# Create a Multi-Column PDF in Java

Multi-column PDFs are commonly used in magazines, newspapers, research articles, etc. To get a multi-column PDF, you can first create a multi-column Word document and then convert it to PDF. But in this article, you will learn how to directly create a two-column PDF in Java applications using Free Spire.PDF for Java.

**Introduction of the above mentioned API:**                                         
https://www.e-iceblue.com/Introduce/free-pdf-for-java.html

### Install the Free API (2 Methods)                                                      
**Method 1:** Download the [free API](https://www.e-iceblue.com/Download/pdf-for-java-free.html) and unzip it. Then add the Spire.Pdf.jar file to your Java application as dependency.                            
**Method 2:** Directly add the jar dependency to maven project by adding the following configurations to the pom.xml file.                                             
```xml
<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
        <name>e-iceblue</name>
        <url>https://repo.e-iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
        <artifactId>spire.pdf.free</artifactId>
        <version>5.1.0</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
```

### Create a Two-Column PDF from Scratch                                           
The detailed steps and complet sample code are as follows:
1. Create a **PdfDocument** object.                             
2. Add a new page in the PDF using **PdfDocument.getPages().add()** method.                   
3. Add a line and set its format in the PDF using **PdfPageBase.getCanvas().drawLine()** method.            
4. Add text in the PDF at two separate rectangle areas using **PdfPageBase.getCanvas().drawString()** method.                      
5. Save the document to PDF using **PdfDocument.saveToFile()** method.                             

```java
import com.spire.pdf.FileFormat;
import com.spire.pdf.PdfDocument;
import com.spire.pdf.PdfPageBase;
import com.spire.pdf.graphics.*;

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;

public class TwoColumnPDF {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        //Creates a pdf document
        PdfDocument doc = new PdfDocument();

        //Add a new page
        PdfPageBase page = doc.getPages().add();

        //Set location and width
        float x = 0;
        float y = 15;
        float width = 600;

        //Create pen
        PdfPen pen = new PdfPen(new PdfRGBColor(Color.black), 1f);

        //Draw line on the PDF page
        page.getCanvas().drawLine(pen, x, y, x + width, y);

        //Define paragraph text
        String s1 = "Karijini is also a place of important cultural significance to indigenous people, "
                + "with certain locations in the park recognised as women's-only places and others that are strictly for men. "
                + "\"There are places, for instance, women would go if they wanted to get pregnant and "
                + "places they would visit if they wanted to have twins,\" explained anthropologist Dr Amanda Harris, "
                + "who has worked across the Pilbara with traditional owners.";

        String s2 = "Fern Pool, located in a terrarium-like environment at the genesis of Karijijni's Dale's Gorge, "
                + "is an important women's place to the local Banjima people, "
                + "yet unlike other indigenous destinations that prohibit interference, such as Uluru's climbing ban and "
                + "a prohibition on photography at areas within the Kunku-Breakaways near Coober Pedy, "
                + "Karijini traditional owners welcome all guests, asking only that visitors be respectful and walk lightly.";

        //Get width and height of page
        double pageWidth = page.getClientSize().getWidth();
        double pageHeight = page.getClientSize().getHeight();

        //Create solid brush objects
        PdfSolidBrush brush = new PdfSolidBrush(new PdfRGBColor(Color.BLACK));

        //Create true type font objects
        PdfTrueTypeFont font= new PdfTrueTypeFont(new Font("Times New Roman",Font.PLAIN,14));

        //Set the text alignment via PdfStringFormat class
        PdfStringFormat format = new PdfStringFormat(PdfTextAlignment.Left);

        //Draw text
        page.getCanvas().drawString(s1, font, brush, new Rectangle2D.Double(0, 20, pageWidth / 2 - 8f, pageHeight), format);
        page.getCanvas().drawString(s2, font, brush, new Rectangle2D.Double(pageWidth / 2 + 8f, 20, pageWidth / 2 - 8f, pageHeight), format);

        //Save the document
        doc.saveToFile("createTwoColumnPDF.pdf", FileFormat.PDF);
    }
}
```


![MulticolumnPDF.jpg](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1646029416680/mAPTd8PKB.jpg)