What To Do When Google Docs Won’t Print Landscape

Page orientation on Google Docs can be either Potriat (8.5 X 11) or Landscape ( 11 X 8.5)

The former is the default formatting on the word processor and what we use for most of the Google documents we create daily.

That said, there are situations where the default, portrait orientation won’t be ideal for the type of content you are trying to create.

Often, it is because you need extra horizontal space to display a table, graph, image, certificate, or invoice.

Luckily, once you know where to find the right menu options, switching from portrait orientation to landscape is a straightforward process.

This article explains what to do when Google Docs won’t print landscape and also provides a nifty workaround for people who want to alternate page orientation formats from portrait to landscape on the same document.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the questions people are asking about printing landscape documents on Google Docs:

What To Do When Google Docs Won’t Print Landscape: Step-By-Step Instructions

I should first point out that once you select a page orientation (portrait or landscape), it affects your whole document or a highlighted section.

You can’t change the orientation of each individual page using the in-built settings.

There is a relatively time-consuming workaround that lets you alter the orientation of individual pages on your document and I will explain how that works in a different section.

Here is the standard two-step process for reformatting your Google Doc into landscape orientation on desktop and mobile.

1. Change page orientation settings
2. Print your document

Step 1: Change Page Orientation Settings

Open the file your want to work on.

You can open the document directly on Google Docs or via Google Drive.

Once the Google Docs file is opened, go to File > Page setup.

The Page setup settings box should show up on your screen.

It gives you options to modify the paper size, paper color, margins, and orientation of your document or the highlighted part of your page.

Under Orientation, choose Landscape and then click the OK button.

If you want all subsequent documents to be in the landscape format, you can make it the default page orientation for your Google Docs app.

To do that, click Landscape > Set as default > OK.

One more thing you may need to change is the margins of the page elements on your document.

This is because, while the dimensions of the sides of your document have changed, your tables, images, and graphs will retain the same position.

They will likely look out of place on your newly modified pages, and they must be adjusted.

You can make adjustments, by selecting the image, table, or graph, and dragging the boxes at the four edges to stretch the page element across the page till you are satisfied.

You can also change the Google Docs page orientation on your mobile device.

The process is similar on Android and iOS.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Google Docs app on your device and select the file you want to work on
2. Tap the Edit button (pencil icon) at the bottom-right corner of your screen
3. Press the three-dot menu at the top-right corner of your screen
4. In the pop-up sidebar menu, select Page setup > Orientation > Landscape
5. Press the arrow at the top-left corner twice to go back
6. Your page orientation has now been changed to landscape, but the changes won’t be  visible on your screen
7. To see the changes to your document, you need to view it in print layout mode.
8. To do that, tap the three-dot menu again, and toggle Print Layout
9. You will now be able to view your document in landscape mode

Step 2: Print Your Document

To print out your pages, go to File > Print via your toolbar.

You could also use the Ctrl + P (Windows) or Command + P (macOS) keyboard shortcut.

In the Print window, you will choose the pages you want to print, page color, paper size, destination, and more.

Attach your printer, select it from the destination field, and make any necessary formatting adjustments.

Then, click Print and your pages will be printed.

If you are unable to print in landscape mode, you may need to first access the printer settings on your desktop device to switch your printing orientation from portrait to landscape.

Below, I will show you how to do that on Windows and macOS devices.

On Windows:

1. Click the Windows Start menu at the bottom right part of your screen and tap the Settings icon
2. That will take you to the Windows Settings page. There click Devices
3. On the Devices page, select Printers & scanners from the sidebar
4. Find your printer on the list and right-click on it
5. On the next screen, click Printing Preferences and then select Orientation
6. Change the orientation option to Landscape and you can also set it as the default mode if you want.

On macOS

1. Input “Devices” into your search bar and select Devices and Printers from the search results.
2. On the Devices and Printers page, choose your printer icon from the list
3. On the next screen, select Printing Preferences and then change your page orientation
4. Click OK to complete the process.

Printing Alternate Page Orientation Formats In Google Docs

The process will require some repetitive effort on your part.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Open your Google Docs document
2. Click File > Page setup and then toggle Portrait or Landscape
3. Now, go to File > Print 
4. In the Print box, click on the Destination field dropdown, and select Save as PDF
5. Move to the Pages field, click the dropdown, and select Custom
6. Type in the page or range of pages you want to print in the orientation format you selected in step 2 (you can identify the number of each page by scrolling through the pages on the left-side screen on the Print window)
7. Click Save to save that page or pages to your computer
8. Now go back to File > Page setup, and select the other page orientation option
9. Click File > Print again
10. Then, repeat the same process to select the remaining page or pages and save it as PDF

Similar Tutorial Types To Check Out

• Google Docs Blank Page Won’t Delete:  this article will explain reasons why a blank page may not delete automatically, and show you six ways you can rectify the error.
• How to Fix Google Docs Typing Weird: discover why some users on a collaborative document may not be able to enter and edit text, and how to get Google Docs back to normal.
• How to Fix Margins on Google Docs: this article will show you how to change margins for the right, left, top, and bottom sides of your Google document.

Wrapping Up

I believe this article has shown you that formatting page orientation on Google Docs is very easy.

You also now know how to alternate page orientation options between individual pages on the same document.

If you have any further questions on how to use both Google Docs page orientation types, feel free to reach out in the comments section.