Microsoft Word and your printer are likely to be set up for the paper size “Letter” (which Americans use), rather than “A4” (“Letter” is slightly shorter and slightly wider than A4). This will mean, when documents are printed, that margins may be wider, narrower, or not otherwise what you want. You should examine the settings for Word and your printer, and change these if necessary.

Word 97, 2000, XP, 2003: Click on “File” (in the menu at the top), click on “Page Setup” (opens the “Page Setup” window).

Then: click on the “Paper” tab in the window which opens. If “Letter” is in the “Paper Size” bar, click on the “reveal button” at the right of this bar, click on “A4 (21 x 29.7 cm)”. Click on the “Default” button at the bottom; click on “Yes” in the box which opens. (You can also set margins to new values and make these the defaults from the “Page Setup” window.)

Word 2007: Click on the small box at the right of the “Page Setup” bar in the “Page Layout” ribbon (opens the “Page Setup” window). Then follow the instructions above for earlier versions of Word (from “Then”). (For a diagram which shows the location of the Page Setup bar and its small box, see page 3 of “Differences: Word 97-2003 / 2007” on the “Hints and Instructions” page of our website.)

Printers: Click on the “Start” button, click on “Control Panel”, double-click on “Printers and Faxes”. Right-click on the default printer (this has a tick in a black circle on the icon), click on “Preferences’ in the menu which opens. If “A4” is listed in the box (“General” tab, then close windows which are open.

Otherwise: In the “General” box, click on the “Printing Preferences” button, click on the “Advanced” button. If “A4” in not in the “Paper Size” bar, click on the “reveal button” at the side of the bar, select “A4”, click on “OK”, click on “OK”