How to Change the Page Orientation to Landscape in Google Docs

By default, every new Google Docs document opens in a standard portrait (vertical) orientation. While this is perfect for writing essays, letters, and standard reports, it is often inadequate for creating wide tables, flowcharts, or certificates. For these wider elements, you will need to switch your document to a landscape (horizontal) orientation.

How to Change the Entire Document to Landscape

If you want every page in your Google Doc to be horizontal, follow these simple steps:

1. Open your document in Google Docs on a desktop web browser.
2. Click on File in the top menu bar.
3. Scroll down and click on Page setup.
4. In the Page setup dialog box, look for the Orientation section.
5. Click the radio button next to Landscape.
6. Click OK to apply the change.

How to Change a Single Page to Landscape

Google Docs now allows you to mix and match portrait and landscape pages within the exact same document. This is incredibly useful if you have a 10-page report but need page 5 to be wide enough to hold a massive data table.

1. Highlight the specific text, table, or image that you want to place on a landscape page.
2. Click on Format in the top menu bar.
3. Hover over Page orientation and click it.
4. Under the “Apply to” section, select Selected content.
5. Choose the Landscape option.
6. Click OK.

Google Docs will automatically insert section breaks before and after your highlighted content, placing that specific content on its own horizontal page while keeping the rest of the document vertical.