This tutorial shows how to change page orientation in Microsoft Word.
[Typewriter sounds]
Hello, my name is Erin.
I’m a technical writer and editor who shares step-by-step software tutorials and writing tips for the real world on this channel
and on my blog at erinwrightwriting.com.
Today, we’re going to look at how to change the page orientation for a whole document and part of a document.
In Word, page orientation can be portrait, which is vertical, or landscape, which is horizontal.
I’ll be using Word for Microsoft 365.
In addition, I will be using Word for Mac when the steps are different between the PC and Mac.
These steps also apply to Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
To change the page orientation for the whole document,
begin by selecting the Layout tab in the ribbon.
Then, select Orientation in the Page Setup group.
Next, select Portrait or Landscape from the drop-down menu.
Your document should change to the new page orientation.
The steps to change the page orientation for part of a document are slightly different for PC and Mac.
Therefore, we will quickly walk through each process separately.
If you’re on a PC, select the text you want to change.
Before we move on,
it’s important to mention that Word doesn’t offer an option to change the page orientation for an individual page.
If you need to change the orientation for a whole page, select all the text on that page.
If your document has section breaks and you want to change the orientation of the entire section,
you can just place your cursor in that section rather than selecting specific text.
Next, select the Layout tab in the ribbon.
And then select the dialog box launcher in the Page Setup group.
Now, 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.
Please note that the "This point forward" option changes the page orientation for all the content after your cursor,
not just the content in the current section.
When you’re finished, select the OK button.
If you’re on a Mac, once again select the text you want to change or place your cursor in the section you want to change.
And then select the Format menu.
Followed by Document from the drop-down menu.
Next, select the Page Setup button in the Document dialog box.
When the Page Setup dialog box appears, select Portrait or Landscape.
And then select the OK button.
If you selected specific text, select "Selected text" from the "Apply to" menu in the Document dialog box.
And, if you placed your cursor in a specific section, select "This section" or "This point forward" from the "Apply to" menu.
Then, select the OK button.
Whether you’re on a PC or a Mac, your selected text or section should change to the new page orientation.
As always, remember to save your file to save your changes.
I have created many other videos about Microsoft Word including “How to Insert Section Breaks in Microsoft Word”
and “How to Create a Cover Page in Microsoft Word.”
Please see the complete list in the playlist titled “How to Use Microsoft Word,”
which is linked in the description box below.
The companion blog post for this video showing all the steps we just performed appears on
erinwrightwriting.com, which is also linked below.
Feel free to leave me a comment if there’s a specific topic
about Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat that you would like me to talk about in the future.
And please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future tutorials.
And give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!
[Typewriter sounds]