Dave recently upgraded his copy of Word and noticed that the text displayed in Draft view wraps on the screen differently than it used to. In his earlier version of Word the text would wrap at the right margin, as it was shown on the Ruler. In the newer version the text extended past the right margin (as shown on the Ruler) and only wraps when the right side of the document window is reached.
The problem being described isn't really a problem. It is a "feature" of Word that has been available for many, many years. You can control this feature by following these steps:
Figure 1. The advanced options in the Word Options dialog box.
The check box in step 4, when selected, makes the text in Draft and Outline views extend the full width of the document window, without regard to where the margin is set. This only affects what you see on the screen; it does not affect any printouts. If the check box is cleared, then the margins are minded and the text wraps where you expect it to wrap.
The need for this feature is rooted in history. The original intent of Draft view (which used to be called Normal view) was to speed up work by foregoing an exact WYSIWYG format. In this view, Word does not worry about line breaks, margins and page breaks in the same manner as in the Print Layout view. Likewise, graphics objects are not displayed. The point is to release computer resources to facilitate doing the work of entering and editing content. The purpose of the Show Text Wrapped Within the Document Window setting is to allow even more information to appear on-screen, since WYSIWYG isn't being paid attention to in Draft view anyway.
It is not unusual for people, these days, to bypass using Draft view and instead using Print Layout view. The Show Text Wrapped Within the Document Window setting has no bearing on this view, since the essence of Print Layout view is to show a very close representation of what your final printout will look like. If you want to use Draft view, there is nothing wrong with that (I do it all the time), but you'll need to pay attention to settings such as the Show Text Wrapped Within the Document Window check box so that your display looks like you want it to.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10690) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Text Doesn't Wrap at Margin in Normal View.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!
Dashes have a lot of different uses in writing. Word supports three types of dashes, as discussed in this tip.
Discover MoreGot a document layout that requires a portion of the page to be in one layout and another portion to be in a different ...
Discover MoreEfficiently navigating through a document, particularly as it gets longer, can be a perpetual challenge. One tool you can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-07-29 10:09:46
YZ
I actually need to amend my comment by stating that I missed the need to be in draft or web view in order to utilize text wrap-to-window. (Has it always been this way? Seems like I've always preferred print view, and always use wrap to window.)
2020-07-29 10:03:50
I'm with YP: this method no longer works per document window. Seeking a fix that doesn't involve changing my margins, though. Just looking for a quick fix already discovered, as I'm working on a project now and can't spend time to wander. Thanks for taking the time with your site to lay down information for people though.
2020-05-21 15:01:58
YP
Did all the above in file > option > advanced > show document & general -- nothing worked to get the text to wrap to the visible window.
>>> I finally had to move the "right text margin icon" (little pyramid) to the left until the right text margin
was within the visible Word window.
At that point then text/word wrapping worked with either
regular ".docx" or ".opd" files.
2020-02-06 07:05:10
Chris
Thanks for yet another clearly explained resolution, I've used loads, big and small - you're the man.
(I'm only worried I was here in 2018 too...)
2019-12-25 19:05:16
Carolyn
Hi Allen,
How do you make this change in Word for Mac (2019)? Thanks!
2018-12-10 09:03:35
chris
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This has been driving me crazy Fixed!!!
2016-04-26 03:27:37
guillaume
Thanks a lot!
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments