how can i put columns into just a section of a document on pages?

The simplest approach is to select the document text that you want to change to columns, and from the Format : Layout panel : set your columns. The text above and below your now columnar text remains single column. The downside to this is that there is a very small spacing between the single and columnar text, and it becomes very difficult to manage this text gap for improved reading, or styling. One selects the columnar text, and sets the columns to 1 again to undo the columns.

I prefer to enter the text that will appear outside of the columns first, and then insert and expand a Text box to both margins. I set its Text Wrap to Above and Below, and paste the text into the Text box. I select all of that text, and then set the columns inside the Text box, expanding the box height to be rid of the truncation [+] symbol. If I want the Text box closer or more distant to the text above it, I adust the Text Fit Spacing setting. Split column efforts don't export to MS Word politely, so test before you commit to too much document work. The result of this is in the following screen capture:

mabeivonne03 wrote:

how can i put columns into just a section of a document on pages

And taking your question more literally, if you divide your document in sections (Insert > Section or Insert > Section Break) then you can add columns to one section without affecting the others, that of course being a major advantage of using sections. Here I have three sections with 2 columns on the second one only.

That won't work for going back and forth from one column to two columns on the same page, though, as VikingOSX describes.

SG