Changing margins in Google Docs is not hard but it may be more limited than you’d expect. You might want to adjust margins for a large image or table, or you want to fit all the content on one page.
I know I have played around with margins before for my resume to make sure all the info fits properly. Whatever the reason, here’s how you can change margins in Google Docs.
How Do You Adjust Margins in Google Docs?
Head to File → Page setup (at the bottom, you may need to scroll).
The Margin options will then be on the right side of the page options.
You can also choose specific pages to change the margins on by selecting the text of the page you want to change, then selecting ‘Selected content’ under Apply to.
Or you can drag the arrows on the ruler. The best way to do this is to select all the content or it will only work on the selected line.
Note that this will be hard to measure equally on all sides of the page.
How to Change Top and Bottom Margins in Google Docs?
Margins can be adjusted for the top, bottom, left, and right. In the Page setup options, just adjust the top and bottom margins.
In centimeters, margins are set to 2.54 cm, and you can make them as big or as small as you’d like.
Bear in mind that the space header should also be factored in—reducing the top to zero will not remove all the space.
How to Change Header Margins in Google Docs?
From the ribbon, go to Format → Headers and footers.
The first thing you will see will be the Margin options for headers and footers.
In centimeters, headers are preset to 1.27 cm from the top.
In the layout options below, you can customize the headers to be different on the first page or odd and even pages.
How to Change Table Margins in Google Docs?
Make sure you have clicked on the table and the table options will then appear at the top of the ribbon to the right, or you can right-click for other options.
Click ‘Table options’/‘Table properties,’ and you will have options to change row and column heights, or, under the Alignment section, you can change the left indent and cell padding.
Another option is to select ‘Distribute rows’ or ‘Distribute columns’ to stretch rows to columns to make better use of the space available.
How to Change Margin in Google Docs to CM?
To change margins to centimeters or inches depends on the language you’re using. If you’re using UK English, you’ll need to change to US English for inches and vice versa.
You may need to sign in and out again to make sure the change takes effect.
How to Change the Page Size in Google Docs?
Page size can also be changed under the Page setup options. There are a few things you can do to change the size of the page on top of changing the margins.
Look for the ‘Paper size’ options. Usually, this is set to A4 size, and there are 11 pre-set sizes.
Above the Paper size options, you can change the orientation of the page too from Portrait to Landscape (vertically to horizontally).
Page orientation can also be changed by going to Format → Page orientation.
How to Change Margins in Google Docs Mobile?
There is no option to change the margins on mobile for Android users, only for iOS users. The options can be found going to the three dots, then Page setup.
Bear in mind that files in Google Docs will look different on both mobile and desktop as they need to accommodate the different sizes.
How to Change Margins in Google Sheets?
In Google Sheets, you cannot change the margins of the working space, but you can change the margins when you print.
In the Print options (Ctrl + P), towards the bottom right, you’ll see Margin options.
Other useful options that’ll impact the margins include:
Scale
- Use Normal (100%)—focuses only on the content you have used. Though you still may get some empty cells.
- Fit to width—stretches the spreadsheet to its maximum width. This can make the content very small and hard to read.
- Fit to height—squeezes the content to fit it entirely from top to bottom on one page. Not a good idea if your spreadsheet is very long.
- Fit to page—fits the entire content onto the page.
- Custom—by percentage, 100% is the same as Normal.
Paper Size
For printing, Google Sheets has the same 11 paper size options as Google Docs plus a custom option at the very bottom.
You can see the available options under How to Change the Page Size in Google Docs?
Google Sheets is usually pre-set to the A4 paper size (21.0 cm x 29.7 cm).
