Page layout means setting the paper size, orientation and margins before you type the content. It appears at the start of almost every document task, and the brief usually states the values directly. This lesson shows how to apply them and how to check the space you have left for text.
What are the layout settings?
- Paper size: A4 is 210 mm wide and 297 mm tall.
- Orientation: portrait has the short side as the width. Landscape swaps width and height, so A4 landscape is 297 mm wide and 210 mm tall.
- Margins: the empty space between the paper edge and the text, set for top, bottom, left and right.
The text area is the space left inside the margins. Text width = paper width − left margin − right margin. Text height = paper height − top margin − bottom margin.
How do you apply a brief step by step?
- Underline every instruction in the brief that mentions size, orientation or margins.
- Open the page setup dialog in your word processor. Menu names differ, so look for page, layout or margins.
- Set paper size first, then orientation, then each margin. Changing orientation after margins can swap the values around.
- Check the unit shown in each box (mm, cm or inches) before typing.
- Calculate the text area and write it on your checklist.
Worked example
Brief for an invented notice, “Taman Harapan Reading Club”: A4 portrait, left and right margins 20 mm, top and bottom margins 25 mm.
Step 1. Paper is 210 mm × 297 mm, portrait, so width 210 and height 297.
Step 2. Text width = 210 − 20 − 20 = 170 mm.
Step 3. Text height = 297 − 25 − 25 = 247 mm.
Step 4. Check: 170 + 40 = 210 and 247 + 50 = 297, so the totals match the paper.
If your program shows centimetres, type 2.0 and 2.5, not 20 and 25.
A common mistake
A student types 2 into a box that is set to millimetres, when the brief asked for 2 cm.
Wrong result: margins of 2 mm. The text runs almost to the paper edge and may be cut off when printed.
The correction is to read the unit beside the box. 2 cm = 20 mm. Convert first, then type.
Check yourself
1. An A4 page is landscape with 15 mm margins on all four sides. What is the text width?
Show answer
Landscape width is 297 mm. Text width = 297 − 15 − 15 = 267 mm.
2. A brief asks for a 30 mm left margin for binding and a 15 mm right margin on A4 portrait. What is the text width?
Show answer
Text width = 210 − 30 − 15 = 165 mm.
3. A table has six columns and will not fit across a portrait page. Which orientation might help, and why?
Show answer
Landscape. The page is wider (297 mm), so more width is available for the columns. Always check that the brief allows a change of orientation first.
Where this leads next
With the page set, move to using sections and columns. The ICT practical task and evidence checker can turn your brief into a settings checklist. Back at the module overview you can see the whole route.
Applying settings is quick once you know where they hide. A teacher in online one-to-one ICT tuition can walk through your own software with you.