Format layout in word

Try it!

Change your document’s layout to get it just the way you want.

Margins

1. Select Layout > Margins.

2. Choose the margins you want or select Custom Margins to define your own.

Page Orientation

1. To change orientation, select Layout > Orientation.

2. Select Portrait or Landscape.

Line Spacing

1. Select Home > More Paragraph Options > Line Spacing.

2. Choose the spacing you want.

Want more?

Word for the web Quick Start

Change margins

Change page orientation to landscape or portrait

Change the line spacing in Word

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Introduction

Word offers a variety of page layout and formatting options that affect how content appears on the page. You can customize the page orientation, paper size, and page margins depending on how you want your document to appear.

Optional: Download our practice document.

Watch the video below to learn more about page layout in Word.

Page orientation

Word offers two page orientation options: landscape and portrait. Compare our example below to see how orientation can affect the appearance and spacing of text and images.

• Landscape means the page is oriented horizontally.

  

• Portrait means the page is oriented vertically.

  

To change page orientation:

1. Select the Layout tab.
2. Click the Orientation command in the Page Setup group.

   

3. A drop-down menu will appear. Click either Portrait or Landscape to change the page orientation.

   

4. The page orientation of the document will be changed.

Page size

By default, the page size of a new document is 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Depending on your project, you may need to adjust your document’s page size. It’s important to note that before modifying the default page size, you should check to see which page sizes your printer can accommodate.

To change the page size:

Word has a variety of predefined page sizes to choose from.

1. Select the Layout tab, then click the Size command.

   
2. A drop-down menu will appear. The current page size is highlighted. Click the desired predefined page size.

   

3. The page size of the document will be changed.

To use a custom page size:

Word also allows you to customize the page size in the Page Setup dialog box.

1. From the Layout tab, click Size. Select More Paper Sizes from the drop-down menu.

   

2. The Page Setup dialog box will appear.
3. Adjust the values for Width and Height, then click OK.

   

4. The page size of the document will be changed.

Page margins

A margin is the space between the text and the edge of your document. By default, a new document’s margins are set to Normal, which means it has a one-inch space between the text and each edge. Depending on your needs, Word allows you to change your document’s margin size.

To format page margins:

Word has a variety of predefined margin sizes to choose from.

1. Select the Layout tab, then click the Margins command.

   

2. A drop-down menu will appear. Click the predefined margin size you want.

   

3. The margins of the document will be changed.

To use custom margins:

Word also allows you to customize the size of your margins in the Page Setup dialog box.

1. From the Layout tab, click Margins. Select Custom Margins from the drop-down menu.

   

2. The Page Setup dialog box will appear.
3. Adjust the values for each margin, then click OK.

   

4. The margins of the document will be changed.

You can also open the Page Setup dialog box by navigating to the Layout tab and clicking the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Page Setup group.

You can use Word’s convenient Set as Default feature to save all of the formatting changes you’ve made and automatically apply them to new documents. To learn how to do this, read our lesson on Changing Your Default Settings in Word.

Challenge!

1. Open our practice document.
2. Change the page orientation to Portrait.
3. Change the page size to Legal. If Legal size is not available, you can choose another size such as A5.
4. Change the margins to the Narrow setting.
5. When you’re finished, your document should be one page if using Legal size. It should look something like this:

   

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If you’re creating a Word document with multiple page layouts, you may wish to make a single page landscape. Here’s how.

Photo Credit — iStockPhoto

When you’re creating Word documents, you have two-page layout options available—landscape or portrait. Portrait mode is the default option, but you can switch to landscape mode instead if you want your text sideways.

If you want to use both types of layouts in Word, you’ll need to use a few workarounds using section breaks and Word’s own page formatting options to do so. Here’s how.

If you want to quickly make one page landscape in Word, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Open your Word document and place the blinking cursor at the start of the page you wish to change to landscape mode.
2. Click on the Layout menu in the ribbon bar.
3. Select Breaks > Next Page in the Section Breaks section. This will insert a section break and push your text onto a new page.
   
4. In the Layout menu, press Orientation > Landscape. This will switch the current page and all the following pages to landscape mode.
   
5. You’ll now need to turn the remaining pages back to portrait mode. Scroll down to the next page, then place the blinking cursor at the start of the page.
6. Press Layout > Breaks > Next Page to insert a new section break.
   
7. Click on Orientation > Portrait to switch the pages to portrait mode.

If you followed the steps correctly, you should now have one single landscape page, with all other pages remaining in portrait mode.

How to Make Specific Text Landscape in Word

If you don’t want all of the text on your page to appear on the landscape page, you can choose to make a landscape page that only contains specific text.

1. To do this, start by highlighting the text that you want to appear on the landscape page.
   
2. In the Layout menu, click on Margins, then select the Custom Margins… option at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
   
3. In the Page Setup window, click on the Landscape option in the Margins tab, under the Orientation section.
   
4. In the Apply to box, choose Selected Text.
   
5. Click OK to confirm the settings you’ve selected.

You should now have a landscape page that contains the text you previously highlighted, creating a section break that uses a different page layout to the rest of your Word document.

You can use this method to turn an entire page landscape—to do this, select all of the text on the page before you start and repeat the steps above to complete the change.

Formatting Microsoft Word Documents

Now that you know how to make a single page landscape in Word, you can start creating documents with as many combinations of landscape and portrait pages as you want. This is where learning how to rearrange pages in Word might just come in handy.

If you’re looking for other ways to take your Word documents further, why not learn how to insert an Excel table into Word. For academic documents, you may wish to create a table of contents in Word to keep your document organized.

When you create a new document in Microsoft Word, it looks decent right off the bat. But sometimes you want to make your page look much better than the default. 

Use Microsoft Word’s page layout design tools to make easy-to-read documents that reflect positively on you and your business—even if you’re new to Word.

You can make page layout designs in Microsoft Word from scratch. Or, skip the grunt work by using Microsoft Word templates. 

Envato Elements and GraphicRiver are both great sources of print templates for Word. Each template is made by professional designers. Elements makes a compelling offer. Download unlimited templates, fonts, photos, and other creative assets for one fixed subscription price.

But, if you only need the occasional template for MS Word and prefer to pay for each single use, then look to GraphicRiver.

How to Make Awesome Page Layout Designs in Microsoft Word (Video)

If you create or modify documents in Word, you may want to change the standard Microsoft Word layout. There are a number of changes you can make.

Watch this quick screencast to find out what you need to know about Word page layout options:

To learn more about changing page layouts in Microsoft Word, study the complete written tutorial below:

Why Learn About Page Layouts In Word?

Page layout settings in Word determine how your document looks when you print it out. It includes the page orientation, margins, and columns, for example.

It’s important to pay attention to the page layout of your document for several reasons:

• It ensures consistency. This gives your readers a good experience while consuming your document.
• A good page layout makes your document more readable. When your document is aesthetically pleasing and has a consistent look, your audience is more likely to read, comprehend, and remember your content.
• A well-designed document reflects well on you. It reinforces your credibility and authority in your field.

Microsoft Word has robust page settings that allow you to control your page layout design. Everything is designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible. Yet, doing page layout in Word can be daunting if you’re new to the software.

This article breaks things down for you. So, you can follow along, step-by-step, and take control of how your document looks.

Types of Documents You Can Create in MS Word

You can create all kinds of printed documents in Microsoft Word.

Make business documents like:

• resumes
• cover letters
• business letters
• reports
• proposals
• invoices
• certificates
• forms

MS Word is also very handy for creating marketing documents. Create everything from:

• flyers
• brochures
• advertising inserts
• and more

For education or training use Word to prepare:

• handouts
• workbooks
• manuals
• certificates

You can also produce postcards, invitations, newsletters, and signs. If you can print it, then you can whip it up in Word.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Microsoft Word’s page layout tools to produce the print materials you need.

How to Work With Templates to Quickly Change Your Design

The quickest way to change or apply a page layout is by using a print template for Word. For the examples below, we’ll be using the SEO Proposal template from Envato Elements. 

When looking for a print template for Word, it’s a good idea to choose one that uses paragraph and character styles. The styles feature will allow you to quickly format text even in a long document.

Below are some roundups of Microsoft Word templates you can choose from:

Now that you’ve chosen a template with a good page layout in Word, it’s time to learn how to use it. 

1. Download the Template

Download the template of your choice to your computer’s hard drive. Unzip the file, then copy the template. This way, you’ve got the original template file intact, if you want to revert to it.

2. Customize the Template With Your Own Content

Replace the text with your own information.

If you want to change the text formatting, change the settings for fonts and paragraphs.

To add your own image, click on an image placeholder. The Format Picture dialog box opens. Under Fill, select Picture or texture fill. Under Picture source, click Insert….

Find and select the image you want to use. Click Insert.

Now, the image is inserted.

To replace an existing logo on the template, click on the logo, then click on the Picture Format tab.

Click the Change Picture button on the ribbon. Find and select the logo file, then click Insert.

If necessary, click-and-drag one of the handles of the logo to resize it.

Next, I’d like to change the color of the rectangle on the cover page. To do that, select the shape, then click the Shape Format tab.

The Shape Format ribbon is displayed. Click on the drop-down arrow beside the Shape Fill button. Select from the color options shown or click More Fill Colors… to specify the color you want to apply.

This is what the customized proposal cover looks like now:

Repeat these steps to customize the other pages of the template.

As you can see, when you start with a template for Word most of the design and page formatting decisions are already made for you by the template creator.

But, if you prefer to start your document from scratch, follow the steps below to change the default page format settings.

Type or paste your text into the document. Apply text and paragraph formatting to modify settings for fonts, spacing, alignment, and more. Then, you can move on to the page layout.

3. How to Set the Microsoft Word Page Orientation as Portrait or Landscape

To set the Microsoft Word page orientation of your document, go to File > Page Setup….

The Page Setup dialog opens. Click on the button for either Word portrait or landscape layout orientation.

4. How to Set the Print Size of the Paper

From the Microsoft Word Page Setup dialog, you can also change the paper size when you print the document. Click on the Paper Size field to show the different paper size choices available.

Select the size you wish to use. You can also click Manage Custom Sizes… to specify your own size.

5. How to Split Your Text into Multiple Columns

Sometimes you may want to divide your text into columns. This can make the document more readable and adds variety to an otherwise monotonous layout. Columns are popular in magazines, newsletters, and similar types of materials.

Arrange the Entire Document into Columns 

To change the MS Word layout to columns, follow these steps:

1. Go to Layout > Columns.

The Columns dialog box opens. 

2. Select one of the Presets or manually set the:

• number of columns
• width and spacing
• apply to the whole document or from that point forward

3. When you’re happy with the settings, click OK.

Apply Columns to a Part of the Document

You can also apply columns to only a specific part of the document.

