Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Changing Page Margins.

Changing Page Margins

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


When you first start Word, certain assumptions are made about your page layout. One of these assumptions has to do with your page margins. You can change your page margins at any time by following these steps:

  1. Make sure the Layout tab of the ribbon (or Page Layout tab in older versions of Word) is displayed.
  2. Click the Margins tool in the Page Setup group. Word displays a number of common margin settings from which you can choose. (If you see the margins you want, click the setting and you are done.)
  3. Click Custom Margins. Word displays the Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  5. Adjust the top, bottom, left, and right margins as desired.
  6. Make sure the Apply To drop-down list is set to Whole Document.
  7. Click on OK.

Page margins can be different for each section in your document. This means that if you need to switch margins in the middle of a document, you can do so by inserting a section break and then modifying the margins for each of the resulting document sections. When doing this, the only difference in the above steps is that you would make sure the Apply To drop-down list (step 5) is set to This Section.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9501) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing Page Margins.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Accessing Spelling and Grammar Options

You can change the way Word handles spelling and grammar checks through the menus. But there is a quicker way to access ...

Discover More

Displaying Page Breaks

Page breaks can be added to a worksheet manually or automatically. If you want to see where Excel places page breaks, ...

Discover More

Setting Default Options for Track Changes

The Track changes feature in Word is a great help in editing documents, particularly if you are working with others or ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Understanding the Gutter Margin

Most everyone knows that Word allows you to set top, bottom, left, and right margins for your document. There is another ...

Discover More

Adding Page Numbers

Ever want to add page numbers to your document? Word allows you to control many aspects of page numbering. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Adding Page Numbers in Headers or Footers

While Word has a default format for page numbers, you can design and specify how you want them to appear in your ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three minus 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.