When you change page margins, paper size, or print orientation in Word, those settings often persist across new documents. You might find Word still prints in landscape when you need portrait, or it uses legal-size paper when you want letter. This happens because Word saves print settings in the document or the Normal template. This article explains how to reset print settings to default in Word, including clearing document-level settings and restoring the Normal.dotm template.
Key Takeaways: Resetting Print Settings to Default in Word
- File > Options > Advanced > Print section: Restores Word-wide print defaults like default tray and duplex settings.
- Delete the Normal.dotm template: Resets all page layout and print settings stored in the global template, including margins, orientation, and paper size.
- Clear document-specific settings via Page Setup dialog: Removes overrides saved only in the current document, returning it to template defaults.
Why Print Settings Become Stuck or Incorrect
Word stores print settings in two places: the current document and the Normal.dotm global template. When you change page margins, paper size, orientation, or print options such as duplex printing, Word writes those changes into the document’s section properties. If you then open a new document, Word reads the Normal.dotm template for the default settings. However, if the Normal.dotm template itself has been modified — for example, by a previous user or by a corrupted add-in — all new documents inherit those nonstandard print settings.
Additionally, Word has a separate set of print options stored in the application settings. These include the default printer, number of copies, and print quality. These settings are not stored in the template but in the Windows registry via Word’s Options dialog. Resetting these requires changing options in File > Options, not just deleting a template.
How Settings Persist Across Documents
When you open a document that was created with nondefault print settings, those settings stay with that document. Even if you reset Word’s global defaults, that specific document will still use its saved settings. To reset the print settings for a single document, you must use the Page Setup dialog inside that document. To reset for all future documents, you must modify or replace the Normal.dotm template.
Steps to Reset Print Settings to Default in Word
Follow these steps in order. Start with the document-specific reset, then move to the global template reset. Only use the Word Options reset if the printer behavior itself is incorrect, such as the wrong default printer or print quality.
Method 1: Reset Print Settings for the Current Document
- Open the document with the incorrect print settings
Launch Word and open the file that prints with wrong margins, orientation, or paper size. - Open the Page Setup dialog
Go to the Layout tab on the ribbon. Click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Page Setup group. The Page Setup dialog opens. - Reset margins, orientation, and paper size
On the Margins tab, set Top, Bottom, Left, and Right to 1 inch (or your preferred default). On the Orientation section, select Portrait. On the Paper tab, select Letter (or A4 for most non-US regions). - Set as default for this document
At the bottom of the dialog, click Set As Default. Word asks if you want to change the default for this document only or for all documents based on the Normal template. Select This document only and click OK. - Verify and save
Click OK to close the Page Setup dialog. Save the document. Print a test page to confirm the settings are correct.
Method 2: Reset Global Print Settings by Restoring Normal.dotm
- Close Word completely
Make sure no Word windows are open. Check the system tray for background Word processes and exit them. - Locate the Normal.dotm template
Open File Explorer and paste this path into the address bar:%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
Press Enter. You will see a file named Normal.dotm. - Rename the template file
Right-click Normal.dotm and choose Rename. Type OldNormal.dotm and press Enter. This preserves the file in case you need to recover any custom styles later. - Restart Word
Launch Word. Word detects that the Normal.dotm template is missing and creates a fresh copy with factory default print settings. This new template uses default margins of 1 inch, portrait orientation, and letter paper size. - Test the new default
Create a new blank document. Go to Layout > Page Setup and verify the settings. Print a test page.
Method 3: Reset Word-Wide Print Options
- Open Word Options
Click File > Options. - Go to the Advanced section
In the left pane, select Advanced. Scroll down to the Print section. - Restore default print options
Set the following options to their defaults:
– Print in background: Checked (default)
– Update fields before printing: Checked
– Update linked data before printing: Checked
– Print PostScript over text: Unchecked
– Print only the data from a form: Unchecked
– Default tray: Use printer settings (or your preferred tray) - Click OK
Close Word and reopen it. The print engine options are now reset.
If Word Still Prints With Wrong Settings After the Reset
Word Prints in Landscape When Portrait Is Selected
This usually means the document has a section break with its own page setup. Click inside each section of the document. Open Page Setup and check the orientation. Also check that the printer driver is not overriding the orientation setting. Open the printer’s properties dialog in Windows Settings and set the default orientation to Portrait.
Word Prints on Legal Paper When Letter Is Selected
Check the Paper tab in Page Setup. If it shows Legal, change it to Letter and click Set As Default. If the printer driver is set to a different paper size, Word may scale the output. Open the printer properties and set the default paper size to Letter or A4.
Print Settings Reset After Restarting Word
This indicates a corrupted Normal.dotm template that is regenerating with wrong defaults. Delete the Normal.dotm file again, but this time also check for add-ins that might modify the template. Go to File > Options > Add-ins. Disable all COM add-ins, restart Word, and re-enable them one by one to find the culprit.
Normal.dotm Reset vs Word Options Reset: Key Differences
| Item | Normal.dotm Reset | Word Options Reset |
|---|---|---|
| What it resets | Margins, orientation, paper size, headers, footers, styles | Default printer, number of copies, print quality, background printing |
| Scope | All new documents based on the Normal template | Word application-wide, affects all documents |
| Recovery | Can rename file to restore old settings | No built-in undo; must manually revert each option |
| Best for | Page layout and content settings | Printer and output settings |
You can now reset print settings in Word for a single document or for all future documents. Start with the Page Setup dialog for the current file. If the problem persists across all documents, delete the Normal.dotm template. For printer-specific issues such as wrong default tray or duplex mode, use File > Options > Advanced. A quick way to check if the reset worked is to create a new blank document and press Ctrl+P to preview the print layout.