A Way To Format columns

[caspen]

Use case or problem

Often times I am working on a todo list or a recipe and have a list of items that are not very long. When this is the case often there is a large amount of wasted whitespace to the right.

Proposed solution

Add a method for me to state that under a certain heading there will be two columns. This way I can have lists in two or 3 rows under a certain headding if I want. a possible syntax could be
– right

fruit

• apples
• bananas
• potatoes
  – center (optional used only if going for three colmns)

veg

• eggplant
• leek
• lettuce
  – left

other

• peanuts
• olive oil
• pork

Current workaround (optional)

Currently, I will sometimes use smart tables to force this behavior but often it looks too ugly

Related feature requests (optional)

I have not seen any requests regarding this

[stixard]

same request. Would be nice to have an easier way to format text in 2 columns and not use tables.

[steelropes]

Here’s why multiple column feature should be necessary if you don’t get the point or you’ve never run into the problem. A list will be shown below. You will notice how annoyingly vertical and long it is and how annoyed you will be to have to scroll down to the bottom of it. Devs, can you see how much nicer it would be to see all the wonders of the world on the same screen without scrolling down? Two columns would DOUBLE the effiency of this data. A simple solution would be to update the table function somehow

I’m not a programmer so I dont know what’s possible but here’s an idea.

Input for how tables work currently.

Fruit  |  Veg
-------|-------
Apple  |  Carrot
Banana |  Onion 
orange | Beetroot

OUTPUT

Fruit	Veg
Apple	Carrot
Banana	Onion
orange	Beetroot

Proposed Idea:

INPUT IDEA: 2 COLUMNS 
Fruit |  Veg
-- ||--
Apple    Carrot
Banana   Onion 
orange  Beetroot

INPUT IDEA: 3 COLUMNS 
Fruit |  Veg | Pasta
-- |||--
Apple    Carrot    Spaghetti
Banana   Onion   Linguini
orange  Beetroot Ravioli

And the arrow keys would let you go to the next column, and a press of the enter/return button would take you to the next row like normal in whatever column of the box you are in. The output of one of these special multi column tables could just be a box with a thin line around the whole thing, and everything lined up nicely without having it be a table.

Below is my list so you can see why I’m annoyed.

great pyramid of giza
collosus of rhodes
hanging gardens of babylon
lighthouse of alexandria
mausoleum at halicarnassus
statue of zeus at olympia
temple of artemis
colloseum
catacombs of kom el shoqafa
great wall of china
stonehenge
great library of alexandria
acropolis athens

forbidden city

chichen itza
macchu pichu
taj mahal
giza

terracotta army

petra

museum
theatre, opera or ancient greek
baths of rome
big ben
leaning tower of pisa

apadana

oracle

911 trad centre

pantheon

kremlin

grand canyon
great barrier reef
mount everest
victoria falls
mount fuji
vesuvius
amazon rainforest

notre dame
sistine chapel
st peter basilica

golden gate bridge
brooklyn bridge
railroad
sewer system
hoover dam
panama canal

taj mahal

algonquin park
rockies
niagara falls
Northern lights

german castles
wewlweberg
Neuschwanstein Castle

himeji castle

[steelropes]

Kanban & mermaid are too spaced out and big for the data I showed as an example.

[steelropes]

Yes, this is horrible looking and not easy to set up as it should be. Forced to have table header when unwanted.

[emisjerry]

Now we can use Obsidian Columns plugin:

````col
```col-md
#### Fruit
- apples
- bananas
- potatoes
```

```col-md
#### Vegetables
- eggplant
- leek
- lettuce
```

```col-md
#### Others
- peanuts
- olive oil
- pork
```
````