Word Switching Page Orientation When Attempting to Print

Question

Anytime I try to print, the print preview screen shows the opposite orientation to what I have set up in the document, with no way to change it. This is a very new issue. I had been printing just fine (within the past 15 minutes)), and something changed, and I can't fix it.

• Not happening in any other Microsoft-based program, or any other non-Microsoft-based program. I've tested it.
• Word for macOS
• Word Version: 16.106.1
• macOS is up to date.
• This happens no matter what printer I choose. It is NOT the printer. It is something about Microsoft's Word.
• Layout: 1 page per sheet
• Reverse Page Orientation: NOT selected
• Flip Horizontally: NOT selected
• Margins are reasonable; none are any smaller than what I normally use without issue.
• From the Layout Tab, from Margins --> Custom Margins --> Margins, The "Pages: Multiple Pages" option is "Normal".
• There is no gutter involved.

Example: Wanting to print Portrait, but Showing Landscape in Print screen.

• From the Layout Tab, under Landscapes, I've ensured that Portraits is chosen.
• From File, the Page Setup shows Orientation as Portrait, paper size as "US Letter 8.50 by 11.00 inches".

Please make it stop.

Answer 1

Hi, No

Sorry for this frustration. Here are some suggestions you can try:

First, quit Word and reset the Normal.dotm template. That often helps when Word’s print settings get corrupted.

Next, in File > Page Setup, reselect US Letter, then switch Portrait > Landscape > Portrait again and save. This can force Word to refresh the page setup properly.

Also check for hidden section breaks, because one bad section can make print preview behave differently from the document.

If it started suddenly, make sure Office finished updating. Some users found the issue cleared once the update completed.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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Answer 2

First of all, update your Office software. Version 16.107 is the current release on any currently supported edition of macOS. Be sure to confirm the update status of macOS as well... Unfortunately, up to date is a nondescript phrase.