- Changing page orientations in Word will usually rotate the entire document.
- You can use Section Breaks to manually create separate pages to rotate.
- By dragging and selecting a page’s contents, you can also use Page Setup to rotate the selection.
While working on files in Microsoft Word you may come across problems so specific you wouldn’t consider them until they’re staring you in the face. And one of those problems might be how to make only one page landscape in Microsoft Word.
Don’t worry, though. This article will be your guide to getting it done.
How to Make Only One Page Landscape in Microsoft Word
Your standard Microsoft Word document has its pages formatted to Portrait mode by default. Changing that orientation to landscape is pretty straightforward and can be done via the “Orientation” button in the Layout tab. Unfortunately, this affects the entire document.
Word isn’t so complicated as to leave you without a solution though, and there are two good ways to solve the problem, depending on how many pages are in your document and where you want a page rotated. Here they are:
Using Section Breaks
All Word documents are divided into sections. Using a different heading or typing a new paragraph both qualify as sections. To create a single Landscape page, you’ll need to create a self-contained section for the page you want to rotate.
Word hides the visibility of section indicators by default (a reverse “P” or paragraph symbol), but they can be revealed quite easily:
- Under the Home Tab, click the “Show/Hide Sections” icon.
- Your sections will now be visible.
With these visible, it’s time to create a Section Break:
To create the start of the section, you’ll need to go to the previous page and create a break. Click the last paragraph before the end of the page.
In the Layout Tab, click the “Breaks” button and choose “Next Page” under Section Breaks.
- You should see “Section Break (Next Page)” which marks the beginning of the break.
Go to the end of the next page and do the same to create another section break.
With your desired page isolated, click anywhere on it and choose “Landscape” from the “Orientation” button. Your single page should then become a landscape.
If you’d like all pages that follow a specific page in landscape mode, then simply don’t create a second section break. On the other hand, if you’d like to convert multiple non-sequential pages to Landscape, then simply create section breaks on the pages before and at the end of your desired pages.
Using Page Setup
While the above method offers amazing customizability and control, creating multiple section breaks can seem daunting. Page Setup offers a different way to rotate individual pages. Here’s what to do:
- Select the text (and any images or tables) on the entire page you wish to rotate.
- In the Layout tab, click the arrow at the bottom right of the “Page Setup” subgroup.
A new window will open. Choose the “Landscape” option under the “Orientation” subgroup.
To ensure the rotation applies only to the selection, choose “Selected Text” from the “Apply To” option.
- Click “OK” to confirm. Your page will now be rotated.
When rotating a selection, you may find some text can’t fit and runs into another Landscape page. Simply change the font size or line spacing to fix this.
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- Be sure to print in portrait mode instead of landscape mode by updating the printing preference.
- Paper size selection is important and should match the size of the physical paper.
- Adding the printer back to Windows can resolve the issue that prevented the printer from using the proper orientation.
1. Change the Default Orientation on the Printer Properties
Step 1: Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to launch the Settings app.
Step 2: On the left pane, click Bluetooth & devices , and on the right, click Printers & scanners and select the printer you want to fix.
Step 3: Click Printing preferences to open the printer’s configuration window.
Step 4: Select Portrait from the Orientation drop-down list, then click Apply and OK .
2. Change Orientation in Page Setup
You can make specific changes to the application or document you want to print from. For example, if you are trying to print from Microsoft Word, change the page orientation before printing, which will reflect when you print the page.
Step 1: Click the Layout section in the Word document, expand Orientation , and select Portrait .
Step 2: Proceed to print the document. It should automatically choose the orientation based on the document layout.
3. Change Layout in Print Setup
If you cannot change the orientation from the app as you would on a word processor, switch to Portrait on the print setup page before printing the document, as shown below.
Step 1: Press the Control + P keyboard shortcut to initiate the print process. This should open the print setup page.
Step 2: Under the Layout section, select Portrait > Print .
4. Check for and Correct Page Size Mismatch
One reason your printer prints landscape instead of portrait is a page mismatch. That means the printer may expect A4 paper even though you have loaded A5 sheets.
Go to Print Setup > expand More settings > select a matching Paper size > click Print .
5. Confirm Network Printer Settings Are Not Overriding Local Settings
This solution will apply if you are connected to a network printer. If the network printer has a set of print preferences different from what you want, you may need to contact the administrator to resolve the issue. Alternatively, switch to a local printer to perform the print job.
6. Re-Add the Printer to Windows
You can fix this problem by removing the printer from your computer and re-adding it. This is a valid fix because when the computer is re-added, it comes with a default set of configurations, and any misconfiguration that caused the problem would be removed.
Step 1: Go to the Printers & scanners in the Windows Settings app.
Step 2: Select the problematic printer and click on Remove .
Step 3: Restart the computer and return to Printers & scanners .
Step 4: Click Add Device and follow the wizard to complete the process. The issue should be resolved.
7. Factory Reset the Printer
If your printer keeps printing sideways or landscape, resetting it to factory settings can resolve the problem. A factory reset reconfigures all printer settings and restores them to default. The procedures for performing a factory reset vary depending on the printer brand. For instructions on properly executing this operation on your printer, consult your user manual.
