How To Make Paragraphs Span 2 Columns In Adobe InDesign CC

Hi there, in this video we're going to look at the secrets of splitting and spanning columns, where we take this first paragraph that I really want to cross over both columns, and these guys down the bottom here, I want them to be in separate little columns, within a column. We can do that simply and easily within InDesign like this. So this one spans, this one splits, it's all just one text box, not lots of text boxes all hacked together. Let's go and learn how to do that now in InDesign.

First thing we need to do is, we've got a single text box here, I'm on page 4. Our text box spans both these two columns. I want to split it to match our column guides down the back there. To do it with the Black Arrow, have it selected, and along here you should be able to see the number of columns. I'm going to have two. We're going to match the gutter which is the space between the columns that we did earlier on, and it was 54 pixels. I said I'll match up. This kind of shows you-- I'm going to hit 'W' to show the preview. I want my first paragraph actually to span both of these columns, and the text to suck underneath. You can do it easily, grab the Type tool, click anywhere in this first paragraph. And along the top here, we need to go from 'Character' to 'Paragraph'. Then along on the right, quite far along, you need to find this little guy, looks like a, I don't know, bridge or the outer trail on for something. And we're going to go from 'None' and we're going to 'Span All'. And, it goes and spans that whole column.

That's really handy especially if you're being in the past just putting him in his own text box. Now you don't have to, you can flow along with the rest of the text. That can also be kept in a Paragraph style, make it super easy to use. So that is how to span columns. Let's look at how to split columns. I'm going to go to our 'Exercise Files'. I want you to go into '03 Magazine', and double click 'Magazine Text'. What we'll do is we'll copy this out. This little chunk here, 'Wood Types', I'm going to copy it. I'm going to jump back into InDesign. And I'm going to make a space for it, about there. I'm going to paste it in. Now, what I'd like to is, this 'Wood Types' I'm actually just going to make it bold, because it's going to be my heading. There's these six options down the bottom here. I would like them to be kind of side by side, in a nice set of columns.

Now I could copy and paste these out into another separate text box, split that into three columns, then try and paste it back in as an in line graphic, and it will work but it's not as easy as this option. So with all three of them selected with the Type tool, switch to 'Paragraph'. And the same place we were a second ago, instead of spanning, we're going to split too. So it's going to split these column into two parts. So we've got kind of too many columns within another column. Super useful, super quick.

I'm going to add bullet points while I'm here. You can see, it's just a really nice quick easy way to add those columns rather than jumping out to another text box or trying to play around with tabs.

All right, that's going to be it for splitting and spanning columns. Let's get on to the next video.