Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Understanding Page Sizes.

Understanding Page Sizes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 14, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You probably know that you can specify a size for the paper on which you print your Word documents. If you display the Page Setup dialog box you can specify a number of different paper sizes that are allowable on your printer. (To display the Page Setup dialog box, choose Page Setup from the File menu.) Make sure that the Paper Size tab (Word 97 and Word 2000) or the Paper tab (Word 2002 and Word 2003) is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Paper tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

If you want to specify a custom paper size, you can do so by simply adjusting the Height and Width settings in the dialog box. As you do so, notice that the Paper Size setting changes to Custom Size. Word allows you to set any page height and width between .1 inches and 22 inches. (These limits are hard-coded into Word and cannot be changed.) If you want to print documents with larger dimensions, then you need to choose a different program—other than Word—to do your printing.

Be aware that if you specify a custom size for printing, the results may not be exactly what you think they will be. For instance, if you specify a page width of 15 inches, but the printer can only handle paper up to 10 inches wide, then the resulting printout will not be satisfactory, and the printer may actually reject the print job. You should make sure that you specify paper sizes that are within the limits of what your printer can actually handle.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (61) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Understanding Page Sizes.

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

Updating Document Links

If you establish dynamic links between documents, then you can force Word to update those links whenever you want. How ...

Discover More

Adding a File Path and Filename

If you need to stuff the current workbook's filename and path into a cell or a header or footer, you'll appreciate the ...

Discover More

Mail Merge Magic (Special Offer)

Mail Merge Magic makes a great addition to the library of anyone wanting to master using Word's mail merge tool. ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Printing a Document's Mirror Image

If you need to print the mirror image (backwards) of a document, you may think you are out of luck in Word. There are ...

Discover More

Printing a Font List

Getting a list of fonts available in a document is not something you can easily do in Word. That is, unless you put the ...

Discover More

Controlling Where a Full-page Border is Printed

When you add full-page borders to your document, you may be bothered to find out that one or more sides of the border ...

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 three less than 3?

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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.