Microsoft Word provides visual rulers along the top (horizontal) and the left side (vertical) of your document window. These rulers are essential for precisely adjusting margins, indents, and tab stops. However, if you are simply drafting a manuscript, typing an essay, or reading a document, the vertical ruler on the left side of the screen takes up valuable horizontal pixel space. If you want a cleaner, more minimalist writing environment, you can easily hide the vertical ruler while keeping the more useful horizontal ruler active.
How to Hide the Vertical Ruler
You can toggle the vertical ruler off and on deep within Word’s Advanced settings. This change will apply to all documents you open on this computer.
- Open Microsoft Word.
- Click on the File tab in the top-left corner of the window.
- Look at the bottom of the left-hand blue sidebar and click on Options. (You may need to click ‘More…’ first to reveal Options).
- The “Word Options” dialogue box will appear. In the left-hand menu pane, click on Advanced.
- Scroll exactly halfway down the long list of settings until you locate the section titled Display.
- Look for a checkbox labelled Show vertical ruler in Print Layout view.
- Click the checkbox to uncheck it.
- Click the OK button at the bottom right of the window.
Checking Your View Settings
Once you click OK, the ruler on the left side of your screen will vanish.
If you also want to hide the horizontal ruler at the top of the screen for maximum minimalism, you don’t need to return to the Options menu. Simply click on the View tab on the main Word ribbon, and uncheck the Ruler box in the “Show” group. Checking this box again will bring back the horizontal ruler, but the vertical ruler will remain permanently hidden until you reverse the steps above.