How to change paper size and orientation
Paper size and orientation are the two settings that fix most layout problems, and they're the first two things in the popup. The rule of thumb: articles and documents want A4 or Letter portrait; wide tables and dashboards want landscape, and often a bigger sheet.
Takes about 1 min
Steps
Open the popup on the page you want to convert
Paper size and orientation are both at the top level — no need to expand More options.
Choose a paper size
A3, A4, A5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid and Ledger are available. A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the international standard; Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is the US and Canadian one.
Set the orientation
Toggle the orientation control. Landscape preserves wide multi-column layouts and keeps table rows on one line.
Convert and check the preview
If columns are cut off the right edge, go up a size or switch to landscape and convert again.
Worth knowing
- If a table is splitting across pages, try landscape before anything else. Wide rows that wrap to two or three lines become tall rows, and tall rows are what split — so the vertical problem is often a horizontal one in disguise.
- Going up a paper size usually produces cleaner results than scaling down, because you're giving content room rather than compressing it.
- Ledger and Tabloid are both 11 × 17 in; Ledger is the landscape orientation of that sheet. Both open normally in any PDF reader — sheet size only matters if someone physically prints it.
Questions
What paper size should I use for a wide table?
Try A4 or Letter in landscape first — that solves most six-to-eight column tables. For ten or more columns, or a dashboard, use A3, Tabloid or Ledger in landscape.
What's the difference between A4 and Letter?
A4 is 210 × 297 mm and is the international standard. Letter is 8.5 × 11 in (about 216 × 279 mm) and is the US and Canadian standard. A4 is slightly narrower and taller. Pick whichever matches what the people printing or filing the PDF expect.