Print preview different from the document in Word: why and how to fix it

Which mismatch do you have?

These are two different problems with different causes, so start by working out which one you’re seeing.

What you see	Where to look
The preview in File > Print doesn’t match what you see while editing (different page breaks, extra pages, comments in the margin, missing or extra text)	View, markup, printing options, fields, printer
The preview looks right, but the printed page is smaller, shifted, cut off or uses different fonts	Paper size, margins, PDF test, fonts

Preview differs from the screen: check the view

Only Print Layout view shows pages the way they’ll print. Draft and Web Layout views ignore page boundaries, so headers, footers, columns and page breaks look different there. Go to the View tab and select Print Layout, then compare again.

If pages look shorter on screen than in the preview, check that white space hasn’t been hidden. In File > Options > Display, make sure Show white space between pages in Print Layout view is ticked. With it off, the top and bottom margins disappear from the editing screen but still print.

Comments and tracked changes

If the preview shows a wide margin full of comment balloons, or the text looks shrunk, Word is set to print the markup. In File > Print, open the first drop-down under Settings (it usually reads Print All Pages) and clear Print Markup.

Microsoft also gives a second route: on the Review tab, set the Display for Review box to No Markup before you print. Bear in mind that No Markup only hides tracked changes. They’re still in the file until you accept or reject them.

Hidden text, shapes and backgrounds

A few options decide what goes to paper regardless of what’s on screen. They’re in File > Options > Display, under Printing options:

Option	What happens when it’s off
Print drawings created in Word	Shapes and text boxes appear on screen but not in the preview or printout
Print background colors and images	Page colours and background images don’t print
Print hidden text	Text formatted as hidden is left out. When it’s on, hidden text prints even if you can’t see it on screen, which adds lines and can push text onto an extra page
Update fields before printing	Fields such as dates and page references print with their last saved value

Hidden text shows on screen with a dotted underline when formatting marks are turned on. Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to show or hide them and spot it quickly.

Fields that change when you print

Dates, page numbers, a table of contents and cross-references are fields. With Update fields before printing on, Word refreshes them as it prints, so a table of contents can grow by a page or a date can change. Press Alt + F9 to switch between field codes and their results. If the codes themselves appear in the preview, press it again; to update everything first, select all with Ctrl + A and press F9.

The selected printer

The preview is drawn for the printer chosen at the top of the File > Print screen. Printers differ in paper size and in how close to the edge they can print, so switching from, say, a home inkjet to Microsoft Print to PDF can move line and page breaks. If the document has to look the same everywhere, pick the printer you’ll actually use before you finish the layout, or send a PDF instead of the Word file.

Printout differs from preview: paper size and scaling

A common cause of a printout that’s smaller or shifted is a paper size mismatch, typically a document set to Letter printed on A4 paper or the other way round. Check the document’s size under Layout > Size, then in File > Print select Printer Properties and confirm the printer is set to the same paper.

Word also has an option that resizes Letter documents for A4 paper and vice versa. In Microsoft’s community answers, MVP contributors place it at File > Options > Advanced, in the Print section, as Scale content for A4 or 8.5 x 11″ paper sizes. If your printout is slightly shrunk, try clearing that box and printing again.

Text cut off at the edges

Most printers can’t print right to the edge of the paper. When a section’s margins are smaller than the printer allows, Word warns: The margins of section 1 are set outside the printable area of the page. Do you want to continue? Printing anyway can cut off text. Instead, open Layout > Margins > Custom Margins and select OK; when the warning appears, choose Fix. Word sets the smallest margins the printer supports.

Test with a PDF to find out if the driver is to blame

Save a copy with File > Save As and choose PDF as the type, or print to Microsoft Print to PDF. Open the PDF and compare:

• The PDF matches the preview: Word and the document are fine. The printer driver is the likely cause. Download the current driver from the printer maker’s site, or remove the printer in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and add it again. If printing fails with a spooler error, see the print processor does not exist.
• The PDF is wrong too: the cause is in the document. Go back over paper size, markup and the printing options above.

A printer shared from another PC uses that PC’s driver settings, which can also explain a mismatch. Our guide to printer sharing in Windows 11 and 10 covers the setup.

Fonts that change on another PC

If the printout uses a different font from the one on screen, or the document lays out differently on a colleague’s PC, the font probably isn’t installed there and Word is substituting another. Install the font on that PC, or embed it in the file: File > Options > Save, then tick Embed fonts in the file. Embedding makes the file larger, and some fonts’ licences don’t allow it.

Older documents and printer metrics

For documents created in older versions of Word, MVP answers on Microsoft Q&A describe a compatibility setting called Use printer metrics to lay out document. It’s only offered when the document is laid out as an earlier version. In File > Options > Advanced, scroll to Compatibility options, set Lay out this document as if created in to Microsoft Word 2010, then expand Layout options and tick it. Treat this as a last resort: it changes how the whole document is laid out, so keep a copy first.

For more ways to keep long documents under control, see our Word tips and tricks.

Related guides

• Copy and paste not working in Word: how to fix it
• MS Word tips and tricks: 17 ways to work faster in Word
• The Print Processor Does Not Exist: how to fix it
• Printer sharing in Windows 11 and 10

Official sources

• Print a document in Word (Microsoft Support)
• Word Options (Display) (Microsoft Support)
• Error when margins are set outside the printable area (Microsoft Support)