How to Change Page Orientation in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

We changed the page orientation in Adobe Acrobat last week. This week, we will change the page orientation in Microsoft Word.

First, we’ll change the page orientation of a whole document. Then, we’ll change the page orientation for part of a document.

In Word, page orientation can be portrait, which is vertical, or landscape, which is horizontal.

Figure 1. Portrait and landscape examples

Quick Links:

How to Change the Page Orientation for a Whole Document
How to Change the Page Orientation for Part of a Document

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other videos about Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 and Word for Mac. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

How to Change the Page Orientation for a Whole Document

Select the Layout tab in the ribbon.

Layout tab in Word 365 — Figure 2. Layout tab

Select Orientation in the Page Setup group.

Orientation button in Word 365 — Figure 3. Orientation button

Select Portrait or Landscape from the drop-down menu.

Portrait and Landscape options in Word 365 — Figure 4. Portrait and Landscape options

Your document should change to the new page orientation.

How to Change the Page Orientation for Part of a Document

The steps to change the page orientation for part of a document are slightly different for PC and Mac. Therefore, we will walk through each process separately.

Important Note: Word doesn’t offer an option to change the page orientation for an individual page. If you need to change the orientation for a page, select all the text on that page.

PC Steps

Select the text you want to change or place your cursor in the section you want to change. (If you want to change an entire page, select all the text on that page.)
Select the Layout tab in the ribbon (see figure 2).
Select the dialog box launcher in the Page Setup group.

Page Setup dialog box launcher in Word 365 — Figure 5. Page Setup dialog box launcher

Select Portrait or Landscape in the Page Setup dialog box.

Portrait and Landscape options in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 6. Portrait and Landscape options

If you selected specific text, select Selected text from the Apply to menu.

"Selected text" option in the "Apply to" menu in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 7. “Selected text” option

If you placed your cursor in a specific section, select This section or This point forward from the Apply to menu.

"This section" option in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 8. “This section” option

Pro Tip: The This point forward option changes the page orientation for all the content after your cursor, not just the content in the current section.

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Page Setup dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 9. Page Setup OK button

Mac Steps

Select the text you want to change or place your cursor in the section you want to change. (If you want to change an entire page, select all the text on that page.)
Select the Format menu.