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: Viewing Your Entire Document Width.

Viewing Your Entire Document Width

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


If you are creating wide documents, such as those you will print in landscape mode, then you may find yourself scrolling left and right within your document window all the time. For some people, this can be disturbing. One of the things you might try to overcome this disturbance is the following:

  1. Display the View tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Zoom tool, in the Zoom group. Word displays the Zoom dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Zoom dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Page Width radio button is selected.
  5. Click on OK.

These actions cause Word to reduce (or increase) the magnification applied to your document so that the entire width of your document will fit on the screen at once. Depending on your document and the resolution of your monitor, this can be a nice tool to use.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12945) 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: Viewing Your Entire Document Width.

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

Inserting Fields

Fields are used for a variety of dynamic purposes in a document. There are a couple of ways you can easily insert fields, ...

Discover More

Missing Page Break Indicator

Enter a page break in Word, and that page break may not appear on the screen as you expect it to appear. This has to do ...

Discover More

Selecting a Window

When you get a lot of windows open on your screen, it can sometimes be difficult to locate the one with which you need to ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Nifty Zooming with the Mouse

Want to use the mouse to control the zoom level for your document? You can do it by combining your mouse use with the ...

Discover More

Getting Help Offline

Word provides two different sources from which you can get help—either online or offline. By default, Word uses the ...

Discover More

Leaving Minimized Documents Minimized

If you have open documents minimized on the Taskbar and then open another document, all of the previously minimized ...

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 9 + 7?

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.