Notion is a powerful planning and note-taking program that caters to both organizations and individuals, allowing them to manage projects, tasks, documentation, to-do lists, and a whole lot more. While it’s certainly a handy app, getting started on the platform be a bit of a challenge.
To kickstart your journey, we’ll walk you through one of the more fundamental functions; how to make columns in Notion.
While this can be done through various approaches, it’s as easy as either typing a front slash, inputting a hotkey combination, or just dragging and dropping blocks. We’ll also teach you some other nifty tricks, like evening out spacing and adding divider bars.
How to Make Columns in Notion Through Various Methods
There are several ways to create columns in Notion, including a:
- Front Slash method
- Hotkey method
- Drag and drop method.
Keep in mind that any of the aforementioned techniques allow you to create anywhere between two to five columns.
1. Type Front Slash Followed by the Word “Column”
To make two columns in Notion, start by bringing up the block options pop-up via the forward slash (/) symbol.
- Head to the page where you’d like to create your Notion columns.
- Left-click an empty block on the page to place your keyboard cursor on it. Next, type in the slash (/) symbol. You should see a small pop-up on the page where you can cycle through all of the available block options.
- Following the front slash (/) symbol, type the word “column.” The options in the pop-up will focus on anything column-related. Notion allows between 2-5 columns to be added, Choose whichever option you need.
2. Use The Control + Forward Slash Hotkey
You can also create Notion columns by using one of the program’s many hotkeys. Hotkeys are a key (or a combination of keys) that provide a shortcut to access one of an app’s functions. In the case of adding columns, we’ll be using a hotkey to make the block options appear. From there, we can select column-specific functions.
- Head to the page where you’d like to create your Notion columns.
- Left-click an empty block on the page to place your keyboard cursor on it. Hit the Ctrl + forward slash (/) keys on your keyboard (at the same time) to bring up the block options pop-up, along with a search bar.
Note: The block options pop-up can also be accessed by left-clicking the icon with the six dots (located on the left side of one of your blocks).
- Type the word “column” into the block options search bar. Your options will then be narrowed down to anything related to columns. Choose between two to five columns, depending on your page’s needs.
3. Drag-And-Drop One Of Your Blocks
If you don’t feel like dealing with hotkeys and pop-ups, you can also drag and drop one of your blocks to a specific part of your page.
- Head to the page where you’d like to create your Notion columns.
- Left-click an empty block on the page and type out a word or sentence. This will make it easier to track the block where your columns are added.
- Hover your mouse cursor over the six dots icon (located on the left side of your block). From there, left-click the icon and drag your block downwards until you see a long blue horizontal line appear. Continue holding down on the left mouse button as you proceed to the next step.
- Drag your block all the way to the right of the horizontal blue line. When it transforms into a short vertical line, let go of the mouse button. You should notice that the block you were dragging will appear in another column to the right.
How to End a Column in Notion
To end a column in Notion, simply drag one of the blocks in your column downwards until a long blue horizontal line appears (like the one in step 3). Once that happens, release your mouse button, and the block should return to a single column.
How to Add Headings to Columns
You might be wondering how to add headers to each of your columns. To do so, simply follow the steps below:
- Turn your attention to the first block in your column and left-click the six dots icon (on the left side) to bring up the block options pop-up.
- Type “heading” into the search bar to narrow your options to anything heading-related. From there, just pick a heading size between one to three.
How To Make Columns Evenly Spaced in Notion
Struggling to make your Notion columns even? It can be tricky to manually slide the space between columns but Notion has an easy fix. Simply place your mouse cursor in the space between columns until you see a vertical line show up. Once that happens, double-click that vertical line and the spacing should become even automatically.
How To Delete a Column In Notion
Deleting columns in Notion is a pretty straightforward process:
- Highlight all the items in the column you want to delete by clicking and dragging the mouse cursor.
- From there, hit the “Backspace” key until the column is deleted.
How To Add a Divider Bar
A divider is a great way to split your Notion page into multiple sections. Place your mouse cursor on the block where you want to add a divider. Next, type the forward slash (/) symbol followed by the word “divider.” You should see a pop-up on-screen with the divider option highlighted. Click the option, and one will appear on your page.
How To Make Columns In Notion On iPad
Notion apps are available on Android and iOS. However, the column functionality doesn’t work as well on Android (when attempts seem to create another block below the one you were just on). Good news for iPad users: It seems that adding columns works fine.
Here’s how to make columns in the Notion iPad app:
- Open the Notion app on your iPad and navigate to the page where you’d like to create columns.
- Tap any block on your page so that the keyboard appears. From there, hit the plus (+) button directly on top of the keyboard so you can see the block options.
- Scroll down the block options list until you get to the “Advanced blocks” section. You should see choices to select between two to five columns.
Conclusion
Learning how to make columns in Notion is pretty simple, and once you’ve figured things out, it’ll open up all sorts of possibilities for note-taking and organization. From there, perhaps it’s time you mastered more advanced functions and features with some of these professional Notion courses!
Related:
- How to Group Rows and Columns in Google Sheets
- How to Split Text to Columns in Google Sheets (with Examples)
- How to Hide Columns in Google Sheets
- Coda vs. Notion: Head to Head Comparison
- How to Create a Notion Calendar [Complete Guide]
- Notion Dark Mode [Guide]
Emma Collins is a tech writer for Productivity Spot. She's been writing tech tutorials & how-to guides on Windows, Android, iOS, Social Media, Data Recovery, Cybersecurity, Gaming, and more as a tech writer for over 6 years. You can find her work on many established tech websites, including Hackr.io, MakeUseOf, Help Desk Geek, Online Tech Tips, Switching To Mac, HandyRecovery, Cleverfiles, and more.
