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.
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.
- Select Orientation in the Page Setup group.
- Select Portrait or Landscape from the drop-down menu.
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.
- Select Portrait or Landscape in the Page Setup dialog box.
- If you selected specific text, select Selected text from the Apply to menu.
- If you placed your cursor in a specific section, select This section or This point forward from the Apply to menu.
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.
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.
- Select Document from the drop-down menu.
- Select the Page Setup button in the Document dialog box.
- Select Portrait or Landscape in the Page Setup dialog box.
- Select the OK button in the Page Setup dialog box.
- If you selected specific text, select Selected text from the Apply to menu in the Document dialog box.
- If you placed your cursor in a specific section, select This section or This point forward from the Apply to menu.
- Select the OK button.
Your selected text or section should change to the new page orientation.
Related Resources
How to Create Newspaper-Style Columns in Microsoft Word
How to Create a Cover Page in Microsoft Word (Built-In and Custom)
How to Create Drop Caps in Microsoft Word
Updated August 11, 2022