Word sets orientation per section, not per page. To rotate a single page for a wide table or chart, that page must sit in its own section. Word can create those sections for you, or you can add them yourself.
- One page, automatic section breaks (recommended)
- One page, manual section breaks
- Every page from a point forward
- The whole document
Making one page landscape with Page Setup > Selected text
Use this when you want one page (or a few) landscape and want Word to handle the section breaks.
Select all the content you want in landscape, including the final paragraph mark on that page.
On the Layout tab, click the Page Setup dialog launcher, the small arrow at the bottom-right of the Page Setup group.
Under Orientation, choose Landscape.
Open Apply to and choose Selected text.
Click OK.
Result: Word inserts section breaks before and after the selection. Only those pages turn landscape. This matches Microsoft’s change page orientation guide.
Warning: If your selection crosses onto other pages, those pages turn landscape too. Check the selection before clicking OK.
Making one page landscape with manual section breaks
Use this when the page already stands alone, such as a full-page table, and you want exact control over where each section starts.
Click just before the first character on the target page.
Go to Layout > Breaks and, under Section Breaks, choose Next Page.
Click just after the last character on that page and insert another Next Page break.
Click anywhere on the target page. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 (Windows) or Cmd + 8 (Mac) if you want to see the breaks.
Go to Layout > Orientation and choose Landscape.
Result: The page between the breaks is landscape and the pages around it stay portrait. Check it in View > Print Layout, or view two pages side by side in Word to compare them.
Microsoft explains each break type in Insert a section break. The same section breaks let you make two columns in Word on just part of a page.
Note: If you later delete one of the breaks, the sections merge and take the layout of the section after the break. The orientation can spread to nearby pages.
Making pages landscape from a specific point forward
Use this when everything after a certain page should be landscape, such as an appendix of wide tables.
Click at the start of the first page that should be landscape.
Open the Page Setup dialog launcher on the Layout tab.
Choose Landscape, then set Apply to to This point forward.
Click OK.
Result: Word inserts one section break at the cursor. Pages before it stay portrait; every page after it becomes landscape.
You get the same result by inserting a single Layout > Breaks > Next Page break, then choosing Layout > Orientation > Landscape in the new section.
Making the entire document landscape
Use this when every page should be landscape.
Go to the Layout tab.
Click Orientation and choose Landscape.
Result: All pages switch to landscape and no section breaks are created. If the document already has sections, use Page Setup with Apply to: Whole document instead.
Comparing the methods
| Method | Best for | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| Page Setup > Selected text | One page or a few pages mid-document | Windows (desktop) |
| Manual section breaks | A full page that already stands alone | Windows, Mac |
| Page Setup > This point forward | Appendices and back sections | Windows (desktop) |
| Layout > Orientation | The whole document | Windows, Mac, web |
Platform differences
- Windows: all four methods work.
- Mac: Layout > Breaks and Layout > Orientation are available, so the manual section-break method is the most reliable. The Page Setup dialog on Mac is laid out differently.
- Word for the web: you can change the orientation of the whole document, but Word for the web can’t add section breaks. Use Open in Word for a single landscape page.
- Google Docs: see how to change one page to landscape in Google Docs.
Headers, footers and page numbers on a landscape page
- The header and footer rotate with the page and stay on its long edge.
- Page numbers continue from the previous section. To keep page numbers correct across sections, check Format Page Numbers in each section.
- For a different header on the landscape page, open it and turn off Link to Previous. To show a header on the cover alone, see how to put a header on the first page only.
- You can also set different margins for the landscape section with Apply to: This section.
Troubleshooting
- The whole document turned landscape: there was no section break. Undo with Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z on Mac) and use Selected text.
- An empty page appeared after the break: show formatting marks and delete the extra ¶. If it won’t go, see how to remove the blank page a section break adds.
- Mixed orientation prints wrongly: most printers handle mixed orientation automatically. If yours doesn’t, save the document as a PDF first and print the PDF.
Building a report from several files? You can merge Word documents first, then fix orientation once in the combined file. More layout guides are in the Microsoft Word guides.