Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 19, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
One of the first things you probably did in Word was to master the use of the scroll bars. These allow you to change the part of your document you want to view. You can use the bottom horizontal scroll bar to view the right side of you document. This is rather obvious from the positioning on the marker within the scroll bar.
There may be times when you are working in Draft View or Outline View and you want to move your document to the right so you can view more of the left margin. To do this, simply hold down the Shift key and click on the left-pointing scroll arrow. You can again view your document properly by scrolling to the right.
This tip only works if you are using Draft View or Outline View. The reason for this is simple: In Print Layout View Word displays the full left margin area of your document; there is no need to scroll left.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13042) 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 More of the Left Margin Area.
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