When you print a document, you often have to “bind” the documents in some way. This can be as simple as inserting the pages in a two- or three-ring binder or adding vertical stables down the side of the document stack, or a more professional binding job where the pages are glued together at the edges. Whatever type of binding you require, you end up using a fair amount of space on the inner edge of each page to accommodate the binding. This can create a problem if you use standard margins because the binding might use up all or most of the inner margin and this can make the text difficult to read.
The solution to this problem is to designate a gutter, which is extra space outside of the margin that is set aside to handle the binding. In most cases, the gutter appears to left of the document’s left margin (that is, the gutter extends from the leftmost edge of the page to the beginning of the left margin).
Follow these steps to add a gutter to your document :
- Choose Page Layout, Margins, Custom Margin. Word displays the Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.
- Use the Gutter spin box to set the size of the gutter, in inches.
- Use the Gutter Position list to click Left or Top.
- (Optional) If your document will be printed on both the sides of the paper, then you need gutter on the left side of the odd-numbered pages and on the right side of the even-numbered pages. The easiest way to set this up is to use mirrored margins, which means that the margins ( and also the gutter) used on odd pages are the mirror opposite of the margins ( and gutter) used n even pages. in the Multiple Page list, click Mirror Margins. The Preview section shows the position of the gutter or gutters (see figure)
- In the Apply To list, make sure the Whole Document is selected.
- Click OK. Word applies the gutter to the document.
