Special Edition Using Microsoft® Office XP

Formatting a Document with Columns

Another section-formatting option controls the number of newspaper-like snaking columns within the section. You might be tempted to use multiple columns for laying out newsletters and brochures, or (not surprisingly) newspapers. But before you try, take a closer look at the nuances.

Snaking newspaper-like columns might not work the way you're expecting: They run from top to bottom, and there's no rebalancing for a page break. If you have, say, 12 items in a section that's set up with three columns, they'll appear arranged as in Table 16.2.

Table 16.2. Sequence of Snaking Columns

Item 1	Item 5	Item 9
Item 2	Item 6	Item 10
Item 3	Item 7	Item 11
Item 4	Item 8	Item 12

However, if you add a page break between, say, ...