How to Make One Page Landscape in Word 365: Step by Step

To make one page landscape in Word 365 while keeping the rest of the document portrait, isolate that page in its own section, then change the orientation of that section. The simplest approach is to select the page’s content and set Page Setup to apply the landscape orientation to Selected text; Word adds section breaks around the selection. Save a copy first if the document has complex layouts, tables, or headers.

What You’ll Need

Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, with the document open and editing enabled.
A clear idea of which page should be landscape. It helps to know what text, table, chart, or image belongs on that page.
If you are working in a shared or important document, a saved copy or a recent version in OneDrive so you can undo or restore changes.

Step-by-Step

Find the page you want to rotate. Scroll to the page and check its contents. If formatting marks will help you see page and section boundaries, go to Home > Show/Hide ¶. The marks are not printed; turn them off later using the same button. Note whether the page already contains a manual page break or section break, because an existing break can affect the result.
Select the content that belongs on that page. Drag from the beginning of the page’s content to the end, including the paragraph mark after the final paragraph if practical. For a table, include the whole table; for an image or chart, include its paragraph anchor where possible. Be careful not to select text from the page before or after the one you want. Selection is the key to having Word apply the change to just that portion.
Open the Page Setup dialog. On the Windows ribbon, choose Layout, then select the small diagonal arrow in the lower-right corner of the Page Setup group. This opens the full Page Setup dialog rather than changing the whole document immediately from the Orientation button.
Set the orientation and limit its scope. In the dialog, open the Margins tab. Under Orientation, choose Landscape. In Apply to, choose Selected text, then select OK. Word normally inserts section breaks before and after the selected text so the chosen section can have a different page orientation. The pages outside that section should remain portrait.
Check where Word placed the section breaks. Look at the page before and after the landscape page. Confirm that only the intended page is wide and that nearby text has not moved unexpectedly. With Show/Hide ¶ turned on, Word displays section-break labels. These breaks are formatting instructions, not content, and should not be deleted unless you intend to change the section layout.
Adjust the page content if it has reflowed. Landscape pages are wider but shorter than portrait pages. A table may fit across the page but push a paragraph onto another page; images can shift, and text may repaginate. If the selected material now spans two landscape pages, reduce unnecessary spacing, resize objects, or adjust margins rather than assuming Word has failed. Recheck that following pages are portrait after making changes.
Review headers, footers, and page numbers. Double-click in the header or footer on the landscape page to inspect it. Sections can have separate headers and footers, and the Link to Previous setting controls whether the current section shares them with the preceding one. Keep it linked if you want the same header or footer; turn it off only when you need a different layout or content. Verify page numbers still continue as intended.
Save and verify the document. Save the file, then review the landscape page and at least one page on either side in Print Layout. If the document will be shared or printed, use File > Print to preview the page boundaries, orientation, and any tables or graphics. This catches layout changes that may not be obvious while editing.

Alternative: insert section breaks yourself. Use this when selecting the page’s content is awkward, such as when the page is blank or contains floating objects. Put the cursor at the start of the page’s content and choose Layout > Breaks > Next Page. Then put the cursor at the start of the following page’s content and insert another Next Page section break. Place the cursor within the section between those breaks and choose Layout > Orientation > Landscape. Only that section should rotate. If you are working at the end of the document, the second break may be unnecessary, but check carefully: without a following section, later content has nowhere to return to portrait orientation.

Common Mistakes

Using Orientation without isolating the page. Choosing Layout > Orientation > Landscape with no selection or section boundary usually changes the whole current section. If the document has no section breaks, that may mean every page changes. Undo with Ctrl+Z on Windows, then use Selected text or create section breaks around the page.
Choosing a page break instead of a section break. A page break moves text to the next page but does not create a separate layout section. For a single differently oriented page, use Layout > Breaks > Next Page, which inserts a section break, or use the Selected text method.
Selecting too much or too little. If the selection crosses onto the next page, Word may rotate more than one page. If it misses the final paragraph or parts of a table, the layout may not be isolated as expected. Check the selection and the resulting section breaks before making additional changes.
Deleting a section break to remove an unwanted blank page. A section break stores layout settings. Removing it can merge sections and make surrounding pages landscape, alter margins, or change headers and footers. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ first and inspect which break is responsible. Change its position or section settings rather than deleting breaks at random.
Assuming one section always equals one page. A section can flow across several pages. If the selected content is too long to fit on one landscape page, Word will create another landscape page in that same section. Reduce or reorganize the content if exactly one landscape page is required.

