column-count

The column-count CSS property breaks an element's content into the specified number of columns.

Syntax

/* Keyword value */
column-count: auto;

/* <integer> value */
column-count: 3;

/* Global values */
column-count: inherit;
column-count: initial;
column-count: unset;

Values

auto: The number of columns is determined by other CSS properties, such as column-width.
<integer>: Is a strictly positive <integer> describing the ideal number of columns into which the content of the element will be flowed. If the column-width is also set to a non-auto value, it merely indicates the maximum allowed number of columns.

Formal definition

Initial value	`auto`
Applies to	Block containers except table wrapper boxes
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	an integer

Formal syntax

<integer> | auto

Examples

Splitting a paragraph across three columns

HTML

<p class="content-box">
  This is a bunch of text split into three columns
  using the CSS `column-count` property. The text
  is equally distributed over the columns.
</p>

CSS

.content-box {
  column-count: 3;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Multi-column Layout Module The definition of 'column-count' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser