CSS3 multiple-column layout browser support
Property Internet
Explorer
Firefox Safari Chrome Opera
column-width
column-count
≥ 10
(2012)
≥ 1.5
(2005)
≥ 3
(2007)
≥ 1
(2008)
≥ 11.1
(2011)
columns ≥ 10
(2012)
≥ 9
(2011)
≥ 3
(2007)
≥ 1
(2008)
≥ 11.1
(2011)
break-before
break-after
break-inside
≥ 10
(2012)
≥ 65
(2019)
≥ 10
(2016)
≥ 65
(2016)
≥ 15
(2013)

The div col (short for division columns) formats a list into columns that wrap at multiple screen resolutions responsively. It automatically breaks the available screen space into equal parts, meaning, for instance, that it is not necessary to guess how many columns to use and then figure out the dividing point(s), e.g., the halfway point to divide the list into two columns, or the one-third and two-thirds points to divide the list into three columns.

Basic usage

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{{div col}}<!-- default width is 30em -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h

Parameters

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There are six parameters for this template:

|colwidth=
Specifies the minimum width of the columns so that the number of columns is automatically based on screen width (that is, more columns will be shown on wider displays). If no value is supplied, the template uses a default of 30em. The width can be specified in any CSS unit of measure, for instance, the em (about the width of the capital "M" of the displayed typeface), e.g., colwidth=20em.
|rules=yes
Adds vertical lines ("rules") between the columns if set to yes.
|gap=
Specifies the space between the content of adjacent columns, in any valid CSS width unit, e.g., gap=2em. The default spacing (set by browser) is 1em.
|class=
An HTML class, or multiple space-delimited classes, to apply to the columns. For example, class=plainlist nowrap.
|style=
CSS styling to apply to the columns.
|small=yes
Sets font size to 90%.
|content=
Content to apply to the columns. This parameter is effectively equivalent to {{columns-list}}, which is a pass-through for this template.

Examples

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Colwidth

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{{div col|colwidth=10em}} <!-- column width of 10em -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h
{{div col|colwidth=10em|rules=yes}} <!-- column width of 10em with rules -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h
{{div col|colwidth=10em|rules=yes|gap=2em}} <!-- column width of 10em with rules and a gap of 2em -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h
{{div col|small=yes}} <!-- Small = yes -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h

Content

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{{div col|colwidth=10em|content= <!-- content parameter doesn't need {{div col end}} -->
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h

Multiple parameters

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{{div col|colwidth=10em|rules=yes|gap=2em|small=yes}}
* a
* b
* c
* d
* e
* f
* g
* h
{{div col end}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
  • d
  • e
  • f
  • g
  • h

Text characters without list markup

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{{div col|colwidth=10em}} <!--Text characters without list markup -->
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
{{div col end}}

Produces

a b c d e f g h

Lorem ipsum

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{{div col}} <!--Lorem ipsum -->
{{lorem ipsum}}
{{div col end}}

Produces

Templet:Lorem/p-condLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing 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.Templet:Lorem/p-end-cond

Limitation

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Sub-lists

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The underlying CSS system is unable to break sub-lists into columns. Note the uneven formatting below:

{{div col|colwidth=10em|rules=yes|gap=2em|style=column-count:3|content=
* a
* b
* c
** c.d
** c.e
** c.f
* g
* h
}}

Produces:

  • a
  • b
  • c
    • c.d
    • c.e
    • c.f
  • g
  • h

Turning off the break-inside: avoid-column; rule appears to help.

Tracking categories

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TemplateData

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This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. Click here to see a monthly parameter usage report for this template based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for Div col

Breaks a list into columns. It automatically breaks each column to an equal space, so you do not manually have to find the half way point on two columns. The list is provided by |content= or closed with {{div col end}}.

Template parameters

ParameterDescriptionTypeStatus
Column widthcolwidth

Specifies the width of columns, and determines dynamically the number of columns based on screen width; more columns will be shown on wider displays.

Example
30em
Stringoptional
Rulesrules

Produces vertical rules between the columns if set to yes.

Example
yes
Stringoptional
Gap sizegap

Specifies the space between the content of adjacent columns.

Example
2em
Stringoptional
HTML classclass

Specifies any class or multiple space-delimited classes.

Example
plainlist nowrap
Stringoptional
CSS stylestyle

Specifies any custom styling.

Stringoptional
Contentcontent

Specifies the content to divide into columns

Contentoptional
Small fontsmall

Use a smaller font size (90%)

Example
yes
Stringoptional

Redirects

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See also

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Column-generating template families

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The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a HTML "div" (division) open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates
Type Family
Handles wiki
 table code?dagger
Responsive/
Mobile suited
Start template Column divider End template
Float "col-float" Yes Yes {{col-float}} {{col-float-break}} {{col-float-end}}
"columns-start" Yes Yes {{columns-start}} {{column}} {{columns-end}}
Columns "div col" Yes Yes {{div col}} {{div col end}}
"columns-list" No Yes {{columns-list}} (wraps div col)
Flexbox "flex columns" No Yes {{flex columns}}
Table "col" Yes No {{col-begin}},
{{col-begin-fixed}} or
{{col-begin-small}}
{{col-break}} or
{{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}
{{col-end}}

dagger Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.