# of columns on M.W 2000 (XP 2000 Proff. SP2)

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Simple question… When I purchased my current computer I asked the shop owner to transfer all the previous programs from the old one [which I seem to recall in a “Word” document] offered up to as many as twelve columns whereas this one has a maximum of four. Am I right in assuming that the old one must have had a later version of Word than that currently installed, i.e. were the number of columns increased in versions 2002 onwards & what other features were added after 2000 that makes it worth while upgrading to 2002 or 2003? I appreciate that many will find 2000 quite adequate and that it is a matter of preference but (as I said) do the versions after 2000 offer many more enhanced features that make an upgrade worth while? Thanks Dave.

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Just to check I have understood correctly. Are you talking about the maximum number of columns in a Word table?

This has been greater than 12 for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think any version of Word ever limited tables to just 4 columns.

According to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 211489, Word 2000 supported up to 63 table columns, and up to 45 newspaper columns (depending on page size and margins).

StuartR

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The maximum number of text columns in a document is the same for Word 2000, 2002 and 2003. It depends on the page size and margin settings.
On an A4 page with 1″ margins, I can create 12 columns in portrait mode, and 19 in landscape mode.
Try increasing the number of columns in the box outlined in the screenshot below.

For almost any purpose, Word 2000 is sufficient. The new additions in Word 2002 and 2003 aren’t spectacular.

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A thousand thanks yet again, as I’ve remarked before, simple when you know how. If I had had the presence of mind I would have taken a screen shot which would have explained exactly what I meant, thus fewer words would have been necessary and no ambiguity would have ensued. I was under the impression that because clicking on the columns tab in the tool bar showed only 4, (see attachment) that was the max but as your screen shot clearly indicates Hans, that is not the case. Thanks for the info but (just as a matter of interest) why is it clicking on the said tab shows four columns in the drop down box, why not two, or three, or would it be more fitting to pose that question to the guys who devised the system in the fist place? Many thanks again for the much appreciated patience you gentlemen exercise when dealing with guys like me who at times don’t know quite how to formulate the question and the expertise you are so willing to share. Regards Dave.

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The toolbar button presents the most common options: 1, 2, 3 and 4 columns of equal width, with the default spacing.
For more advanced settings, such as more columns or columns of unequal width, you need to use the Format | Columns dialog.

Word uses the same approach for other settings too: for example, the Formatting toolbar presents a few options for font and paragraph formatting, while the Format | Font and Format | Paragraph dialog offer much more options.

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Great stuff Hans, another little bit of info to burn to my H/D though at just a few full moons to go before I reach 70, me thinks it is time for a thorough Defrag to keep it working at optimum speed, whatever that is? By the way I know you answered this in a previous post and it is somewhat out of sync here but hitting the Alt key together with M does not always bring the desktop into “Focus” (which is how Suzanne S. Barnhill [an MVP from another forum] describes the function). I know to kick it into action all that is required sometimes is to click the screen but as I have mentioned before, I am searching for every tip that enables me to use keyboard short cuts instead of the dreaded mouse. Thank you again Dave.

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That’s more a Windows question than a Word question, but there are two shortcuts to show the desktop that should work from within any application: WinKey+M (for minimize) and WinKey+D (for desktop), where WinKey is the key with the Windows logo between the Ctrl and Alt keys in the lower left corner of the keyboard.

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