ffee All tools
EN 中文 FR DE

Columnar Transposition

Encode and decode text with a keyword, watching the column order and the grid at each step.

Columnar transposition cipher

Result: —
—
Spaces and punctuation are removed, the last row is padded, and columns are read in keyword order.

How to use the Columnar Transposition

  1. Type a keyword and choose whether you are encoding or decoding.
  2. Paste the text, then check the column order and the grid below the result.
  3. Copy the result, or send it back into the input to reverse the process.

Features

Advertisement

More tools

Caesar Cipher ROT13 Cipher Vigenere Cipher Morse Code Encoder Morse Code Decoder Rail Fence Cipher Bacon Cipher Atbash Cipher Affine Cipher Substitution Cipher Playfair Cipher Hill Cipher

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the free online columnar transposition.

It writes the message in rows under a keyword, then reads the columns in keyword order to produce the cipher text.
The keyword letters are sorted alphabetically, and columns are read in that order, keeping ties from left to right.
They are removed before the conversion, because the cipher rearranges letters and needs a fixed column width.
The final row is filled with the padding letter you choose, which is X by default, so every column has equal height.
Switch the mode to decode, paste the cipher text and use the same keyword, then the grid is rebuilt automatically.
Yes. A longer keyword creates more, shorter columns, which spreads the same message across more of the grid.
No. It falls to anagramming and frequency analysis, so it is a puzzle and teaching cipher rather than a security tool.
Yes. The tool shows the keyword order, the filled grid and the padded cells so every step can be followed.

Last updated: October 10, 2026