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Page Setup & Document Layout
Paper size, margins, columns, breaks, borders, and hyphenation.
Why Page Setup Matters
Parents printing NorthgateHandbook.docx at home need standard A4 margins — text must not clip at the edge. Page setup is the collection of layout settings — paper size, orientation, and margins — that define the printable area of each page.
NorthgateHandbook.docx uses A4 portrait with 2.5 cm margins so policy text clears home printer margins. James Okonkwo previewed a draft with narrow margins; hole-punching for binders cut off the first letter of every line. Changing margins to fit more text on one page shrinks readability for older readers — resist the temptation before open day.
Layout Tab
Page layout commands live on Layout tab (sometimes Page Layout in older versions).
| Group | Common commands |
|---|---|
| Page Setup | Margins, Orientation, Size |
| Paragraph | Indent and spacing (duplicate of Home) |
| Page Background | Colour and watermark |
Margins, Size, and Orientation are the three settings you will touch most often for the handbook. Font colour on Home changes letters, not page edges.
Set Margins
- Click Layout tab.
- Click Margins.
- Click Normal (2.54 cm / 1 inch on all sides) — or Custom Margins.
- For Custom Margins: set Top, Bottom, Left, Right to 2.5 cm.
- Click OK.
Wider margins leave room for binding. Narrow margins fit more text but can look crowded when parents print on home printers. File → Print → Page Setup link opens the same margin dialog without leaving print preview.
Paper Size and Orientation
- Layout tab → Size → A4 (UK default).
- Layout tab → Orientation → Portrait (vertical page).
Use Landscape only for wide tables — for example a full-term calendar — then switch back to portrait for text chapters. The open-day schedule table in this course fits portrait A4 with three columns.
Mirror Margins for Booklets
Example: for stapled booklets, Layout → Margins → Custom Margins, set Pages → Multiple pages → Mirror margins, Inside 2.5 cm, Outside 2 cm — extra room at the binding edge. Ask the print shop before open day if they need mirror margins for stapled booklets.
Most home prints use Normal margins on all sides. Mirror margins matter when James Okonkwo orders a professional print run for Saturday 14 March 2026.
Why Columns and Text Wrap
The Open Day flyer inside NorthgateHandbook.docx should read like a newsletter — logo beside text, not a blank gap. Text wrap controls how body text flows around a picture — inline, square, tight, or behind the image. It tells Word whether text sits beside the picture or only above and below it.
James Okonkwo inserted the logo In Line with Text — a hole appeared on the left until Picture Format → Wrap Text → Square fixed the flyer. Applying two columns to the entire handbook makes long policy chapters hard to read — use columns only on short announcement blocks.
Two Columns on One Page
- Select the Open Day flyer text — or click inside that section.
- Layout tab → Columns.
- Click Two.
- Word balances text between left and right columns.
- To return to one column: Layout → Columns → One.
Use columns for short announcements — not for the whole handbook, or reading becomes awkward. Long Uniform and Behaviour chapters stay single-column for readability.
Apply Columns to One Section Only
- Select only the Open Day announcement paragraphs.
- Layout tab → Columns → Two.
- Leave other chapters unchanged.
If the whole document splits, undo (Ctrl+Z) and select a smaller block first. Selecting everything with Ctrl+A before Columns → Two splits every page — behaviour policy paragraphs become narrow newspaper columns. Select only the Open Day flyer section, or insert a section break first (Layout → Breaks) so columns stay local.
Wrap Text Around a Picture
- Click the school logo picture.
- Picture Format tab → Wrap Text.
- Choose Square — text flows beside the image.
- Drag the picture to the right margin.
- Drag the corner handle to resize — hold Shift to keep proportions.
If text sits above and below the picture with a gap on the side, the wrap is In Line with Text. Change to Square or Tight. Example: click the logo, Picture Format → Wrap Text → Square, drag the image to the right — text fills the left column.
Northgate Open Day Flyer
The flyer under Open Day promotes Saturday 14 March 2026, 10:00–14:00, at Main Hall and Sports Block.
- Type a short bullet list of highlights — tour, lunch samples, Q&A.
- Insert the logo: Insert → Pictures.
- Picture Format → Wrap Text → Square; drag logo top-right.
- Layout → Columns → Two on the flyer text only.
Parents scanning the handbook in the foyer see date and logo in one glance. Revert to one column before the next long reading chapter.
Hands-on steps
Goal
Set A4 paper and parent-friendly margins for home printing.
James Okonkwo adds this to NorthgateHandbook.docx as part of one polished student handbook, policy pack, and open-day collateral before families arrive.
Page size
Where
Do this
You should see
- Status bar or Layout shows A4.
Verification
Check your work
You are correct if all of these are true:
- Paper size is A4 (UK default).
- Margins allow home printing without clipped text.
- Decorative border limited to cover — not entire 80-page file.
More lessons in Microsoft Word · Next: Sections — Critical Advanced Skill · Previous: Styles — Professional Formatting