The Layout Shift
Google Docs strives to maintain consistency across documents by utilizing a default set of Page Setup parameters (usually A4 or Letter size, with 1-inch margins all around). However, when you copy and paste text from an external source—like a PDF, a Microsoft Word document, or a heavily formatted website—Google Docs sometimes attempts to preserve the original layout of the copied text. If the source material uses drastically different margin sizes, pasting it can cause Google Docs to automatically change the margin sizes of your current document to accommodate the new text, ruining your carefully structured layout and pushing text off the visible page.
Enforcing Default Page Setup Settings
To stop Google Docs from automatically changing your margin sizes when introducing new text or applying different styles, you must lock in your preferred margins as the unalterable default for your account.
Open a new, blank Google Doc. In the top menu bar, click on File and scroll down to select Page setup. A dialog box will appear. Under the “Margins (inches)” section, manually type in your preferred dimensions for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right (for example, standard 1-inch margins). Before you click OK to close the window, look at the bottom-left corner of the dialog box and click the button labeled Set as default. Google Docs will ask you to confirm that you want to apply these settings to all new documents. Click OK.
Furthermore, when pasting text from external sources that might carry rogue margin formatting, avoid using the standard `Ctrl + V` (or `Cmd + V`). Instead, use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + V (`Cmd + Shift + V` on Mac) to “Paste without formatting.” This strips away the source’s margin data, forcing the incoming text to conform to the margin sizes you just established.