Have Both Landscape And Portrait Pages In Word: Learn how to mix landscape and portrait orientations in your Word document

Microsoft Word typically applies page orientation (landscape or portrait) to the entire document by default. However, you might want to have both landscape and portrait pages in a single Word document, such as for tables, charts, or designs that require extra width. Achieving mixed orientations is straightforward once you understand section breaks.

Here's how to have both landscape and portrait pages in Word:

1. Place your cursor at the point where you want the orientation to change.
2. Go to the Layout (or Page Layout) tab.
3. Click Breaks and choose Next Page under Section Breaks.
4. Place your cursor in this new section, then go to Orientation and select Landscape (or Portrait, as needed).
5. To revert back, insert another section break after the landscape page and set the orientation back to Portrait.

This method ensures only selected pages display in the chosen orientation while the rest remain as they were. As a designer, I often use this for portfolio docs to highlight spread layouts or design boards, ensuring elements fit without compromising visual flow. To further refine presentations or internal documentation, leveraging digital 3D floor planners before embedding as landscape illustrations makes both design intent and layout clarity shine.

Tips 1:

Use section breaks (not just page breaks) to apply orientation changes—this maintains page numbering and format consistency. Remember to double-check print previews, especially if the document will be professionally printed, as mixed orientation can affect margins and binding.

FAQ

Q: Can I have multiple sections with alternating orientations in one Word document?

A: Yes, insert section breaks before and after any page you want to change orientation, and adjust as needed for each section.

Q: Will changing orientation affect headers and footers?

A: By default, headers and footers carry over, but you can unlink sections for unique header/footer content on different orientations.

Q: Does this work in both Word for Windows and Mac?

A: Yes, the steps are nearly identical across platforms, though menu placements may slightly differ.

Q: Can I save the result as a PDF with mixed orientations?

A: Absolutely—exporting to PDF preserves all mixed orientations and layouts.

Q: What types of content benefit most from landscape orientation?

A: Wide tables, floor plans, organizational charts, and images often display better in landscape within primarily portrait documents.