How to fix margins in Google docs

How to Fix Margins in Google docs

The device limitation towards a digital application is obvious; if we look around, it won’t be challenging to figure out many such application programs or software that does not work alike on multiple devices. In fact, in some cases, these programs or software are not even accessible on a few devices due to the device compatibility issue. 

In context to a similar factor, if we consider the MS word and Google docs for illustrative purposes, we can see the Google doc as the user’s first and foremost preference. 

Because Microsoft Word applications may encounter compatibility issues in some devices, for instance, if you intend to install & use the MS word app on your Chromebook, it would be beyond the bounds of possibility; the Chromebooks don’t run MS word on the grounds of certain restrictions. 

MS world Vs. Google docs

MS world Vs. Google docs

The highest level of accessibility & availability the Google docs offers is amongst the most significant causes that urge users to go for it because Google docs is a cloud-based application that can be accessed any time from any device preventing the risk of data loss

Although both programs are destined to offer similar services, however, come with many variations in features. Despite the fact that MS word lags a bit in the accessibility aspect, the formatting & editing feature it offers is totally unrivaled. 

Margins on Google docs 

Google docs margins are similar to those you may have seen in MS word. You might have observed the spaces all around your document text, whether in soft form or printed hard copy; this is basically what we call margins; even you can see the difference in printings just because of varying margins of a document. 

Apart from margin variations, the other reason for low-quality printing might be the paper size you have chosen for your document. Because A4 is referred to as a standard size for printings, so it is essential to give the document a more professional & decorous look in hard copy. 

Edit margins in Google docs & MS word 

Edit margins in Google docs & MS word

Google docs and MS word both offer the choice to format the margins as per your requirements. You can adjust the margin spaces from all four sides of a document in various ways quite quickly. In fact, it is often not needed to readjust or change margins in MS word, but in the case of Google Docs, you actually need it necessarily. 

Why do we need to change margins in Google docs? 

If printing the document is your primary need, you should change your Google doc margins to a standard size to alter your document to a printable view; for this, you need to be thoroughly familiar with how to edit margins in Google docs. However, if you have nothing to do with printing, you can go on with the default adjusted margins.

How to change margins on Google docs? Aren’t you familiar with how to change the margins in Google docs? Keep your pecker up! Although the given list of fixes to edit Google docs margins isn’t so long, but all the stated tactics are efficient enough so that you can instantly get out of this issue. To practice any of the stated fixing ways, you need to have a stable internet connection first. 

Set custom Google docs margins 

To facilitate the users, Google docs offers the choice to set custom margins in the documents. You can set custom margins in Google docs manually in two ways, i.e., using the Ruler or Page setup option. Note that both methods will yield similar results, so the choice is all yours. 

Custom margins using Ruler option 

At first, we will explain the Ruler method here. To set custom Google docs margin using a Ruler, what you have to do is: 

  • At first, open your document file in Google docs. 
  • Select the Ruler located at the top of the document (If you can’t locate the Ruler there, then click on the “View,” and in the View menu, select the “Show Ruler” option). 
  • Now, select the grey-colored section of Ruler located at its ending points, then a blue-colored downward arrow will get displayed. 
  • Select this downward arrow and drag it appropriately in order to set a custom margin in Google docs. (The value displayed on the Ruler at a specific location of the pointer or arrow will be considered as its updated margin) 
  • The changes you have made will automatically get applied to all document pages. 

Custom margins using Page setup option 

Suppose you couldn’t adjust margins using Ruler successfully, or rather you don’t want to use Ruler; in that case, you can go for the alternate choice of using the Page Setup option. To do so: 

  • Navigate to the top menu and select the “File” option. 
  • Click on the option “Page setup” in the dropdown menu of the File tab. • In the prompted Page Setup box, you can see the choices to set custom values for left, right, top & bottom margins located right-below the “Margins” headline. 

• Now click on the option Ok to save your custom margin settings. 

Note: 1.25 inches for right & left and 1 inch for top & bottom margins are the recommended values. 

Change the paper size to A4. 

As we have explained earlier, the paper size can also be problematic in many cases rather than margins. Such cases are associated merely with Google docs because of its default page typeset as “Letter”; contrarily, in MS Word, the default page type is already set to “Print layout view,” which means it doesn’t require any modification.

So, in the case of Google docs, you need to change the paper size to A4, which is considered the most optimum printing size. For this: 

  • Select the File tab located in the top menu. 
  • In the dropdown menu of File, choose the Page Setup option. 
  • Navigate to the Paper Size section in the Page Setup menu box and set it as A4. • Click on the Ok to proceed on with new changes. 

Download the document in .pdf format 

Pdf is another high-quality document format and is especially ideal for document printings. If you have already adjusted the margins, then you can simply download it as a pdf file for a more convenient printing experience. To do this, you need to follow the below stated steps. 

  • In the top menu, click on the “File” tab. 
  • Select the option “Download as” and choose the file format as .pdf (PDF document) in the File menu. 
  • Now, the document is in ready to print layout. 

Note: All of the stated fixing ways are given on account of users’ queries on adjusting margins in Google docs. But if we consider the printing factor solely, the problem might be in page orientations. 

Conclusion

The Google docs application is quite convenient to use due to its extreme level of availability on cross-platforms. As far as the generic work is concerned, you don’t need to perform any particular formatting for it, but if you intend to get your document printed in hard form, then you might need to adjust the margins in the first place. 

Standard margin size is essential for document printing to avoid textual misplacement or any other glitch. In this regard, Google docs give you a choice to set custom margins as per your requisite. But you might be unfamiliar with how to change margins in Google docs. 

Given this concern, we have elaborated on the best possible ways to change the document margins in Google docs. However, the margins Google docs presents can easily be adjusted manually, either using a Ruler or Page Setup option.

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