Template:Multicol/doc

Usage
or  is used to start a multi-columned section of a page. Between each column's contents, insert  or   and close the last column with   or. For example:

[or ] First column's contents. [or ] Second column's contents.

Third column's contents. [or ]

…produces:

First column's contents.

Second column's contents.

Third column's contents.

Each column will be the same width (equally dividing the available horizontal space) and will include a small 20-pixel righthand margin (a "gutter") that prevents the contents in one column from touching those in the column to its right. (For further examples of how this template can be used, see User:franl's userpage.)

While it is technically possible to have many columns, accessibility implies that the use of any more than four or five should usually be avoided. If the number of items listed is fewer than six (e.g. fewer than two columns of three items), a column-based format is probably also best avoided.

Parameters
This template has two optional parameters: the overall width of the set of columns and the width of the gutter. The overall width of the set of columns can be an absolute value (e.g. ) or a percentage of the available page width (e.g.  ). It defaults to. The second parameter is the gutter used between columns (which, as mentioned above, defaults to 20px).

/ also takes an optional parameter for the gutter to its right, defaulting to 20px.

Example
To create a three-column section, with four-pixel righthand gutters, that extends across 50% of the available width:

First column's contents.

Second column's contents.

Third column's contents.

Result:

First column's contents.

Second column's contents.

Third column's contents.

A umned region is left-aligned with regard to the area of the page (the "block") it occupies. This may be switched to a centered or righthand alignment thus:

......
 * Centered

......
 * Righthand side

Related templates
Layouts rendered by Multicol and accompanying templates may also be produced by Col-begin and its accompanying templates, but, depending on context and requirements, it may be easier to use one set rather than the other. Each of the following examples produce the same three-column table in which all columns have equal width:

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

It's simpler to add more columns to the Multicol example than to the Col-begin example, because in the latter case, all occurrences of Col-3 would need to be changed to Col-4.

These templates groups are not interchangeable. If you start with Multicol, but end with the plain col-end templates, then you'll have an unclosed   tag that can harm the formatting of the rest of the page. The problems created by mixing these templates is not easily visible for all users, so please don't assume that it's working properly just because it looks right for you. If you start with Multicol, then you must use Multicol-break and Multicol-end, not col-break and col-end (and vice versa).