply put a continuous section break after the text in the third column. Follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point at the end of the text in the third column.
  2. Display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click on the drop-down arrow at the right of the Breaks tool. Word displays a number of types of breaks you could enter.
  4. Choose the Continuous option. Word inserts the section break.

That's it; Word does its best to balance the depth of each of the three columns. If you later add text, delete text, or change formatting in the three columns, Word will once again automatically attempt to balance out the columns.

Source Making Columns the Same Length

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