Allowing for Letterhead

Many businesses use letterhead that has different margins for the first page than for any subsequent pages in the letter. For instance, the first page may require a larger top margin than the second page because the first page has a company logo or masthead at the top of the page. Allowing for this in Word requires the use of multiple sections in your document. One section would be defined for the first page, and another section for subsequent pages.

To use two different sections in your document, do the following:

1. Position the insertion point somewhere in the first page of the document, at the beginning of a paragraph, but not at the beginning of the document.
2. Choose the Break option from the Insert menu. You will see the Break dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Click on Continuous.
4. Click on OK. A section break (a thin, double line) will be inserted in your document.
5. Choose the Page Setup option from the File menu and make sure the Margins tab is selected. The resulting Page Setup dialog box appears. (Click here to see a related figure.)
6. Adjust your top margin as you want it to appear
7. Make sure This Section appears in the Apply To box.
8. Click on OK.

Continue typing. When your document is long enough that it requires two pages, the second page will be printed with the new margins you entered, but the first page will retain the original margins.