Technical Writing - How to Design Your Page Margins in a Microsoft Word Document Template (1)?

Microsoft Word is the world's most frequently useddrop-down menu. Here are your options:
word processor with pretty good page layout- NORMAL creates a single type of page, with the
functions. It's installed on a great majority of home andsame margins and gutters, headers and footers. All
business computers in every country. So it makespages of the document will look exactly the same.
sense for you as a freelance technical writer to learn- MIRROR MARGINS creates left and right pages with
how to design a document template in Word.margins "mirroring" each other. That is, margins will be
First create your margins and other basic page layouton the OUTER edge of each page.
features.- 2 PAGES PER SHEET creates two small equal-size
Select File > New from the main menu and create apages out of the "normal size" page. For
blank Word document.portrait-orientation pages, two smaller landscape pages
Select File > Page Setup to display the Page Setupare created. For landscape-orientation pages, two
dialog box.smaller portrait pages are created.
Select your Page Orientation (Portrait vs. Landscape).- BOOK FOLD creates a "spread" (a single page unit)
Set your Top, Bottom, Right, and Left margins. Theout of 2 or multiples-of-2 pages. Your choices are All,
default values look good but you can change them to4, 8, 12, and 16 pages to a spread.
anything you want.In the Preview box, select from the drop-down list how
Set your Gutter dimension and position. Gutter is themany pages these page layout features should apply
blank non-text area to the LEFT or TOP of your textto.
area. A lot of book-format documents leave a gutter- WHOLE DOCUMENT applies the page setup values
to the left for ease of reading. Experiment withto every page in the document.
different gutter widths and see which one you like- THIS POINT FORWARD applies the changes from
better; or set it to the width specified by yourwhere you are in the document to the end.
Documentation Guideline (if you have one).Click the DEFAULT button to reset all values to their
Select a value for "Multiple Pages" from thedefault values.