How to Show Margins in Word

Displaying text boundary lines to show margins in Word

This wikiHow teaches you how to display the margin lines around your text in a Microsoft Word document. You can show the margins on PC and Mac, but the mobile version of Word doesn't allow you to do this.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using Mac

  1. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 1
    1
    Open a Word document on your Mac. You can open a saved document from your computer or open Microsoft Word, and create a new document.
  2. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 2
    2
    Click the Word tab on the menu bar. You can find this button next to the Apple icon near the upper-left corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
    Advertisement
  3. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 3
    3
    Click Preferences. This will open your Word settings.
  4. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 4
    4
    Click View in Preferences. This is the second option on the top row of the Preferences window. You can find it under the "Authoring and Proofing Tools" heading.
  5. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 5
    5
    Find the Text boundaries option. It's near the upper-right corner under the "Show in Document" heading.
  6. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 6
    6
    Click and check the box
    Android 7 Unchecked
    next to Text boundaries.     When this option is checked, you'll see the margin lines around your text in the document.
    7. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Using Windows

  1. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 7
    1
    Open a Word document on your computer. You can open a saved document or open Microsoft Word, and create a new document.
  2. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 8
    2
    Click the File tab. You can find this button above the toolbar ribbon in the upper-left corner of Word. It will open your file options.
    • If you're using Word 2007, click the Office icon on the top-left.
  3. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 9
    3
    Click Options on the file menu. This will open your Word options in a new window.
    • In Word 2007, click Word Options on the bottom-right.
  4. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 10
    4
    Click the Advanced tab in Options. It's on the left-hand side of the Options window.
  5. Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 11
    5
    Find the Show text boundaries option. It's under the "Show document content" heading in the Advanced tab.
  6. 6
    Click and check the box
    Android 7 Unchecked
    next to Show text boundaries.     This will show your margin lines around the text in your document.
    7. Advertisement
Image titled Show Margins in Word Step 12

You Might Also Like

Remove a Blank Page in Word
How to
Remove a Blank Page in Word
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
How to
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
Create an Index in Word
How to
Create an Index in Word
Insert Page Numbers in WordEasily Add Page Numbers to a Word Document on Any Platform
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
How to
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
Convert Excel to Word3 Easy Ways to Convert Microsoft Excel Data to Word
Insert a Check Box in Word
How to
Insert a Check Box in Word
Convert a JPEG Image Into an Editable Word Document3 Free Ways to Convert JPEG Into an Editable Word Document
Make Two Columns in Word2 Easy Ways to Make Two Columns in Microsoft Word
Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word3 Simple Ways to Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word
Make a Booklet in Word6 Ways to Format and Print a Booklet in Word
Insert a Line in Word4 Simple Ways to Insert a Line in Microsoft Word
Add Images to a Microsoft Word DocumentHow to Insert a Picture into a Word Document: 3 Easy Ways
Add Backgrounds in WordHow to Add Backgrounds in Microsoft Word: Watermarks, Images, & Colors
Advertisement

About This Article

wikiHow Staff
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 19,771 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 4
Updated: February 10, 2022
Views: 19,771
Categories: Microsoft Word
Article SummaryX

1. Open Word.
2. Click the File tab.
3. Click Options.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Check the Show text boundaries box.

Did this summary help you?
Advertisement