Tips

Keep the selection focused. When changing only one page, select the page’s content rather than the entire document. Afterward, check the orientation of both neighboring pages; they are the quickest way to spot an incorrectly placed section boundary.
Use paragraph marks to understand the layout. Show/Hide ¶ reveals paragraph marks and labels for page and section breaks. A section break may sit at the end of a paragraph or between pages, so its position can be easy to miss when formatting marks are hidden.
Plan around tables and wide objects. A landscape page is useful for a wide table, chart, or diagram. Set the page orientation first, then adjust the object’s width and alignment. If a table still does not fit, try Table Layout > AutoFit or adjust column widths; do not shrink text until it is hard to read.
Check the section’s margins. If the page is landscape but the content is still cramped, open Layout > Page Setup and review the margins for that section. Use a margin setting appropriate for the document and printer, and check that no important content sits too close to the edge.
Remember that headers and footers are section-aware. A section break can affect whether headers and footers are linked, but it does not automatically mean they must differ. Check Link to Previous and page-number settings before editing the header or footer text.
Use Undo promptly if the whole document changes. If every page turns landscape, press Ctrl+Z on Windows before making other edits. Then reopen Page Setup and confirm Apply to: Selected text, or undo the orientation change and add the necessary section breaks.

Troubleshooting

The whole document became landscape. Undo the change, select only the target page’s content, and open the Page Setup dialog through Layout > Page Setup. Choose landscape and set Apply to to Selected text. If you used the Orientation ribbon button, it may have applied to the whole section because the page was not isolated.

Two or more pages became landscape. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ and look for the section break after the intended page. If it is missing or appears after the next page’s content, Word has treated those pages as one section. Undo if the changes are recent, then position the section breaks so the landscape content is between them. Check whether a manual page break or existing section break caused the boundary to land somewhere unexpected.

A blank page appeared. Show formatting marks and inspect for duplicate page breaks, extra paragraph marks, or section breaks. A Next Page section break forces the following section to start on a new page, so placing it beside an existing page break can create an extra page. Remove only a clearly redundant break, and verify the orientation of the sections on both sides afterward.

The landscape page is there, but content spills onto another page. The page is shorter vertically in landscape orientation. Reduce paragraph spacing, resize or reposition images, or adjust table row heights and margins. If the content genuinely cannot fit legibly on one page, use two landscape pages rather than making everything too small.

Page numbers or headers changed. Open the header or footer on the affected page and inspect Link to Previous. If you want the same header or footer as the prior section, link the sections; if you need different content, unlink them and edit the appropriate section. For numbering, open Page Number > Format Page Numbers and check whether numbering should continue from the previous section.

The menu looks different on Mac or Word for the web. In Word for Mac, the same principle applies: select the content, open the Page Setup or document layout controls, choose landscape, and apply it to the selected text if that option is available. Ribbon names and dialog placement can differ slightly by Mac version. Word for the web has more limited page-layout controls; if you cannot set the selected-text scope or manage section breaks there, open the document in the Word desktop app and make the change in that version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make just one page landscape without changing the rest?
Yes. Apply landscape orientation to the selected text, which creates a separate section around it, or place section breaks before and after the page and change that section’s orientation. Confirm the pages around it remain portrait.

Do I need a section break for one landscape page?
You need a separate section for that page’s orientation. You can insert the section breaks yourself using Layout > Breaks > Next Page, or let Word add them by applying Page Setup to Selected text.

Can I make a blank page landscape?
Yes. Since there may be no text to select, use section breaks to create a section for the blank page, then place the cursor in that section and choose Layout > Orientation > Landscape. Check carefully for extra page breaks that could create additional blank pages.

Will the landscape page keep its page number?
Usually, yes. A section break does not by itself remove page numbering, but the header or footer may be linked or unlinked from the previous section. Check the footer and the page-number format if numbering disappears or restarts.

Can I do this in Word for the web?
Some page-layout features are available in Word for the web, but controls for applying orientation to only selected content and managing section breaks may be limited. For the most reliable result, open the document in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac.

How do I change the page back to portrait later?
Click in the landscape section and choose Layout > Orientation > Portrait, making sure the change applies only to that section. If the portrait pages after it also change, undo and check that a section break separates them.

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