I want to make multiple column in LibreOffice Writer.
For example, in first page I just want to use One column, but in the second page I want to use Two column.
I have tried anything I knew in LO, like column break, or insert Section, or just block the the entire second page and choose Two column, but the first page followed the second page, so it became 2 pages with 2 column.
Any solution?
Thanks before
You could just select everything from the second page on, and Insert → Section. Then you name the section, go to the columns tab, and select 2 columns. Every setting inside a section overrides the page setting, so the rest of the document will remain 1 column. Also, instead of manually placing the section in the second page, you could go to the beginning of it, and Insert-> Manual break… And select a page break, so everything you write in the first page, won’t affect the rest of the document.
Regards…
Brilliant! Thank you (6 years later)!
Wow! I love this!
Please see this answer. Multi-column layouts are very much possible in LibreOffice Writer and they are actually much more flexible than they are in Microsoft Word. With sections (and sections within sections), a very complex layout can be defined. If you know some HTML, you can better understand what sections are by comparing them to div elements. Sections are a generic block-level division of the document that allow the definition of a layout that arbitrarily differs from the default layout of the document. By naming sections, you can even give them different “classes” based on their purpose and reproduce them in different parts of the document.
All this courtesy of the excellent ODF 1.2 spec.
The columns number is defined in the Page style, I think you need create one second page style without columns. Sometimes a good approach and more flexible is using tables.
Tables are actually much less flexible and should not be used for multi-column content. Flexibly defining complex multi-column layouts is very efficient with sections.
@CyanCG Thanks for questioning my earlier comment. I made a test. Column can be set for each section in serval ways. VERY EASY!.
Thus the answer to the very first question should be, column settings can be changer per page or per section. If done per section on one page there are several column settings possible.
Writer adjust the lines in each column very well.
LibO 3.5.7.2
Awesome, thanks for clarifying this. By the way, the ODF 1.2 spec describes an even more fine-grained model in which multiple columns are allowed even in footnotes and other such marginal constructs. I have yet to get it to work in 3.6, but it should be implemented someday!
Footnotes for each column sounds great and is actually the logical consequence. I envy you for having the knowledge and expertise to work on such a topic. Good luck!!!
I beg your pardon, I made it sound like I am working on it, but that’s not the case. I am not a developer, I am just a novice coder who tries to document himself as much as possible. However, I will definitely make a formal feature request when I understand exactly what to ask for.
still you are light years ahead of me.
… I will try to catch up…
The last answer by marisov is not particularly helpful. The issue to be addressed here is why section breaks do not permit multiple column formats on a single page. I have no answer to that question, which must come from a developer.
The only work-around I’ve discovered is using frames to push text aside, and to insert columns into the frames. That kind of layout starts to become too complex for the current capabilities of Libre Office; better off using a quasi layout tool, or a professional desktop publishing program.
I have abandoned trying to use columns in LO Writer because the whole concept as a feature hasn’t been carefully enough thought through.
Until section breaks do actually create entirely new, independent sections, the idea of columns seems premature for LO Writer.
Best of luck
In fact, sections enable very complex multi-column layouts. Please think carefully before posting such an answer, as you are giving other readers the impression that LibreOffice is less capable than it actually is. It is true that some functions are hard to find and use, but they’re there.
What is more, the answer you refer to is no longer “the last answer”.
“… why section breaks do not permit multiple column formats on a single page…” I hope someone addressed this already such a feature to the dev team. IMHO this is the only good way to do it.
But is it not already possible to create multiple sections, even on the same page, and give them different column layouts? Maybe I’m missing something here… I confess that I don’t know about section breaks and do not use them, but I do use sections. and they work quite well.
I need one or two pages nicely devided into two colums.
It looks easy: in Page select /menu/Format/Page/colum/2/Apply. You can see (on the light gray lines on the page) that the page is nicely devided into two.
Only I can’t manage to select the most right column? That’s a pity otherwise it was the perfect solution for me. I am using LO 4.0.4.2 (Build ID: 400m0(Build:2)) in xubuntu.
Maybe: menu Insert → Manual Break… → Column break.