How can I add N more columns?

Question

As of this writing, the default number of columns in Google Sheets is 29 columns.

I need more than 29 columns.

I would like to add N columns where N is something like 10 to 30 columns.

My request is similar to the "add N more rows bottom" button at the bottom of each Google Sheet GUI.

Is there a way to add N columns via the default GUI? If yes, how?

Answer 1

1. Select a column where you want to add your N columns (left of there or right of there)
2. Shift-select the N number of columns that you want to add
3. Right-click
4. Click on "Insert N columns on left" or "Insert N columns on right"

Answer 2

To add N number of Columns > Right Click on the top left corner of the sheet so that it selects the entire spreadsheet > you will see the option to add 1000 Rows and 26 Columns. I believe Google Sheets, by default shows only 26 columns to add and lets you add columns in multiples of 26 at a time.

Answer 3

I just figured out a nifty little way to do this. Even if you don't know JavaScript, this should be pretty easy to follow:

Answer:

Step 1 - Go to the script editor:

It will look like this:

Step 2 - Name your file and replace the default text with this simple code:

function addColumns(x) {
    var columns = x;
    var columnArray = [];

    if(columns<11){
          columnArray.push("ERR: The minimum number of columns you can add is 11!");
    } else {
          columnArray.push(columns+" added! Delete Me Now!");
          columns = columns - 10;
          for (let i=1; i<=columns;i++){
                columnArray.push("");
            }
        }

return [columnArray];
}

Your script should now look like this:

Step 3 - Save your script:

Step 4 - Add columns by using your function in the rightmost column:

Note #1: Because of the way Google Sheets adds columns, there are a few constraints:

• You cannot add less than 11 columns.
• You cannot add columns beyond the 300th column (even if you call the function from the 300th column)

Step 5 - Delete the contents of the cell and enjoy your sheet!

Answer 4

I couldn't find a way to insert or add more columns to my Google Sheets, so I downloaded the current one, edited it in Excel, and uploaded it back to my drive.

Answer 5

Try this. If you need to add 11 columns, select 11 columns as shown in the screenshot

Now. Click on Insert, here you can see an option to add 11 number of columns

Answer 6

In my search for the "add N columns" I did not find a GUI button and my Internet searches did not reveal such a feature. The "add N columns" may exist but I did not find it.

So I ended up using a workaround:

• add one column at a time via keyboard shortcut alt-i + o

As long as the number of columns you need is small, this workaround is sufficient, but if you have more than 100-1000 columns I would not recommend this workaround.