Multicolumn
Multicolumn[list,cols]
is an object that formats with the elements of list arranged in a grid with the indicated number of columns.
Multicolumn[list,{rows,Automatic}]
formats as a grid with the indicated number of rows.
Multicolumn[list,{rows,cols}]
formats as a grid with the indicated number of rows and columns.
Multicolumn[list]
formats with the elements of list in a roughly square arrangement.
Details and Options

- Multicolumn[list,cols] uses the smallest number of rows so that all elements will be shown.
- Multicolumn[list,{rows,cols}] will not show all the elements in list if Length[list] is larger than rows*cols.
- Multicolumn[list] calculates the number of rows and columns to be near Sqrt[Length[list]].
- Multicolumn[…] evaluates to the corresponding Grid.
- Multicolumn takes the same options as Grid.
- Multicolumn fills the first column first, then the second column, etc.
- Setting Appearance->"Horizontal" will cause the resulting grid to fill row by row, rather than column by column.
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Alignment {Center,Baseline} horizontal and vertical alignment of items AllowedDimensions Automatic restrictions on number of rows or columns AutoDelete False whether to remove the grid structure if only one item remains Background None what background colors to use BaselinePosition Automatic what to align with a surrounding text baseline BaseStyle {} base style specifications for the grid DefaultElement "" what element to insert in an empty item Dividers {} where to draw divider lines in the grid Frame None where to draw frames in the grid FrameStyle Automatic style to use for frames ItemSize Automatic width and height of each item ItemStyle None styles for columns and rows Spacings Automatic horizontal and vertical spacings
List of all options

Examples
open allclose allBasic Examples (2)
Scope (3)
Specifying both the number of rows and columns:
Specifying both will omit data if necessary:
Multicolumn supports all the same options as Grid:
Options (1)
Appearance (1)
The default Appearance will fill columns before rows, ordering the data from top to bottom:
To order the data from left to right, set Appearance->"Horizontal":
Possible Issues (3)
If the Multicolumn is constrained in size, it may wrap its contents very narrowly:
Multicolumn[list] produces square dimensions, not a square onscreen presence:
Multicolumn fills columns one at a time, so there may not be enough data for the requested number of columns:
The resulting grid does contain the requested number of columns, with padding added as needed:
The setting Appearance->"Horizontal" will fill row by row, rather than column by column:
Text
Wolfram Research (2014), Multicolumn, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Multicolumn.html.
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2014. "Multicolumn." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Multicolumn.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2014). Multicolumn. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Multicolumn.html