how to insert two columns in latex?

Question

I wish to write the code of the picture displayed below..

How do I code this? I am confused enter image description here

Googling 'latex two columns' returns texblog: Creating two columns in article, report or book as the second result, and LaTeX Wikibook: Page Layout as the third. — Mike Renfro, Dec 08 '14 at 17:45
There are many options: The simplest would be to use a tabular environment with two columns: \begin{tabular}{ll} [. . .] \end{tabular} If you need text wrapping in the right column you can write \begin{tabular}{l p{0.5\linewidth} for example. — musarithmia, Dec 08 '14 at 17:45
If you can show us a complete sample document with the code you've tried, we can help you better. — musarithmia, Dec 08 '14 at 17:47
possible duplicate of How can I make two columns in two columns — Basilius Sapientia, Dec 08 '14 at 17:54
Downvoter: I think the comments were sufficient without the downvote. We have all had times when we didn't know where to start. — musarithmia, Dec 08 '14 at 17:54
yesh please do..@AndrewCashner... also thanks for being nice.. — Zay, Dec 08 '14 at 18:19
more options including multicol and minipages at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1491717/how-to-display-a-content-in-two-column-layout-in-latex — xeruf, Jan 05 '22 at 12:13

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 08 '14 at 18:19

9

One simple way to put a short portion of text into two columns, if the rows need to line up, is to use the basic tabular environment. You can use the p specification to get a row with wrapped text.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{l p{0.5\linewidth}}
Line 1 on the left  & Line 1 on the right\\
Line 2 on the left  & Line 2 on the right overflowing with a lot of extra text\\
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

For beginners in TeX who find this answer helpful, you can find a basic introduction to LaTeX by entering texdoc lshort at a terminal.

answered Dec 08 '14 at 18:19

musarithmia

12,463

Is there a way to allow spaces to align the columns in the source document without getting overfull hbox errors? – Andrew Hundt Sep 15 '15 at 04:47
@AndrewHundt Yes, TeX ignores most extra whitespace so you can insert spaces or tabs between columns to align the source code. Overfull hboxes happen when there is too much text in a table cell to fit in the box allotted to it, among other reasons. – musarithmia Sep 15 '15 at 05:38

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 05 '22 at 12:22

As seen on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1491717/how-to-display-a-content-in-two-column-layout-in-latex there are multiple useful options:

Multicol

Use the multicol package (if you omit the \columnbreak, the columns will balance automatically):

\usepackage{multicol}
\begin{multicols}{2}
Column 1
\columnbreak
Column 2
\end{multicols}

Minipages

Alternatively, for precise control, add a minipage:

\begin{minipage}[position]{width}
text
\end{minipage}

You may also find this useful: How do I force a column-break in a multi-column page?

how to insert two columns in latex?

2 Answers2

Multicol

Minipages