How to Use Your Word Processor

Formatting Margins

Using your word processor or desktop publishing program, you can format margins using menu commands and the ruler. In Microsoft Word, you can set margins by clicking on the FILE > PAGE SETUP menu command. To format spacing and alignment, select the text you want to format and then use one of the following techniques:

Menu Commands: Choose the FILE > PAGE SETUP command from the main menu. The Page Setup dialog box allows you to specify top, left, bottom, and right margins. You can also set a gutter—the white space between two facing pages set aside for documents that will be bound. The Page Setup dialog box also allows you to set the orientation of the page and apply margin settings to the entire document or to everything following your current location in the document.

Rulers: If your ruler is not visible, show it using the VIEW > RULER command from the main menu. Select the text for which you want to change the margins or choose the EDIT > SELECT ALL command from the main menu to set the margins for the entire document. To set right and left margins, move your mouse over the margin indicator on the horizontal ruler (the gray area to the left and right of the ruler), click, and drag to the desired setting. To set top and bottom margins, move your mouse over the margin indicator on the vertical ruler, click, and drag to the desired setting.