Margin settings not working

[u/Zoe20000000]

Hi all! I've run into a really tricky margin issue and seem to have somehow completely broken my margins on Word.

I'm currently trying to format a PhD thesis, which is a few hundred pages. I'm required to have it on A4 size with 35mm gutter margins and 20mm margins for all the other sides. I wrote the document on Google Docs and uploaded it to Word for formatting as Docs does not support gutter margins.

I've set it to A4 size (it was originally on US letter size) and tried setting the lengths I needed in the custom margins setting, and selected mirrored margins so that the gutter margin would work. When doing this, Word inflated the gutter margin to a length significantly larger than 35mm, despite my setting it as such.

I have tried everything. I've messed around the with numbers in the custom margin setting, messed with every single setting that seemed relevant, and, most importantly, tried pasting all the text into a new document to start over. It's now the case that, whenever I create an entirely new document on Word, it automatically creates this inflated side margin. With mirroring, the inflated margin alternates sides; without mirroring, it's always on the left.

What might've caused this, particularly the impact on new documents that are separate from the one that had the original issue? Is there any way to get Word to actually adhere to the margins I'm trying to set?

Thanks in advance! :)

[u/LemureInMachina]

OK, I don't know if this will work, but you could try:

1. Create a template with all of the styles you're using in your thesis document, and A4 page size with the margins you need.
2. Copy everything EXCEPT the last return in your document--you may need to turn on the View Formatting to see the last pilcrow.
3. Paste that into your document using the Merge Formatting option.
4. ...profit?

[u/LAM_CANIT]

Try changing your selected printer to print to PDF, reset your mirrored (a.k.a. inside-outside) margins to your desired dimensions for the entire document, and see if that maintains your preferences.

Sometimes printer drivers will influence the on-screen layout.

[u/catflapflatcap]

Check the paper size for your default printer. If it’s US letter, change it to A4 and see if that resolves the issue.

[u/TarletonClown]

All right ... First, it is not clear to me what your end result is supposed to look like.

Mirror margins are a feature that you need to use when your plan is to print on the front and back of each sheet of paper. The sheets are then bound together into a book.

Is that the goal?

If not, then you should not use mirror margins. The gutter is just a larger left margin so that the sheets (printed on one side only) can be bound without making the text get smothered in the spine.

Beyond this, it is hard to know what might be causing your problem. God only knows what may have happened when you went from Google docs to Word.

If you were using Styles, check to make sure that no Style settings are somehow incompatible with the change from US Letter Paper to A4.

Please let us know what progress you make.