Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Selecting a Paper Size.

Selecting a Paper Size

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 21, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Word supports any printer supported by Windows. This is because Word uses the features offered by Windows to print documents. Many of the features associated with formatting your document and printing are related to the type of printer you have installed and selected. For instance, many printers will support different sizes of paper.

If your printer supports multiple paper sizes and you want to change the paper size used for your document, you can easily do so from the Layout tab of the ribbon (Page Layout tab in older versions of Word). Just click the Size tool (in the Page Setup group) and you can choose from the more common paper sizes available. If you need even more options, you can choose More Paper Sizes to display the Paper tab of the Page Setup dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Paper tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

At this point you can use the controls near the top of the dialog box to specify the exact size of your paper. Click the OK button when you are finished.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9298) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Selecting a Paper Size.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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