Insert columns
- Last UpdatedAug 11, 2025
- 3 minute read
To insert one or more columns, do either of the following:
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Click the Insert Column icon (
) in the Tabular pane toolbar.
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Right-click anywhere in the grid and choose Insert Column from the context menu.
The Insert Column dialog opens.
There are two types of columns you can add: Fixed and Optional.
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The Fixed columns are four columns that always appear at the left end of the grid and cannot be moved. To insert one of these columns, select the check box next to the column name in the Fixed tab.
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The Optional columns are all the other columns. To insert one or more of these columns, select them in the Optional tab and click either Insert Left or Insert Right, to insert the columns to the left or to the right of the column currently selected in the grid.
Search for columns. Type in the search text field at the top of the Optional tab to show only the columns matching what you have typed anywhere in their name.
Hover your mouse pointer on the 
icon to show more information on the syntax you can use in your searches:
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Use quotes to include spaces in your search terms. Example: "Tank T101".
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Use the plus sign to include more terms in your search. Example: Tank +wgt finds all the column names with both Tank and wgt, not necessarily next to each other.
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Use the minus sign to exclude a term from your search. Example: Tank -wgt finds all the column names with Tank but without wgt.
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Combine multiple operators for more complex searches. Example: "Tank T101" +benzene -vol.
Custom names. Double-click in the Name column to enter a custom name for a particular column. If you do not enter a custom name, the name under Column is used.
Units of measure. If the quantity in a column can be expressed in different units of measure, these can be chosen from a list in the UoM column. You can add the same column multiple times, with different units of measure. Such multiple columns, if adjacent, will share the same heading label, as shown in the next figure. Default units of measure are inherited from the Settings page.
