How to Create a Double Page Layout in Word

To see two pages side by side in Word, click View > Multiple Pages (or Side to Side). For a real two-page spread, go to Layout > Margins > Custom Margins and choose Mirror margins, or Book fold for a folded booklet.

You want your Word document to show or print as two facing pages, like an open book, instead of one long column of single pages. These steps cover Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 on Windows.

Which Double Page Layout Do You Need?

“Double page layout” can mean four different things in Word, and each one lives in a different menu. Some only change what you see on the screen, while others change the page setup and therefore the printout. Pick your goal from the table, then jump to that section.

What you want	Use this	Changes the printout?
See two pages next to each other while you read or edit	View > Multiple Pages, or View > Side to Side	No, display only
Left and right pages with matching inner and outer margins, like a bound report	Layout > Margins > Custom Margins > Mirror margins	Yes, margins change on every page
Two document pages printed on one sheet of paper to save paper	The pages-per-sheet setting on the Print screen	Yes, but only that print job
A folded booklet with pages in reading order	Layout > Margins > Custom Margins > Book fold	Yes, the whole layout changes

If you only need to proofread a spread or check how facing pages line up, start with the View tab. It is harmless and easy to turn off. Use the page setup options when the finished file itself has to look like a book.

See Two Pages Side by Side on the Screen

Word has two display modes that put pages next to each other. Multiple Pages is a zoom setting in the Zoom group: Word shrinks the pages until more than one fits in the window, and you still scroll down through the document. Side to Side is a page movement setting: pages sit in pairs, like an open book, and you move through them horizontally.

Use Multiple Pages

1. Open the document and make sure you are in Print Layout view (View > Print Layout). Page layouts are easiest to judge there.
2. Click the View tab on the ribbon.
3. In the Zoom group, click Multiple Pages. Word zooms out and shows two pages across, or more if the window is wide.

4. To return to a single page, click One Page, or click 100% for normal size.

The Zoom group on the View tab also has Page Width, plus keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + Plus zooms in, Ctrl + Minus zooms out and Ctrl + 0 resets. You can also drag the zoom slider in the lower right corner of the window to fit more or fewer pages.

Use Side to Side

1. Click the View tab.
2. Click Side to Side. Pages now appear in pairs.

3. Move through the document with the horizontal scroll bar, the mouse wheel, or a swipe on a touch screen.
4. When you are done, click Vertical on the View tab to go back to normal scrolling.

In Side to Side mode, the zoom setting is switched off. If the zoom buttons stop doing anything, that is why: switch back to Vertical page movement and zoom works again.

Neither mode changes the document. Margins, page size and printing stay the same, and Word doesn’t save zoom settings in the file, so the next person who opens it sees their own usual view. If the screen ends up looking odd after experimenting, these steps to get a Word document back to normal view reset it.

Lay Out Facing Pages With Mirror Margins

In a printed book, the margin next to the spine (the inside) is usually wider than the outside edge, and it swaps sides between left and right pages. Word’s Mirror margins option does exactly that. Instead of Left and Right margins, you set Inside and Outside, and Word flips them on alternate pages so every spread looks balanced.

Say Lena is preparing a 40-page club handbook that will be printed on both sides and put in a ring binder. With normal margins, the holes punch into text on every second page. With mirror margins set to 1.25 inches inside and 0.75 inches outside, the extra room always lands on the binding edge.

1. Click the Layout tab (called Page Layout in some versions).
2. Click Margins, then Custom Margins at the bottom of the list. The Page Setup dialog opens on the Margins tab.
3. Under Multiple pages, open the drop-down list and choose Mirror margins. The Left and Right boxes change to Inside and Outside, and the preview shows two facing pages.
4. Type the Inside and Outside measurements you want. Make Inside the larger number if the pages will be bound.

5. Check the Apply to box at the bottom. Whole document is the usual choice.
6. Click OK.

Microsoft’s page on mirror margins for facing pages covers the same path for Word on Windows and Mac. If you are new to the Page Setup dialog, it helps to know how standard margins work in Word before you start mirroring them.

Optional Touches for a Book Look

• Gutter: the Gutter box in the same dialog adds extra space for binding on top of the inside margin. Use it if your printer or binder asks for a binding allowance; otherwise a wider Inside margin does the same job.
• Different odd and even headers: books often put page numbers on the outer corners, which means left pages and right pages need different footers. Word’s header and footer tools have an option for different odd and even pages. The guide to adding page numbers in Word shows where the numbering settings live.
• A cover page that stays single: if only the body should be mirrored, put a section break after the cover and apply mirror margins to the later section using Apply to. The same section technique lets you give one page a different orientation.

Mirror margins change the layout, not the view. To actually see the spreads, combine them with Side to Side or Multiple Pages from the previous section.

Print Two Pages on One Sheet of Paper

If you want two normal pages shrunk onto each sheet of paper, for a handout or a proof copy, you don’t need to change the document at all. The setting belongs to the print job.

