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: Reversing Print Order.

Reversing Print Order

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When printing your document, Word allows you to print it either forwards or backwards. This is helpful if you have a printer that deposits printed pages one on top of the other, right side up, as they are printed. This is typical with certain models of inkjet and laser printers. When the printing order is reversed, then the final document will be collated properly. To control the printing order, follow these steps:

Choose Options from the Tools menu. You will see the Options dialog box.
Make sure the Print tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Print tab of the Options dialog box.

In the Printing Options box, click on the Reverse Print Order check box. An X in the check box indicates the printing order is reversed.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1153) 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: Reversing Print Order.

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. Learn more about Allen...

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