Insert columns

New columns can be inserted to the left or to the right of the selected column.

To add one column:

1.Do one of the following:

•Select the column or range of cells in the column to the right or left of which you want to insert a new column.

•Place the cursor in a cell or select a cell in the column to the right or left of which you want to insert a new column.

2.Insert a new column in one of the following ways:

•On the Home tab, in the Table group, click the  Insert cell, column, or row drop-down menu button and select  Insert column to the left or  Insert column to the right.

•Right-click to open the context menu and run the Insert column to the left or Insert column to the right command.

•When working in macOS, run the Format > Table > Insert column to the left or Insert column to the right command from the command menu.

•To insert a column to the left, press Alt+L (Windows, Linux) or ⌥Option+L (macOS). Or press Alt+R (Windows, Linux) or ⌥Option+R (macOS) to insert a column to the right.

To add several columns, follow these steps:

1.Select the columns to the right or left of which you want to insert new columns. The number of selected columns should equal the number of columns to insert. For example, if you want to insert two columns, select two columns. To run the command, you can select both columns as a whole and the cells located in them.

2.Insert new columns in one of the following ways:

•On the Home tab, in the Table group, click the  Insert cell, column, or row drop-down menu button and select  Insert columns to the left or  Insert columns to the right.

•Right-click anywhere in the selected range and run Insert columns to the left or Insert columns to the right command from the context menu.

•When working in macOS, run the Format > Table > Insert columns to the left or Insert columns to the right command from the command menu.

•To insert columns to the left, press Alt+L (Windows, Linux) or ⌥Option+L (macOS). Or press Alt+R (Windows, Linux) or ⌥Option+R (macOS) to insert columns to the right.