1. Select the text you wish to display in columns.

2. Go to Layout > Columns.

3. In the Columns dialog box, choose the settings you want to apply.

Notice that you now have the option to apply the column settings to Selected text. Click OK.

Now, only the selected text has been broken into two columns. The rest remains in one column.

6. How to Add Page and Section Breaks

Sections in Microsoft Word enable you to apply different layouts to different parts of your document. This is useful for making creative layouts, especially to long documents.

Insert a Page Break in Word

A page break separates text, so that anything after the break is moved to a succeeding page. It’s useful for dividing up a document into chapters and sections.

To insert a page break, place the cursor at the point where you want the break to be, then go to Insert > Break > Page Break.

In our sample document, the title page is now on a separate page from the rest of the text.

Insert a Section Break in Word

If you wish to apply varying formatting on different parts of the document, then you’ll want to break it into sections. This includes varying the columns, headers and footers, pagination, borders, and other settings.

To create a section break, place the cursor where you would like the section break to be. Go to Insert > Break > Section Break.

Select the type of section break you want to insert:

• Section Break (Next Page) creates a section break and moves the next section into a new page.
• Section Break (Continuous) keeps the two sections on the same page while allowing you to apply different formatting settings for each.
• Section Break (Odd Page) starts a new section on the next odd-numbered page.
• Section Break (Even Page) starts a new section on the next even-numbered page.

Take Control of Your Page Layouts with Microsoft Word

Use Microsoft Word’s page layout tools to give your documents a consistent, readable, and professional look. You don’t have to be an expert in Word to take better control of your document’s page layouts. With Microsoft Word’s page layout tools, you can make any document look the way you want it to.

You don’t have to start from scratch, either. You can have professional designers make most of the design and layout decisions for you by using print templates for MS Word. If you want unlimited downloads of templates as well as photos, fonts, icons, and other creative assets—all for one small, fixed fee—then Envato Elements is the best source for you.

For one-off Word templates and other desktop publishing tools, look to GraphicRiver. Here, you can access everything you need to create impressive print materials on a pay-per-use basis.

And when you use a template, the skills you learned in this post will help you customize and adapt it to your needs.

Editorial Note: Video added by Alexis (Lexi) Rodrigo.

1

Add space for underlines

This option adds extra space for underlines.

2

Adjust line height to grid height in the table

When this option is turned on, the table row height snaps to the document grid. Used in East Asian text.

3

Align table rows independently

When this option is not selected, center-aligned or right-aligned non-wrapped tables are aligned as a whole without changing the relative positions of the rows.

When this option is selected, the rows of a center-aligned or right-aligned non-wrapped table are center-aligned or right-aligned independently. For example, the right edges of the rows of a right-aligned non-wrapped table line up evenly if the right edges do not line up when the table is left-aligned.

4

Allow hyphenation between pages or columns

(Description not available)

5

Allow space between paragraphs of the same style in a table

(Description not available)

6

Allow table rows to lay out apart

This option determines the behavior of a non-wrapped table that is laid out on the right side of a wrapped object and extends below the wrapped object.

When this option is not selected, the remainder of the table is positioned out to the right with the first part of the table.

When the option is selected, the remainder of the table is allowed to slide back to the left.

7

Allow tables to extend into margins

This option was new in Word 2003.

This option will retain the settings of a table that is extended past the margins of a document instead of using autofit to make the table fit within the margins.

This was enabled automatically under Tools > Options > Compatibility for Word 2000 and Word 2002. In Word 2003 and newer versions, the option is built in.

8

Auto space the way Word 95 does

(Word 2003: Auto space like Word 95)

This option determines how lines of text break (word wrap) in an East Asian Word 95 document.

9

Balance SBCS characters and DBCS characters

Not used in U.S. English Word.

10

Combine table borders the way Word 5.x for the Macintosh does

If a table contains two contiguous cells whose border is formatted differently, the left-most cell is displayed with the border width of the right-most cell.

11

Convert backslash characters into yen signs

Not used in U.S. English Word.

12

Disable OpenType Font Formatting Features

(Description not available)

13

Do full justification the way WordPerfect 6.x for Windows does

To achieve full justification, WordPerfect compresses the spaces between words while Word expands them. This often results in different line breaks and leads to different page breaks.

Turn on this option to implement the WordPerfect justification method.

14

Don’t add automatic tab stop for hanging indent

This option ignores the automatic tab stop that Word 6.0 uses when creating a hanging indent.

15

Don’t add extra space for raised/lowered characters

This option prevents Word from inserting additional space between lines to accommodate raised or lowered characters.

16

Don’t add leading (extra space) between rows of text

This option displays text without leading between the lines. This is the same functionality that exists in Word versions 5.x for the Macintosh.

17

Don’t allow hanging punctuation with character grid

This option prevents the use of punctuation marks in East Asian text when the character grid is enabled. This option was new in Word 2002.

18

Don’t autofit tables next to wrapped objects

(Description not available)

19

Don’t balance columns at the start of Continuous sections

This option prevents Word from balancing columns at the end of a section or document.

20

Don’t blank the area behind metafile pictures

This option prevents Word from obscuring any text or graphics surrounding an inserted metafile. Selecting this option decreases editing speed.

21

Don’t break constrained tables forced onto the page

(Description not available)

22

Don’t break wrapped tables across pages

This option was new in Word 2002. This option prevents a wrapped table from breaking across a page break.

