How to Change the Page Orientation in Microsoft Word

By default, every new document you open in Microsoft Word is set to Portrait orientation. This means the page is taller than it is wide (8.5 x 11 inches), which is perfect for writing standard letters, essays, and reports.

However, if you are trying to create a wide table, print a large chart, or design a flyer, the narrow Portrait layout will crush your content. You need to rotate the digital paper 90 degrees into Landscape orientation.

How to Change the Entire Document to Landscape

Changing the orientation of your entire file takes just two clicks.

1. Open your Microsoft Word document.
2. Look at the ribbon menu at the very top of the screen and click on the Layout tab.
3. On the far left side of the Layout ribbon, click the Orientation button.
4. A small drop-down menu will appear. Select Landscape.

Instantly, every single page in your document will rotate to become wider than it is tall. Word will automatically adjust your text wrapping to fit the new, wider margins.

How to Mix Portrait and Landscape Pages

A very common problem occurs when you are writing a standard 10-page report (which needs to be in Portrait mode), but on page 5, you need to insert a massive, wide data table.

If you use the method above, it will ruin the other 9 pages of your report. You need to tell Word to apply Landscape mode to only one specific page. You do this by using a Section Break.

1. Scroll to the bottom of page 4 (the page immediately before you want the wide layout).
2. Click Layout > Breaks > Next Page. (This tells Word that the formatting rules are about to change).
3. Now, place your cursor on page 5.
4. Click Layout > Orientation > Landscape. Now, page 5 is wide, but pages 1-4 are still tall.
5. To prevent page 6 from also being wide, scroll to the bottom of page 5.
6. Click Layout > Breaks > Next Page again.
7. Place your cursor on page 6.
8. Click Layout > Orientation > Portrait.

By creating these invisible “Section Breaks”, you isolate the formatting, allowing you to perfectly mix both vertical and horizontal pages in the exact same document without destroying your layout.