How to Format Two Columns to One Column in Word and Google Doc

Here’s how to convert text from two columns to one column in Microsoft Word:

Option 1: For the whole document

1. Open your Word document.

2. Select all the text by pressing Ctrl + A.

3. Go to the Layout tab (or Page Layout, depending on your version).

4. Click on Columns in the “Page Setup” group.

5. Choose One from the dropdown menu.

Option 2: For part of the document

If only part of your text is in columns:

1. Highlight the section you want to change.

2. Go to the Layout tab → Click Columns → Select One.

3. Word will remove the column format from just the selected text.

Optional Cleanup:

Sometimes, when text was previously in columns, you might see strange line breaks or formatting issues.

To fix that:

• Press Ctrl + H to open Find and Replace.

• You can search for manual line breaks (^l) or paragraph marks (^p) and replace them with a space or nothing, depending on what you need.

Here’s how to convert two-column text into a single column in Google Docs:

Step-by-step in Google Docs:

If the entire document is in columns:

1. Open your Google Doc.

2. Go to the Format menu at the top.

3. Hover over Columns.

4. Click on the one-column layout (the first option on the left).

If only part of the document is in columns:

1. Select the text that’s currently in two columns.

2. Go to Format → Columns → choose the single column layout.

3. That selected section will now return to a normal, one-column format.

Optional cleanup:

If the text looks broken up (due to extra line breaks), you can:

1. Use Find and Replace (Ctrl + H).

2. Find: type \n or just press Enter once in the Find box.

3. Replace with: a space or nothing.

4. Click Replace All.

Google Docs doesn’t always support advanced cleanup like Word, so some manual fixes may be needed.

Here’s a quick visual step-by-step guide for converting text from two columns to one in Google Docs:

STEP 1: Open Your Document

Open your Google Docs file that contains the text in two columns.

STEP 2: Select the Columned Text

Use your mouse to highlight the section that’s in two columns. If the entire document is in columns, you don’t have to select anything.

STEP 3: Go to Format > Columns

• At the top menu, click Format.

• Hover over Columns.

• A small menu will pop out with options.

STEP 4: Select “One Column”

• Click the first icon (the single column layout).

• Your text will immediately revert to one column.

STEP 5 (Optional): Clean Up Formatting

If the text looks broken (too many line breaks):

• Press Ctrl + H (or go to Edit > Find and Replace).

• In the Find box, press Shift + Enter to insert a line break.

• In the Replace box, type a space or leave it blank.

• Click Replace all.