Note: The Allow row to break across pages option has no effect in a wrapped table.

23

Don’t center «exact line height» lines

This option changes the vertical position of text between the top of the line space and the bottom of the line space.

With this option turned off, any extra space is split between the ascender and descender. With the option turned on, all the extra space goes to the descender.

24

Don’t expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT+RETURN

When a «justified» line of text ends with SHIFT+ENTER, Word prevents extra spacing between words and makes the line appear as «Align Left».

25

Don’t snap text to grid inside table with inline objects

This option was new in Word 2002. This option prevents Word from allowing East Asian text in a table cell to snap to the character grid when an «inline with text» object is inserted in the table cell.

26

Don’t use Asian rules for line breaks with character grid

This option was new in Word 2002. This option allows East Asian text to line-break the same as in earlier versions of Word when the character grid is turned on.

27

Don’t use hanging indent as tab stop for bullets and numbering

(Description not available)

28

Don’t use HTML paragraph auto spacing

This option has two functions:

• If you have Auto set for Paragraph Spacing Before/After, and you turn this option on, Word adjusts Paragraph Spacing Before/After to 5 pt.
• With this option turned off (default setting), Word sets the spacing between paragraphs to the larger of Paragraph Spacing Before/After.

  With this option turned on, Word uses both values of Paragraph Spacing Before/After between paragraphs. This is the same functionality as in earlier versions of Word.

29

Don’t use proportional width for Korean characters

(Description not available)

30

Don’t vertically align inside of textboxes

(Description not available)

31

Don’t vertically align table cells containing shapes

(Description not available)

32

Draw underline on trailing spaces

Not used in U.S. English Word.

33

Expand/condense by whole number of points

This option rounds the measurement of the spacing for characters with condensed or expanded spacing to the nearest whole number.

34

Forget last tab alignment

This option forces tab settings at the end of lines to behave the same as in Word 97.

35

Lay out AutoShapes the way Word 97 does

When an AutoShape with Top & Bottom wrapping style applied appears at the bottom of a page, Word forces the AutoShape behind the text.

36

Lay out footnotes the way Word 6.x/95/97 does

This option positions footnotes as they were in earlier versions of Word.

37

Lay out tables with raw width

This option allows Word to determine the width of a table (table width + table indent) and prevents a table from being laid out in an area that is too small.

This option prevents the table from being clipped (cut off on the sides) or pushed off the page when it is aligned next to a floating object.

38

Print body text before header/footer

This option prints the main text layer before the Header/Footer layer, which allows for the process of PostScript codes in the text layer, the same way that Word 5.x for the Macintosh does. (This functionality is the reverse of the default order.)

39

Print colors as black on noncolor printers

This option prints all colors as black, instead of using grayscale (different shades of gray) when you use a printer that does not print color.

40

Select entire field with first or last character

This option was new in Word 2002. This option allows you to select the entire field when you select either the first or last character of the field result. This option does not work when the field code is displayed.

41

Set the width of a space like WordPerfect 5.x

WordPerfect calculates the width of a space in a proportional font differently from Word. In the WordPerfect interface, this default word spacing is named WordPerfect Optimal. The Word 97 text converters can use the WordPerfect formula for spacing.

42

Show hard page or column breaks in frames

If a frame contains a manual, or hard, page break or column break, Word displays it.

43

Split apart page break and paragraph mark

(Description not available)

44

Substitute fonts based on font size

This option is used by the WordPerfect 6.x converter to make a font request based on font size first and, if a match is not found, to actually map the font.

45

Suppress extra line spacing at bottom of page

WordPerfect suppresses any extra line spacing from the last line on a page. For example, if line spacing is set to double, the final line on the page does not display white space below it.

Turn on this option to implement the line-spacing feature.

46

Suppress extra line spacing at top of page

This option prevents Word from adding extra line spacing at the top of a page. If the line spacing for the line at the top of a page is set for more than single spacing, Word ignores the extra spacing, so that the top margin does not increase.

47

Suppress extra line spacing at top of page the way Word 5.x for the Macintosh does

(Word 2003: Suppress extra line spacing at top of page like Word 5.x for the Mac)

This option prevents Word from adding extra line spacing at the top of a page. If the line spacing for the line at the top of a page is set for more than single line spacing, Word ignores the extra spacing, so that the top margin does not increase.

48

Suppress extra line spacing the way WordPerfect 5.x does

(Word 2003: Suppress extra line spacing like WordPerfect 5.x)

This option ensures that the layout of a converted WordPerfect document that is formatted with Automatic line height closely matches that of the original document.

49

Suppress Space Before after a hard page or column break

This option suppresses the space in a paragraph formatted with the Space Before option that follows a hard page break or column break.

50

Swap inside and outside mirror indents and relative positioning

(Description not available)

51

Swap left and right borders on odd facing pages

If a paragraph has a left border (not a box) and the Different Odd/Even Headers check box or Mirror Margins check box is selected, Word prints the border on the right, on odd numbered pages.

52

Treat * as ** in mail merge data sources

In a data source, this option converts a delimiter composed of a backslash and quotation mark («) to two quotation marks (» «), so that Word can recognize quotation marks.

53

Truncate font height

This option rounds the font size up or down, as in WordPerfect 6.x for Windows.

