How to Change Margins in Google Docs

Alter the right and left margins, or change all margins at once

By
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Writer
  • Shoreline Community College
Jeremy Laukkonen is automotive and tech writer for numerous major trade publications. When not researching and testing computers, game consoles or smartphones, he stays up-to-date on the myriad complex systems that power battery electric vehicles .
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Updated on October 7, 2022
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
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What to Know

  • Open a new or existing document and find the Ruler at the top. Click the left or right indent arrow and drag it to adjust the margin size.
  • To preset the margin size: Select File > Page setup > Margins and set the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margin sizes.
  • Choose Viewer or Commenter when sharing so others can't adjust the margins. They can request edit access if they need to make a change.

This article explains two easy methods for changing the one-inch top, bottom, right, and left default margins in Google Docs.

Change the Left and Right Margins With the Ruler

Using the ruler allows you to set margins quickly with intuitive click-and-drag functionality.

  1. Navigate to Google Docs and open a new or existing document.

    Google Docs document with preset margins

  2. Locate the ruler at the top of the document.

    Google Docs document with the ruler highlighted

  3. To change the left margin, locate the rectangular bar with a down-facing triangle beneath it.

    find the rectangular bar with a down-facing triangle beneath it.

  4. Click the grey area to the left of the down-facing triangle. The pointer turns into an arrow. Drag the grey margin area to adjust the margin size.

    Drag the grey margin area to adjust the margin size.

  5. To change the right margin, find the down-facing triangle on the right end of the ruler, and then drag the grey margin area to adjust the margin size.

    Drag the grey margin area to adjust the margin size.

    When you select and drag the blue rectangle icon above the down-facing triangle, you'll adjust the first-line indent. If you select and drag only the down-facing triangle, you'll adjust the left or right indents, not the overall margins.

Set the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right Margins

It's also easy to preset your document's margins to a specified size.

  1. Navigate to Google Docs and open a new or existing document.

    Google Docs document with preset margins

  2. Select File > Page setup.

    Select File and Page Setup in Google Docs to set margins

  3. Under Margins, set the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins to whatever you want. Select OK when you're done.

    Set margins manually under Page Setup

Can You Lock the Margins in Google Docs?

While there's no specific margin-locking feature in Google Docs, it's possible to prevent other users from making changes to your document when you share it.

Here's what to do if you'd like to share a document, but not allow anyone to edit its margins or anything else:

  1. Open the document and select File > Share.

    Open a document and select File > Share

  2. In the Share with people and groups dialog box, add the person with whom you're sharing the document.

    Add person you're sharing the Google Doc with

  3. In the box to the right, select the down-facing triangle, and then choose Viewer or Commenter instead of Editor.

    Select Viewer or Commenter to share the doc without editing permissions.

  4. Select Send. The recipient won't be able to edit the document margins or anything else.

Margins are different from indents, which add space beyond the margin to the first line of every paragraph.

Unlock a Google Doc for Editing

If you receive a Google Doc and don't have edit privileges, and you need to adjust the margins or any other aspect of the document, request edit access to the document.

  1. Go to the upper-right corner, then select Request edit access.

    Request edit access to a Google Doc document

  2. In the Ask owner to be an editor dialog box, type a message, then select Send.

    In the Ask owner to be an editor box, type a message, and select Send.

  3. When the document owner adjusts the sharing settings, you can edit the document.

    If you need a quick workaround, go to File > Make a copy. You can edit your copy of the document. For this to work, the owner must have enabled the option for viewers to download, print, and copy the document.

FAQ
  • How do I change the default margins in my Google Docs?

    Select File > Page Setup, then type in the margin sizes you want under Margins and select OK to save. If you ever want to go back to default margins, change the values back to 1-inch.

  • How do I adjust margins for the header and footer in a Google Doc?

    Select the header or footer you want to change in the Google Doc, then in the top-left select Format Headers & footers > More options. Next, choose a section under Apply To and enter the margin sizes you want, then Apply to save.

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