6 Ways to Format and Print a Booklet in Word

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If you want to create a booklet in Word, you can either format your document manually or make a quick and easy booklet using a template. You’ll also need to make some adjustments to your print setup to ensure that your booklet prints out correctly. In this article, we’ll talk you through how to correctly format and print a booklet in Word. These methods work for Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019, Word 2021, and Word for Microsoft 365 for both Windows and Mac.

• Use the Margins options in the Layout tab to manually format your document as a booklet.
• You can also create a booklet from a premade template using Word’s template search.
• Enable double-sided printing if your printer is set up for it, or print each page manually on both sides.

Formatting a Booklet Manually (Windows)

Open the Layout tab. In the ribbon menu at the top of your document window, click Layout. In some versions of Word, this tab may be called Page Layout. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Launch the Page Setup dialog box. In the lower right corner of the Page Setup section of the Layout tab, click the dialog launch icon. The icon looks like a little square with an arrow in the lower right corner. Clicking it will open a Page Setup window.

Click the Margins tab. In the Page Setup dialog box, click the Margins tab at the top of the window. This will open a window with a variety of formatting options for your margins.

• If your document is really long, you can use the Sheets per booklet menu underneath the Multiple pages menu to break it up into multiple booklets. Select how many pages you want each booklet to contain, or choose All to include all the pages in one booklet.

• There’s no single gutter size that works perfectly for all booklets, but most experts recommend a gutter margin of at least .5 inches (1.3 cm).

• Keep in mind that using the Book fold format will automatically change the orientation of your document to Landscape and print 2 pages on each side of the paper. Once your booklet is bound, each page will be half the size of the selected paper size.
• While you can set the orientation of your booklet to Portrait in the Page Setup menu, doing so will split your pages half-way down the page so that your book opens vertically, like a calendar. To create a tall, narrow booklet, select Portrait Orientation from the Print menu instead.

• You can also use this tab to add line numbers and edit the header and footer formatting.

Click OK to confirm your settings. Once you’re satisfied with the formatting of your booklet, click OK. This will close the Page Setup window and apply your changes. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Formatting a Booklet Manually (Mac)

Click the Layout tab. Open your Word document and click the Layout tab in the ribbon menu at the top. [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Open the Margins menu. On the far-left side of the Layout tab, click on Margins. This will open a drop-down menu with a variety of formatting options for your document margins.

• Make sure you have the Margins tab selected in the dialog box that opens up.

Choose Book fold from the Multiple pages menu. Under the Pages header of the Margins tab, click the dropdown menu next to Multiple pages. Change the setting from Normal to Book fold. [4] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• As a general rule, a gutter size of .5 inches (1.3 cm) works well for most booklets.

Add borders in the Layout tab if you like. If you want to add borders or edit the header and footer formatting, you can do it in the Layout tab of the Custom Margins dialog box. Click the Borders button at the bottom of the tab to see your border options. [6] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Select your document orientation in Page Setup . Unlike in the Windows version of Word, selecting Book Fold does not automatically change the orientation of your document to landscape on a Mac. The default is portrait, which will create a tall, narrow booklet. To change the orientation, click the Page Setup button at the bottom of the dialog box and click the radio button next to your desired orientation.

• You can also view the Page Setup options by opening the File menu, then selecting Page Setup.

Click OK to save your settings. When you like the way your booklet is formatted, click OK to apply the changes. [8] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Using a Template (Windows)

Open the File menu. Word has several pre-made booklet templates to choose from. If you’d rather skip formatting the booklet yourself, create your document using one of these templates. Start by launching Word and opening the File menu. [9] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Select New . In the File menu, select New to create a new document. [10] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

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Search for booklet in the search box. Under the Blank document option, find the Search for online templates text box. Type booklet into the box and click the

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Search button. [11] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source Several different template options should appear in the search results.

Choose your desired template and click Create . Click on whichever template you like best, then click the blue Create button to download it and open the document. [12] X Research source

Click Save a copy in the File menu. To save the template as a new document and start editing your booklet, select Save a copy from the File menu. Enter a name for your booklet, select a save location, and change the file format if you like. [13] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Using a Template (Mac)

Open the File menu. In Word for Mac, you can also make a booklet from a template instead of creating it from scratch. To get started, launch Word and open the File menu. [14] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Choose New from Template . In the File menu, select New from Template…. This will open a window with several templates to choose from, as well as a Search option. [15] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• The search results will populate as soon as you finish typing. You don’t have to click anything or press Return.

Double-click the template you want to use. When you find a booklet template you like, double-click it to download it and open it as a document. Or, click on it once to select it, then click the blue Create button in the lower right corner of the window. [17] X Research source

Select Save As from the File menu. To save your template as a new document and begin editing it, open the File menu and select Save As. Give your booklet a new name, choose where you’d like to save it, and change the file format if you like. [18] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Printing Your Booklet (Windows)

Open the File menu. Printing a booklet is a little more complicated than printing a regular Word document. To get started, once your booklet is formatted the way you like, open the File menu.

• If you don’t have a printer that can automatically print on both sides of the paper, select Manually Print on Both Sides instead. You’ll need to flip each page over on the short edge and reload it when prompted to print on the other side.

Click Print when you’re ready to print. Once you have your print settings the way you like them, click Print. Review the print preview first to make sure everything looks right.

Printing Your Booklet (Mac)

Open the File menu. To make sure your booklet prints out correctly, you’ll need to adjust the print settings. Start by opening your booklet document, then clicking on the File menu.

Select Print . Under the File menu, click Print…. This will launch a dialog box displaying your printing options.

Select Layout from the Copies & Pages menu. In the dialog box, locate the dropdown menu that says Copies & Pages close to the top of the window. You will find it under the Printer and Presets menus. Click the menu and select the Layout option.

• If you don’t have a printer hooked up that can do two-sided printing, you won’t be able to enable this option. You will need to print each page manually, one at a time, instead. Flip each page over on the short edge and reload it to print the next page on the other side.

Expert Q&A

To add page numbers to your booklet, open the Insert tab at the top of the document window and click Page Number in the Header & Footer section.

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