54

Underline tab character in numbered lists

(Description not available)

55

Use cached paragraph information for column balancing

(Description not available)

56

Use larger small caps the way Word 5.x for the Macintosh does

This option applies small caps formatting in Word version 6.0 for the Macintosh the same way as in Word version 5.x for the Macintosh, which produces slightly larger small capital letters.

57

Use line-breaking rules

This option was new in Word 2002. This option controls line breaks in a Thai language document.

58

Use Normal style for bulleted and numbered lists

(Description not available)

59

Use printer metrics to lay out document

If this option is selected, Word uses the information from the printer driver that is installed, as in some earlier versions of Word.

If this option is turned off (default), Word use built-in metrics to lay out the document. This means your document looks the same, no matter what printer driver is installed.

60

Use Word 2002 table style rules

This option was new in Word 2003. This option will preserve layout compatibility of tables styles used in Word 2002.

61

Use Word 2002-2007 style evaluation rules for font size and paragraph justification in tables

(Description not available)

62

Use Word 2003 hanging-punctuation rules

(Description not available)

63

Use Word 2003 indent rules for text next to wrapped objects

(Description not available)

64

Use Word 2003 kerning pair rules

(Description not available)

65

Use Word 2013 rules for hyphenation between pages and columns

(Description not available)

66

Use Word 2003 table autofit rules

(Description not available)

67

Use Word 6.x/95 border rules

This option suppresses paragraph borders when a paragraph is intersected by frames or wrapped drawing objects.

68

Use Word 97 line-breaking rules for Asian text

This option uses Word 97 line-breaking rules for Asian text.

69

Wrap lines the way Word 6.0 does

(Word 2003: Lines wrap like Word 6.0)

Not used in U.S. English Word.

70

Wrap trailing spaces to next line

This option automatically moves any spaces that trail into the margin after a word at the end of a line to the beginning of the next line.

Microsoft Word now arrives on our systems chocked full of useful templates, styles, and themes to help shape the layout of your document. Microsoft has created a pretty good system: immensely open for an absolute novice, but with enough depth to be consistently used throughout the business world.

Customizing your document layout settings is easy, and we’ll show you how to do it in Word 2013 and Word 2016.

What Can You Change?

Many, many things. We’ll start with the Quick Access Toolbar Tabs you see immediately when opening a new Word document, with a focus on the Home, Insert, Design, and Layout tabs as they contain the bulk of the document customization tools you’ll need.

• Home: Fonts, Paragraphs, and Styles, as well as Clipboard and Editing options
• Insert: Tables, Illustrations, Media, Headers & Footers, Text Boxes, and Symbols
• Design: Themes, including colors and fonts, and Page Backgrounds
• Layout: Page Setup, Paragraphs, and Arrange

These are your manual tools. You can set up a range of formatting options before you begin editing your document to ensure the same structure and style is applied throughout, as well as using the same tools to edit your document when work is in progress. You’re probably familiar with how to change the Font, colors, sizes, and how to apply the Bold, Italicized and underlined formats to your text. These are easily applied.

Styles

But it can be much faster and usually much easier to apply pre-designed Styles to your document as you move through. The Styles are made up of individual settings, so always apply the same formatting to your document. There is a Style for «Heading 1» which will appear the same within a web-page. There is a «Title» Style which applies a 28pt font and condenses the text slightly. There is a «Quote» Style which applies an indent to the left and right of the document, italicizes your text, and grants it a different color. For instance:

This was a very quick snippet illustrating how to apply basic Styles to your document. Play around with the other styles and learn how they affect the visual presentation of your work, and what a difference that can make to your reader (and also to your own workflow!).

Create Your Own Style

You’re super stylish, right? Good, because I’m not. I have a big ginger beard and everything. Enough of that. In the video I showed you how to access the additional Styles menu. It is the tiny arrow indicating there is a pop-out menu awaiting your inspection. Alternatively, hit CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + S. At the bottom of the new Styles menu are three icons:

• New Style: Pretty self-explanatory. If you find yourself frequently tweaking a specific facet of your Word document layout, you should absolutely turn it into an easily applicable custom Style.
• Style Inspector: The Style Inspector can be pretty handy if you receive a document with lots of new and «unusual» formatting. Just open the inspector and select the area of the document you’d like to know more about. You can also reset the formatting for the selected text from within the inspector, using the red eraser icons on the right.
• Manage Styles: You can use the Manage Styles option to make any alterations to existing Styles, including your own.

When creating your own Style, you don’t have to start from scratch. The options Style type and Base style on can be handy to make slight tweaks to existing styles, suiting them for your editing needs. Just be sure to save them as something different!

Themes

Nestled in the Design tab are options for Themes and Document Formatting. Just as a Style applies a specific set of formatting instructions to a single section (or a whole document, if you like), a Theme is designed to format your entire document, altering all of the available styles.

Two of the best features of the Themes section are the interchangeable colors and fonts.

Once you’ve selected your Theme, you can alter the aesthetic of the document using one of the pre-designed color schemes, or design your own.

Similarly, you can select from collections of fonts that will be implemented throughout the document. It is an extremely easy way to alter the visual presentation of your document while maintaining a uniform, professional approach.

Document Formatting applies a complete «Style set» to your document. For instance, in the above video, the Heading 2 formatting Style is a standard, whereas in the next short clip, you’ll see the same Heading 2 Style (and Title Style) change as I rollover each Document Formatting option.

