The default orientation of any word processing software- such as Word and Google Docs- is portrait.
However, by following a few simple steps, you can change the orientation of a page to the landscape mode. In this article, we will be focusing on how to do this in Google Docs.
There are some situations when the landscape mode is more useful than portrait mode.
For example, a table with a lot of columns fits better in the landscape orientation as it requires more horizontal space than a smaller table.
It’s also useful when you have large pictures in your document or when you want to insert several pictures side-by-side.
You can also use the landscape mode when you want to include a chart with a long x-axis in your document.
Important Point
One thing to note before we get started is that Google Docs doesn’t allow you to change the orientation of each page.
The change applies to all the pages in the document (Mac users note that the same is true for Pages: you can have only one type of orientation in your document).
This is different from Word, which does allow you to have a different orientation for each page.
This is one advantage that Word has over Google Docs. If you want different orientations for different pages, you might want to create your document on Word instead.
With these pointers in mind, let’s find out how to change the orientation of a page in Google Docs.
Changing the orientation of your Google Doc in desktop
Let’s start with how you can change your doc’s orientation on a desktop.
Step 1: Open your document
You can either create a new document from scratch or using templates, or open an existing
Next, click on the Page Setup option to open the window that will allow you to change your doc’s orientation. This option is at the very bottom.document.
Step 2: Open the File menu.
This is the very first menu in the section. It is right under the title of your document.
Step 3: Click on the Page Setup option.
Step 4: Select the Landscape option in the Orientation section.
The Orientation section is in the top left corner of the Page Setup window and it has two options- Portrait and Landscape. Select the Landscape option and click on ‘OK’ to save the change.
You can also change the default orientation of your Google Docs from portrait to landscape. Simply click on the ‘Set as default’ button in the Page Setup window, then select ‘OK.’ The next time you open a document, it will be in landscape mode.
One thing you should be aware of before selecting the landscape orientation. Sometimes, Google Docs will reorder the images on your page when you switch to this orientation. So make sure to readjust your images and format them the way you want after making the change.
Changing the orientation of your Google Doc on mobile
Google Docs looks slightly different on a mobile than a desktop, so the steps that you have to follow to change your document’s orientation are also slightly different.
Step 1: Open your document in your Google Docs mobile app.
When you open Google Docs on your mobile, you will see all your existing documents on the screen.
If you would like to create a new document, tap on the plus sign in the bottom right corner of the page and select either the ‘Choose template’ or ‘New document’ option.
Step 2: Tap on the three dots at the top right corner of the page.
When you click on the three dots, you will see all the options for formatting your page. Unlike the desktop version, the mobile version of Google Docs doesn’t have a comprehensive menu section with different options (e.g. ‘File,’ ‘Edit,’ ‘View,’ etc.).
Step 3: Tap on ‘Page setup.’
This option is right below the Word count and Details options. Tap on it to open up the ‘Page setup’ window.
Step 4: Choose the ‘Orientation’ option.
This is the very first option in the Window. Select it.
Step 5: Select the ‘Landscape’ option.
Out of the two options, select the ‘Landscape’ option.
You can click on the arrow to go back to your document.
Conclusion
That’s it! By following these few simple steps, you can change the orientation of your Google Docs document. Just remember the two limitations of Google Docs in this respect. One, all the pages in your document must have the same orientation and two, changing to landscape mode can reorder your images.