Span Columns?

By the way - Span Columns will only appear in the Control Panel at top of screen in both the Select Tool and Text Tool if you click the gear "Customise Control Panel" and uncheck all the items (Tables or Quick apply or whatever) that you don't access on a regular basis. Then it will show the Span Columns options in the Text Tool at the far right of control panel. It appears with the Select Tool anyway as all Paragraph options are checked by default. Posting this because I was being driven mad by the sudden non appearance of this option and I recalled this suggestion from somewhere.

I'm using ID2018 (because 2019 still has too many bugs for me), with Windows 10, on a Lenovo computer with a large AOC monitor. No matter whose suggestions I follow, my Chapter Title will not span any columns. I've tried 2 columns,  All, and 3 just in case it wants to include the space between columns. (I long since deleted and updated my Preferences, so I don't think it's that.) Seems like such a simple instruction. Thank you for helping.

There may be an easier way, however, I went to Window >> Type & Tables >> Paragraph. At this point the Paragraph window should pop up, much like the one included in the Properties panel on the right. Click on the horizontal lines in the top right corner of the panel and you will see the "Span Columns" option.

This same thing was driving me bonkers. I came up with an ok solution until Adobe gives us an update with span columns option in the new properties panel:

Make a key-command for it.

• Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts
• Under PANEL MENUS you'll find Paragraph > span columns…
• Assign the key command of your choice (command+option+1 seemed handy to me)

When you're working and in the text tool, press your key command, then use the down arrow to quickly scroll to the span option you need and hit return.

This is actually fewer clicks than the old 2018 way, so it's nice once you're used to it.

if you have a small screen it wont show up anyway.

But yes, it's available in the paragraph section of top panel.

I use 'columns' and 'span columns' a lot, so having that always available in the Control panel, as in ID 2017 (on MacBook Pro 2017), is much more efficient than having to click through the paragraph menu to the 'options' tab, then to the 'span columns' to finally be able to specify the number of columns!

The properties tab doesn't feature it either, though I see that other users on here can see it.

Annoyingly, the Control panel has a blank space on the righthand side now, so lack of space is not a reason to remove it. Many other settings can be set in multiple menus - eg fonts, which can be set in the Control panel, the Character panel and through the Type menu. (At least the content of the Control panel doesn't disappear completely as it did in the recent 2018 update.)

Users can personalise several aspects of the interface, why not the content/appearance of the Control panel as well? We all work in different ways and on different types of project and this approach doesn't help me work more efficiently.

For the time being I will continue to use ID 2017 ...

I'm having the same problem having just updated to 2019. I've set the workspace to 'essentials classic' but still no column span which I constantly need to access. See attached screen shot - it would normally have appeared in the gap on the right. There's no option to add it in the panels 'customise' options. How do I get it back?!

My assumption from your question was that you were suffering from the same missing span controls that I was in 2019. Span controls used to be accessible via the control panel along the top of the screen (mine was at the far right). I used them there fairly often. Until 5 minutes ago I couldn't find them in 2019. -- It looks like Adobe changed them from showing with the character-related items (on the far right) to the paragraph-related items (now in the middle). See my attached images for a visual.

Same place it’s always been. Paragraph panel or the paragraph styles panel.