Another handy, but underused tool is Effects. Just as selecting a Theme alters the appearance of the text and formatting, selecting an Effect alters the appearance of each image throughout the document. There are options for regular Office, Glow Edge, Extreme Shadow, and plenty more, so you can select one that matches the voice of your work.

Templates

There are other extremely easy ways to apply consistent formatting throughout your entire document. Microsoft included literally thousands of free templates for you to use, covering a huge range of topics. Need a Business Report for a Graphic Design outfit? You’re covered. Need Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Supper & Pie Auction invitations (wat?!)? For some reason, you’re covered.

And although I poke fun at the latter of those examples, the templates can be tweaked to your own specifications extremely easily within Word, using the other design and layout tools available to you.

Choose any template, and open it. Look at the design of the document: where the indents are, where the text boxes are placed, if any specific styles have been applied, and then have a little play around. Move things, click things, change settings, and you’ll understand more about the composition of the template.

3 Advanced Formatting Tips

To round our Word layout settings article off, I’ll share three advanced formatting tips with you.

1. Section Breaks

Section breaks are a crazy useful formatting tool, especially if working on a document consisting of different facets of information that would benefit from an individual style. For instance, you can apply custom formatting to a single area, such as an alternative header or footer, or even a whole new page numbering system, but importantly leaving the rest of the document intact.

Head to the Layout tab, and select Breaks. It will open a drop-down menu containing various options:

Select a section break that suits your document, but note that inserting a Next Page section break will also insert a Page Break, which can be problematic, if that isn’t what you’re after. In this case, use the Continuous Break option.

Once you implement a specific section style you like, you can always copy it to the next section break.

2. Using Find and Replace

This slightly overlooked formatting tool can be a lifesaver when performing editing duties, but using the Find and Replace tool can help you scour the entire document for the specific formatting issues you need to change.

Press CTRL + H to open the Find and Replace tool. In the bottom-right you should spot Format, which opens a drop-down menu. You can now select from the range of additional replacement fields. Each options opens a new dialogue box where you can specify what you’re attempting to replace, and leaving the Find What/Replace With fields empty will change all of the matching formatting.

3. Formatting a List

You’d think altering the appearance of a numbered list would be jolly easy, but it can be surprisingly frustrating.

Head to the Home tab. In the Paragraph section, look for the paragraph symbol and select it.

Look at the end of each entry in your numbered list.

You can now select the individual paragraph markers. When you’ve selected the list items you’d like to change (hold CTRL while making your selection to edit multiple options), head to the Home tab and select the format you’d prefer from the drop-down list options.

Bonus Tip: Display Shortcuts

Microsoft Word does a pretty good job of showing you ScreenTips where possible. Just hover over almost any icon and you’ll get a minute snippet of information detailing exactly what the button does. You can make these ScreenTips more interesting by adding their relevant shortcut, so each time you rollover to check, you can attempt to remember the shortcut instead.

Head to File > Options > Advanced. Under Display, ensure Show shortcut keys in ScreenTips. Then press OK.

Bonus Tip 2: Configure Your Cut and Paste Settings

This is another tiny tip, but if you’re pasting snippets of text from other documents or programs, it can make a massive difference.

Head to File > Options > Advanced. Under Cut, copy, and paste you’ll see five options:

• Pasting within the same document
• Pasting between documents
• Pasting between documents when style definitions conflict
• Pasting from other programs
• Insert/paste pictures as

Select whether you’d like your pasted text to Keep Source Formatting, Merge Formatting, or Keep Text Only. There are also other options for you to consider. For instance, even after ensuring the formatting of any text copied from another program will be merged, I like to see the Show Paste Options button, just in case I need to make an alteration.

Formatting in Word Online

Word Online is part of the free online Office suite offered by Microsoft. It allows you to create and edit documents for free, provided you have a Microsoft account. Word Online offers much of the functionality of the desktop version, but there are some formatting omissions you might bump into.

The base level of formatting is all as standard, but Online doesn’t come with support for Themes or Section Breaks, as well as only allowing «Portrait» as your document orientation. Similarly, while your indents and tab settings will be imported from the desktop version of Word (or elsewhere), Word Online also restricts rulers and gridlines, so adding more can prove difficult.

However, if you are looking to make some basic edits on the move, or simply have no need for the additional formatting power of Word itself, Word Online makes a solid replacement.

Go Forth and Make Things Pretty

You now have the knowledge to make any Word document beautiful, easy to read, with oodles of visually engaging formatting. Take some time to play with the formatting settings. If you familiarize yourself with the basic formatting settings, you’ll find more advanced formatting options a synch!

Now that you know how to format Word documents like a pro, try your skills on a custom brochure or pamphlet. You can start with templates and change them to your likes.

Select the table

• Using the mouse: Move the mouse over the table until you see the table selection icons in the upper-left corner of the table and click it:

  

  Note: You can also click on the table selection icon in the bottom-right corner (resizing handle) for the same effect.

• Using the keyboard: To select table elements, on the Table Layout tab, on the Table group, click the Select button, then select the option you prefer:

  

  • Select Cell
  • Select Column
  • Select Row
  • Select Table

Format the table

After positioning the cursor anywhere in a table or selecting a table element, Word shows two tabs: Table Design and Layout. E.g.:

See also Select and format table elements in Word.

Apply a predefined Table style

There are several predefined styles you can use for the table. Styles include a variety of borders, colors, and other attributes that give a table a very professional appearance.

