Column density maps of selected clouds extracted from the simulations. The different rows show examples from SILCC-0.5-pc (a), LS-no-driving (b), M51 (c), Ramses-F20 (d). Column density is calculated in a box of three times the maximum extent of the object. Labels are added showing the cloud mass and velocity dispersion. The coloured symbol is used to refer to the cloud in the following figures in the paper.