Using your own document? The steps use the practice newsletter, but they work the same on any document. Wherever a step names part of the newsletter, such as the title or the date, use the matching text in your own document.
Most of this chapter is on the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group. These settings change every page in the document, so you don’t need to select any text first, except for columns.
Change the margins
Margins are the blank edges around the page. Smaller margins fit more on a page. Bigger margins look calmer and leave room for notes.
Click the Layout tab.Open the Layout tab (1), click Margins (2), then click Narrow (3).
In the Page Setup group, click Margins (a page with grey edges).A list of margin sizes opens.
Click Narrow.The text spreads closer to the edges of the page.You should see: The page with Narrow margins.
Normal is the usual choice, with 2.54 cm (1 inch) on every side. For your own sizes, click Custom Margins at the bottom of the list. Don’t make them very small. Most printers can’t print right up to the edge of the paper, so text there can be cut off.
Turn a page sideways with orientation
Portrait is a tall page, like a letter. Landscape is a wide page, which suits posters, wide tables and certificates.
On the Layout tab, click Orientation (a tall page and a wide page).Click Orientation (1), then Landscape (2).Two choices appear.
Click Landscape.The page turns sideways.You should see: The newsletter in landscape.
Click Orientation again.
Click Portrait.The page stands upright again.
Choose A4 or Letter paper
The page in Word should match the paper in your printer. Different countries use different sizes.
A4 (21 × 29.7 cm) is used in most of the world. This includes the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and India. Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) is used in the US and Canada. Letter is a little wider and shorter than A4.
On the Layout tab, click Size (a page with a ruler).Click Size (1), then A4 (2).A list of paper sizes opens.
Click A4, or Letter if you live in the US or Canada.The page changes to that size.
The list depends on your printer. If you can’t see the size you need, click More Paper Sizes at the bottom.
Start a new page with a page break
A page break sends the text after it to the top of a new page. It stays in the right place, even when you add or delete text above it.
Click at the very start of Volunteer sign-up.
On the Layout tab, click Breaks (two pages with a gap).Click Breaks (2), then Page (3).A list of breaks opens.
Under Page Breaks, click Page.Volunteer sign-up moves to the top of a new page.
On the Home tab, click Show/Hide ¶ (the ¶ button) to see the break.A dotted line labelled Page Break appears.You should see: The page break, shown as a dotted line.
Click Show/Hide ¶ again to hide the marks. To remove a break, click at the left end of the dotted Page Break line, then press Delete.
Page break or section break?
Use a page break when you only want to start a new page. Everything stays set up the same.
Use a section break when part of the document needs a different layout. For example, one landscape page in a portrait document, or two columns on part of a page. The settings in this chapter then change only that section.
The Breaks menu has four section breaks. Next Page starts the new section on a new page. Continuous starts it on the same page. Even Page and Odd Page are for printed books.
Put text into columns
Columns split text into narrow strips, like a newspaper. Short lines are quick to read, which suits a newsletter.
Select the two story paragraphs under Library garden news.
Click the Layout tab.Open the Layout tab (2), click Columns (3), then click Two (4).
In the Page Setup group, click Columns (a page with two strips of text).A list of column choices opens.
Click Two.The two paragraphs flow into two side-by-side columns.You should see: The story in two columns.
Watch it happen: Choose Two from Columns and the text flows into two columns.
Because you selected text first, Word adds Continuous section breaks around it for you. That is why the rest of the page stays in one column. To go back, select the text and choose One.
Mac and Word for the web: On a Mac, the same buttons are on the Layout tab. Word for the web can add page breaks but not section breaks. To add a section break, open the document in the desktop app.
See it done in Word: Three Ways to Adjust Margins in Word.
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