To choose any of the predefined styles, do the following:

   1.   Select the table.

   2.   On the Table Design tab, in the Table Styles group, in the Styles Gallery, click the More arrow to see the complete list of styles:

   3.   Select the table style you want:

The Table Styles gallery includes three categories of styles:

• Plain Tables have minimal formatting.
• Grid Tables include vertical separators between columns.
• List Tables do not include vertical column separators:

Note: The selected style overrides any previously added style changes for the table.

Modify the table style options

To change the table or selected style, on the Table Design tab, in the Table Style group, click Modify Table Style…:

In the Modify Style dialog box, make changes you want:

Note: Click the Format button at the bottom of the dialog box to change other options such as Font or Paragraph. See also how to clear formatting.

Customize the table formatting

After applying a table style, you can turn various options on or off to change their appearance. On the Table Design tab, in the Table Style Options group, there are six options:

• Header Row is the first row of the table that contains Headers that helps identify the contents of a particular column. Usually, the Header Row is formatted differently and should be repeated at the beginning of each new page for tables that extend beyond one page.

  Note: According to most requirements, data tables should have a header row to provide a contextual structure that aids navigation.

• Total Row is the last row of the table. If this option is selected, the last row will be formatted differently from the body rows, designed to summarize the rows above it (see how to insert formulas).
• First Column used special formatting to the column. Usually, the First Column contains the row headings.
• Last Column applies special formatting to the column to summarize the earlier columns (see how to insert formulas).
• Banded Rows and Banded Columns alternate the background color of rows and columns (see how to change the background color for the selected cells below).

Note: Certain Table Style Options may have a different effect depending on the Table Style you’ve chosen. You might need to experiment to get the look you want.

Apply the border styles

To apply and remove cell borders, do the following:

   1.   Select the cells or entire table to which you want to add a border.

   2.   On the Table Design tab, in the Borders group, choose the desired Border Styles, Line Style, Line Weight, and Pen Color:

• Select the predefined Line Style, Line Weight, and Line Color from the Border Styles dropdown list:

  

• Select the Line Style:

  

• Select a border thickness from the Line Weight dropdown list:

  

• Select the border color from the Pen Color dropdown list:

  

• Select the borders from the Borders dropdown list:

  

  Note: Select No Borders from the Borders dropdown list to remove borders from the selected cells.

• Draw the border where you want:
  • After selecting border style or color, the Border Painter button is automatically checked, or
  • If all that you want is selected already, just click the Border Painter button by yourself:

  

  After any of these actions, your cursor changes to the brush. Now, draw the border where you need it:

  

  Note: Use the Eraser button in the Draw group on the Table Layout tab to remove the unnecessary border:

  

Apply background colors and shading

To change the background color for some table elements, select them, then on the Table Design tab, in the Table Styles group, click the Shading button, then select the background color you prefer:

Note: To use a pattern instead of a solid color, on the Table Design tab, in the Borders group, click the dialog box launcher:

In the Borders and Shading dialog box, on the Shading tab, select a pattern in the Style list:

Layout of the table

The Table Layout tab includes commands for changing the entire table format, as well as commands for changing the appearance of individual table components such as cells, columns, rows:

See Select and format table elements in Word for more details.

Resize a table

• Using the mouse: To resize a table in a Word document, move the mouse over the table until you see the table resizing icons (handle) in the bottom-right corner of the table and click it:

  

  Drag the table to the size you need, and then release the handle.

• Using the keyboard: Select a table (see also how to resize individual cells, specific rows, or columns); the do one of the following:
  • On the Layout tab, in the Cell Size group, change the values in the Height and Width fields:

    

  • Open the Table Properties dialog box by doing one of the following:
    • On the Table Layout tab, in the Table group, click the Properties button:

      

    • Right-click the table and select Table Properties… in the popup menu:

      

    In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, in the Size section, select the Preferred width check box, then:

    • In the Preferred width field, type or select the value you need,
    • In the Measure in dropdown list, select one of the items:
      • Percent to specify the percentage of the table width,
      • Inches to fix the column width:

    

See how to resize table elements for more details.

Freeze the table

Some Word tables change the width of their columns according to the data. To stop changing the table size when new data is inserted, do the following:

   1.   Select the table.

   2.   Open the Table Properties dialog box.

   3.   In the Table Properties dialog box, on the Table tab, click the Options… button:

   4.   In the Table Options dialog box, deselect the Automatically resize to fit contents check box:

See also how to fix the height of table rows.

Move a table

To move a table to a new page or a new document, select it, then use the Cut and Paste commands. You can also use the Copy command to leave a copy of the table in the original location.

Page layout is the term used to describe how each page of your document will appear when it is printed. In Word, page layout includes elements such as the margins, the number of columns, how headers and footers appear, and a host of other considerations. As you design your pages, you can use the tools that Word puts at your disposal in this regard.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the ‘Page Layout’ topic. Click the
article»s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

  
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 add page numbers easily.

  
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 document. Headers and footers make this possible and this tip explains how.

  
An Exact Number of Lines Per Page
For some purposes, you may need to fit an exact number of lines on a printed page. This may be easier said than done, as it can often seem that Word is working against you. Here’s how to make sure that you get exactly what you need.

  
Automatic Page Numbers across Multiple Documents
Word allows you to specify the starting page number for a document, which comes in handy if you have multiple documents you need to print in sequential order. This tip discusses how you can set page numbers to automatically «flow» from one document to another.

