CSS Multiple Columns

CSS Multi-column Layout

The CSS multi-column layout allows easy definition of multiple columns of text:

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

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

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:

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:

div {  
    column-gap:  40px;  
}

CSS Column Rules

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

div {  
    column-rule-style:  solid;  
}

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

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

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

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:

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:

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:

div {  
    column-width:  100px;  
}