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: Changing Page Margins.

Changing Page Margins

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 27, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you first start Word, certain assumptions are made about your page layout. One of these assumptions has to do with your page margins. You can change your page margins at any time by following these steps:

  1. Choose the Page Setup option from the File menu. Word displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Margins tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  4. Adjust the top, bottom, left, and right margins as desired.
  5. Make sure the Apply To drop-down list is set to Whole Document.
  6. Click on OK.

Page margins can be different for each section in your document. This means that if you need to switch margins in the middle of a document, you can do so by inserting a section break and then modifying the margins for each of the resulting document sections. When doing this, the only difference in the above steps is that you would make sure the Apply To drop-down list (step 4) is set to This Section.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1020) 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: Changing Page Margins.

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

Understanding the ADVANCE Field

You can use the Advance field to change where text is positioned in your document. This tip shows how to use it and the ...

Discover More

Understanding WIZ Files

A file that uses the WIZ extension will open just fine in Word. What are these files, however, and how do you create them?

Discover More

Changing the Color of a List of Words

The Find and Replace tool is very powerful. If you need to use it many, many times in a row, however, it can quickly get ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Getting Rid of Section Breaks, but Not Section Formatting

Word allows you to change the character of how your pages are designed by using multiple sections in a document. If you ...

Discover More

Moving Section Breaks

Section breaks are used to divide a document into two or more sections that can be independently formatting. If you want ...

Discover More

Adjusting Bottoms of Pages

When you allow Word to naturally flow your text through a document, you may find that the text on each page ends at a ...

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 2 + 2?

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.