Template:Multicol/doc

Usage

{{Multicol}} is used to start a multi-column section of a page. Between each block of column text insert {{Multicol-break}}, between each section (which will keep the same column spacing) add {{Multicol-section}} and close the last column with {{Multicol-end}}. For example:

 {{Multicol}}
 This text appears in the first column.
 {{Multicol-break}}
 This text appears in the second column.
 {{Multicol-break}}
 This text appears in the third column.
 {{Multicol-end}}

You can have any number of columns. Each column will be the same width, equally dividing the available horizontal space. Each column has a small right margin (20 pixels), creating a "gutter" that prevents text in one column from touching text in the column to its right. See franl's user page for examples of how this template can be used.

Alternative templates

This template is only suitable when the content must be in exact columns and must always be side-by-side. This will cause the columns to be extremely narrow on small screens (a common phone size is around 23em across, which means a 2 column layout is only 11em per column and a 3 column layout less than 8em). If the exact break location is unimportant, use {{div col}}, which can automatically reduce column count on smaller screens. This is often more suitable for lists, where the exact line the new column starts is not important.

{{flex wrap centre}} is similar to this template in that the column break is fixed. However, that template will auto-wrap the "columns" into a vertical layout when the screen is too small to fit them side-by-side. This is often more suitable for images that appear side-by-side on paper.

Parameters

This template has four optional parameters

• width, 1: The overall width of the set of columns (use auto to shrink to content)
• align: Alignment of the overall set of columns
• line: Interstitial line format.
• gap, 2: The width of the gutter

Overall width

The overall width of the set of columns is set in {{multicol}} as the first parameter. It can be an absolute value (e.g., 40em) or a percentage of the available page width (e.g., 50%). This parameter defaults to 100%. For example, to create a multi-column section that is only 50% the width of the page:

{{Multicol|50%}}
This text appears in the first column.
{{Multicol-break}}
This text appears in the second column.
{{Multicol-break}}
This text appears in the third column.
{{Multicol-section}}
This text appears in the next row, first column.
{{Multicol-break}}
This text appears in the next row, second column.
{{Multicol-end}}

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Alignment

The multi-column region is positioned on the left side of the containing block by default. To change this, adjust the "align" parameter in {{multicol}} to "center" or "right"

 {{Multicol|50%|align=center}}
 ...
 {{Multicol-end}}

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Margins

The margins can easily be changed by adjusting the second parameter in {{multicol}} or the first in {{multicol-break}}. You do not specify it in {{multicol-end}}. The margins occur on the left and right of the block, so you should specify half the actual separation you want.

{{Multicol||40px}}
This text appears in the first column.
{{Multicol-break|40px}}
This text appears in the second column.
{{Multicol-end}}

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Line format

The third parameter controls a line between the blocks. This parameter is named "line" and cannot be accessed using positional arguments. It must be specified in {{multicol}} and {{multicol-break}}. The line format is given in the CSS way, eg "1px solid black", "2px dashed red", etc.

{{Multicol|line=1px solid black}}
This text appears in the first column.
{{Multicol-break|line=1px solid black}}
This text appears in the second column.
{{Multicol-end}}

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Other style

the |style= parameter may be used to define other styles not covered above.

Technical notes

This template uses a table to achieve the columns. Consider using a table if it is clearer in context than using this template.

See also

• {{multicol}}, {{multicol-break}}, {{multicol-section}}, {{multicol-end}}, this template uses a table to create multiple columns of text. You need to place the breaks explicitly, but they will never move.
• {{div col}}, {{div col end}}, which uses CSS3 properties to create columns dynamically. The reader's browser will choose where best to put the breaks, so the layout cannot be guaranteed not to change. This one is good for lists, as you don't need to worry about placing {{multicol-break}}s.