1. Click File > Print (or press Ctrl + P).
2. Choose your printer at the top.
3. Look near the bottom of the Settings list for a pages-per-sheet drop-down. On current Windows versions it usually reads something like 1 Page Per Sheet, though the wording can vary.
4. Choose the two-pages option, then check the preview and click Print.

The pages print at reduced size, so small fonts can become hard to read. If text already looks tiny on paper, see why a Word document prints too small before you halve it again. Microsoft’s own printing page for Word covers the basic Print screen and Custom Print but doesn’t describe this drop-down, and your printer driver may offer its own “pages per sheet” or layout option under Printer Properties instead.

Word’s Page Setup dialog has a related choice in the same Multiple pages list used for mirror margins: an option that splits each sheet into two half-size pages (usually labeled 2 pages per sheet). That changes the document’s layout, not just one printout, so use it when you design something meant to be cut in half, such as two copies of a flyer on one sheet.

Make a Folded Booklet With Book Fold

Book fold is the option to pick when the result will be folded in the middle and read like a small book, such as a program, a menu or a zine. Word puts two pages on each side of a landscape sheet and arranges them so that, once you print both sides and fold the stack, the pages come out in order.

1. Go to Layout > Margins > Custom Margins.
2. Next to Multiple pages, choose Book fold. The orientation switches to Landscape on its own.
3. Under Sheets per booklet, keep All for one booklet, or pick a number to split a long document into several smaller booklets.
4. Increase Gutter to leave room at the fold if you plan to staple or stitch the spine.
5. Open the Paper tab and set the paper size you will print on. Each booklet page ends up half the width of that sheet, so Letter paper gives pages about 5.5 by 8.5 inches.
6. Click OK and review the text, since everything now reflows into the smaller page size.

Book fold works best when you set it before you add content. Applying it to a finished document halves the page width, so images, tables and manual line breaks often need fixing afterward.

Print the Booklet on Both Sides

Go to File > Print. If your printer prints both sides automatically, choose its two-sided option. If it doesn’t, pick Manually Print on Both Sides: Word prints one side, then prompts you to reload the stack. Microsoft’s booklet instructions say to flip the sheets on the short edge, following your printer’s instructions. Print a single test sheet first, because a sheet flipped the wrong way puts the back pages upside down.

Use Two Columns When You Only Need a Split Page

Some people searching for a double page layout really want one landscape page divided into two panels, like a newsletter. That is a column layout, not a spread. Set the page to landscape (Layout > Orientation > Landscape), then click Layout > Columns and choose Two. Microsoft’s newsletter columns page also shows More Columns for custom widths and how to apply columns to selected text only. Text flows down the left panel and continues at the top of the right one, and every panel still counts as part of a single page.

Check the Result and Undo It

Open File > Print and step through the preview. With mirror margins, the wider margin should alternate sides from page to page. With Book fold, you should see landscape sheets with two pages on each. View settings won’t show up in the preview at all, which is a quick way to confirm that you only changed the display.

To undo a page setup change, press Ctrl + Z right away, or return to Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, set Multiple pages back to Normal, and check that the orientation and margins are what you expect (Book fold leaves the page in landscape). To undo a view change, click One Page or Vertical on the View tab.

When the Layout Doesn’t Look Right

• The zoom buttons don’t respond: Side to Side is on. Click Vertical first.
• Pages still stack in one column: you may be in Read Mode, Web Layout or Draft view, or the window is too narrow. Switch to Print Layout and maximize the window, then click Multiple Pages again.
• The on-screen pairs don’t match the printed spreads: the view simply places pages next to each other in order. It doesn’t know which pages will face each other once bound, so judge mirrored margins and booklet order in the print preview instead.
• Mirror margins only apply to part of the document: the document has section breaks and you chose This section under Apply to. Click in each section and repeat, or select Whole document.
• The booklet prints in the wrong order or upside down: check whether the sheets were flipped on the short edge, and print a two-sheet test before the full run.

Two-Page Layout Questions in Word

What is the difference between mirror margins and Book fold?

Mirror margins keep one page per sheet and only swap the inside and outside margins, which suits double-sided reports and bound documents. Book fold puts two half-size pages on each landscape sheet, in the order needed for folding, which suits small booklets.

Will someone else see my side-by-side view when I send the file?

No for zoom: Word doesn’t save zoom settings in the document. Margins, Book fold and columns are part of the file, so those travel with it.

Can I put two different documents side by side?

That is a different feature. With both files open, the View tab has a View Side by Side button in the Window group that places the two windows next to each other for comparison, with an optional Synchronous Scrolling button. It doesn’t create a spread inside either document.

Does this work in Word for Mac?

Microsoft lists mirror margins for both Windows and Mac. Ribbon labels and the view options can be arranged differently on a Mac, so look for the same names under the Layout and View tabs.

If you just wanted a better look at your pages, Multiple Pages is enough. If the file has to be printed and bound, set mirror margins or Book fold first, then write and format the content to fit.