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No top margin shown in Print Layout view

Win 7, Word 2003 using Print Layout view.

For some reason known only to itself, Word has suddenly decided to display a new document with the cursor at the very top of the page, ie. no top margin shown (even though Page Setup is set to 1" margins all round). The side margins are shown correctly.

This is extremely irritating—I want to see what the document looks like as I type, which is why I prefer the Print Layout view.

Would someone please advise how to correct this aberrant behaviour and make it show the top margin as well as the side ones?

Many thanks.

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Answer

Charles Kenyon

To Add to Jeeped's fine answer, here are some screenshots.

First in Word 2003, if you move the mouse pointer between the top edge of the page and the horizontal ruler under the toolbars, it will change and if you show "tooltips" a message will be displayed. Clicking with that pointer will hide the top margin / header area or display it.

Hide White Space (above) and Show White Space (below)

In Word 2003 errant mouse clicks is the most frequent way white space is hidden, I suspect.

In Word 2007 and later, you have to double-click.

Hide White Space (above) and Show White Space (below)

This is quicker than going through options. Hope this helps.

See also:
Margins Missing - White Space and Elusive White Space

Volunteering to "pay forward" the help I've received in the Microsoft user community.

Charles Kenyon
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
wordfaq[at]addbalance[dot]com

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Answer

Jeeped

In wo9rd 2003, you can show/hide white space by default by clicking Options on the Tools menu and clearing or checking the White space between pages check box on the View tab.

Show or hide white space in print layout view (Word 2003)

In Word 2007-2013 this is in Word Options, Display, Show white space between pages in Print layout view.

My top margin is missing (Word 2007)

Description of the "White space between pages" option in Word