  
Automatic Page Numbers in New Documents
If you want to have page numbers in your documents, by default, the easiest solution is to make your changes in templates. Then you can create new documents based on the template that contains the page numbers.

  
Changing Page Margins
Part of determining page layout is to specify the size of the margins that surround the text on a page. Word allows you to easily modify the margins used on your pages.

  
Changing the Starting Page Number
Word normally numbers pages in a document starting at one and extending as far as the number of pages you have. If you want, you can adjust a starting page number for any section in your document. It’s easy to do, as explained here.

  
Creating Point Pages
Want to add a page, with a different page number, in Word without affecting the entire document? The solution is a bit tricky, but worth the effort.

  
Creating Sideheads
A sidehead can be used as a layout element for a document. You can create sideheads in a document by using text boxes, as described in this tip.

  
Decreasing Space between Body Text and Footer Text
Figuring out how you want the text in your document to appear on the printed page can sometimes be a bit perplexing. Word provides many options that can affect that appearance. This tip focuses on settings that affect the distance between body text and footer text.

  
Default Font for Page Numbers
Page numbers are a common addition to documents, and a great aid to readers. If you want to easily format page numbers, you need to understand how Word formats them. This tip explains the best ways to get the formatting you want.

  
Determining Page Layout
Getting your document onto paper is the whole purpose of word processing. Here are some concepts that are important when considering how your page should be laid out.

  
Eliminating «Before Spacing» at the Top of a Page
When formatting paragraphs in Word, you have several options to adjust the spacing before, within, and at the end of each paragraph. Here’s how to eliminate the extra space that can sometimes appear at the top of a page.

  
Footnotes in Two Columns
When laying out how your printed pages will look, you might want to place your footnotes into more than one column. The best way to approach this issue depends on the version of Word you are using.

  
Generating a PDF that Uses CMYK Colors
Getting a Word document into a PDF format that a commercial printer can use can be challenging. This tip examines just one challenge that can be faced—getting your images to use the CMYK color model.

  
Getting a Proper Total Page Count
Word allows you to insert dynamic page numbers within your document. With some page number formatting, though, it is difficult to figure out how to get exactly the page numbers you want.

  
Leaving Even Pages Blank
Want to print your document only on odd-numbered pages in a printout? There are a couple of things you can try, as detailed in this tip.

  
Limiting Document Page Count
Do you need to have your document fit within a certain number of pages? This can be close to impossible to do within Word; you actually may need to consider other software to get the job done.

  
Margin Notes in Word
Some types of documents rely upon margin notes to the left or right of your main text. Getting these to appear in Word can be tricky, as there is no built-in function that creates them. This tip discusses one approach you can use, which involves tables.

  
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 with how Word inserts the page break in the document, as described in this tip.

  
No Space Before at the Top of a Page
Want to make sure that Word handles space before a paragraph correctly when the paragraph is at the top of a page? Check the things discussed in this tip and you’ll get just the spacing you want.

  
Odd Page Numbers Disappearing
Page numbers in printed pages are often a necessary part of formatting a document. What do you do if your printed output doesn’t include some of the page numbers you expect? Here’s a short discussion on what could cause this type of problem and how to fix it.

  
Preventing Straggling Heads
Undoubtedly you will want to format your document so that headings stay with the paragraph that follows the heading. Here’s how to format your headings so Word takes care of this automatically.

  
Printing A4 on Letter Size Paper
For those around the world using the metric system, the standard size for many documents is referred to as an A4 page. If you aren’t part of the metric world, you may wonder how to get your A4 documents printed on letter-size paper without affecting pagination of the document. This tip explains how.

  
Quickly Displaying the Page Setup Dialog Box
The Page Setup dialog box is indispensable in setting up the overall look of your document. You can display the dialog box quickly by knowing where to click on the rulers, as described in this tip.

  
Selecting a Paper Size
Most of the time we print on whatever is a standard paper size for our area, such as letter size or A4 paper. However, Word allows you to select all sorts of paper sizes. Here’s how you specify the size you want to use.

  
Starting a New Section on an Odd Page Number
A common pagination convention used in publishing is for new chapters (and sometimes new sections) to start on an odd-numbered page. Word makes such pagination easy; just follow the steps outlined in this tip.

  
Two Page Numbering Schemes in the Same Document
Word is great at numbering pages if you only need a single, consistent numbering scheme through the document. If you need two separate numbering schemes, you need to apply some workarounds described in this tip.

  
Understanding Page Sizes
When you create a document, you need to be concerned about the final size of the page you will be creating. Word supports a wide variety of page sizes, and you can change them—«at any time—«by using the techniques in this tip.

  
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 type of margin that may be helpful, as well. Known as the gutter margin, it has a very specific purpose in your page layout.

  
Using a Single-Column Heading in a Multi-Column Layout
Want different numbers of columns all on the same page? Word makes it easy to use, for instance, a heading that uses a single column even though the majority of the page is more than one column. Here’s how to accomplish the design.

  
Using Chapter Numbers with Page Numbers
Do you need to add page numbers that include, as well, a chapter number? It’s relatively easy to do, as described in this tip.

  
Using Continued Lines
You can create a special header and footer page numbering scheme by using nested fields. This tip shows an example of how you can use the fields to calculate the next page number and to identify the last page of the document.

  
Watermarks in Columns
If you are creating small flyers (two per page), you may want to include a watermark graphic in the background of each of the flyers. Here’s some ideas on how you can accomplish this task.