By default, Microsoft Word surrounds your text with a 1-inch “Normal” margin on all four sides of the page. While this standard layout is perfect for standard business letters and academic essays, there are many situations where a 1-inch border is inappropriate.
If you are trying to squeeze a one-and-a-half-page resume onto a single sheet of paper, or if you are formatting a document that will be punched and bound in a three-ring binder (requiring extra blank space on the left side), you must break away from the default settings and define your own custom margins.
How to Access Custom Margins
While Word provides a quick drop-down menu with a few preset margin sizes (like “Narrow” or “Wide”), true control requires opening the Page Setup dialog box.
- Open your document in Microsoft Word.
- Click the Layout tab in the ribbon at the top of the screen.
- In the “Page Setup” group on the far left, click the Margins icon.
- Ignore the preset options and click Custom Margins… at the very bottom of the drop-down menu.
A new “Page Setup” dialog window will appear, offering precise mathematical control over your document’s layout.
Adjusting the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right Margins
In the Page Setup window, you will see four specific entry boxes for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right. You can type a precise measurement (e.g., 0.75") into any of these boxes, or use the small up and down arrows to adjust the spacing.
If you are trying to save space on a resume, a common “Narrow” custom setup is 0.5 inches on all four sides. Warning: Modern laser printers require at least a 0.25-inch margin to physically grip the paper. If you set your margins to zero, the edges of your text will be mechanically cut off during printing.
Setting a Gutter Margin for Book Binding
If you plan to physically bind your printed document using staples, spiral binding, or a three-ring binder, you run the risk of the binding process punching holes directly through the text on the left side of the page.
To prevent this, you do not use the Left margin; you use a Gutter.
- In the Page Setup window, look for the Gutter entry box (located directly below the Top and Bottom margins).
- Increase the Gutter size to
0.5". - Look at the small preview window at the bottom of the dialog box. You will see a black shaded area appear on the left side of the visual page, indicating the “dead zone” reserved for the physical binding.
The Gutter measurement is added on top of your standard Left margin. If your Left margin is 1-inch, and your Gutter is 0.5-inches, Word will push your text 1.5 inches away from the left edge of the paper, ensuring your words survive the hole puncher.
Applying the Margins to the Whole Document
Before clicking OK, look at the very bottom of the Page Setup window for a drop-down menu labeled Apply to:.
By default, it is set to “Whole document.” If you only want your custom margins to affect the specific page your cursor is currently on, change this drop-down to “This point forward.” Once you are satisfied with your settings, click OK.