How to Easily Create a Professional Booklet in Microsoft Word

Booklets are a great way to organize and present information in an aesthetically pleasing, easy to read format Whether you need to create a small booklet for an event, class, business, or personal project, Microsoft Word makes it simple to turn any document into a polished booklet

With Word’s built-in booklet tools, you can quickly format your content, arrange pages, design covers, and add pro touches like page numbers, headers and footers. In this article, I’ll walk you through step-by-step how to make a professional booklet of any length in Word on Windows or Mac.

Select the Book Fold Page Setup

The first step in creating your booklet is selecting the proper page setup so Word knows you want to create a booklet not just a normal document.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to the Layout tab and click Margins.
2. Under Margins, click Custom Margins.
3. In the Page Setup dialog box, change Multiple pages to Book fold.

This automatically sets your margins and gutter spacing (the extra space along the fold) for a booklet layout.

1. To increase the gutter space, enter a larger number in the Gutter field. For example, try 0.5 or 0.75 inches.
2. Click OK when finished.

Now the document paginates like a booklet, with facing pages designed to print on both sides of a sheet then fold in half.

Add Booklet Cover Pages

Most booklets start with cover pages – a front, back, and usually a title page too. Here’s an easy way to add them in Word.

1. Place your cursor before the first page of content.
2. On the Insert tab, click Blank Page.
3. Repeat to insert another blank page, so you have two. These will become the inside cover pages.
4. At the beginning of the document, insert one more blank page – this will be the front cover.
5. Now insert a final blank page at the end for the back cover.

Voila! With just a few clicks, you’ve added blank pages for front, back, inside covers and a title page. You can now customize them by adding images, text boxes, and other design elements.

Add Page Numbers

Page numbers help readers know where they are in the booklet. Here’s how to quickly add them:

1. Click to place your cursor in the footer of the first page. (Double click the footer if you don’t see it).
2. Go to the Insert tab and click Page Number, then select Bottom of Page.
3. Choose the page number style you want. To number just the content pages, check Start at and enter the page number of your first content page.
4. Click OK.

Page numbers are inserted on all pages. Format or delete them on cover pages as needed.

Create Columns

Booklets often use columns to fit more text on a page. Here’s how to quickly format content into columns:

1. Select the content pages where you want columns.
2. Go to the Layout tab and click Columns.
3. Choose the number of columns you want. Two or three is common.
4. Select a column line style, width and spacing.
5. Click OK.

Text will now flow into the selected number of columns. Adjust them anytime by selecting content and repeating the steps.

Add a Table of Contents

A table of contents makes it easy for readers to find information. Here’s how to add one:

1. Place your cursor where you want the TOC to go, such as after the title page.
2. Go to the References tab and click Table of Contents.
3. Choose a predesigned gallery style, or click Insert Table of Contents to customize.
4. Select options like number of levels to show and use hyperlinks.
5. Click OK.

The TOC is inserted and displays the heading styles used in your document. To update it later, right-click and select Update Field.

Use Headers, Footers and Section Breaks to Customize Pages

Headers and footers are a great way to add elements like titles or page numbers distinctly to covers, title pages, or sections.

To create different headers and footers in specific pages:

1. Place your cursor where you want to start a new section.
2. Go to the Layout tab and click Breaks, then select Next Page.
3. This inserts a section break so you can now have different headers and footers than previous pages.
4. Double click the header or footer in the new section and add custom text, images or page numbers.

Repeat these steps to create additional sections with unique headers and footers as needed.

Add Images and Text Boxes

Images, text boxes, shapes and other graphic elements can make your booklet look professional. Here are some tips for using them:

• Insert images on cover pages or at the start of sections. Right click them to format into shapes like ovals.

• Use text boxes for pull quotes, sidebars, captions or other text elements. Convert them into shapes like arrows, circles or polygons.

• Wrap text around images and text boxes so content flows nicely around them.

• Group related elements to lock them together for easy positioning on the page.

Take time to design visually engaging pages by experimenting with fonts, colors, borders, arrangements and alignment of images and text boxes.

Check Page Breaks and Formatting

Before finalizing your booklet, carefully review the document to check:

• Page breaks – Make sure no awkward breaks happen, like headings separated from content. Adjust if needed.

• Orphan/widow control – Lines of a paragraph should stay together and not break across pages.

• Image positions – Make sure images, text boxes and other elements sit nicely on the page and don’t overlap content.

• Fonts and alignment – Choose fonts and alignment that enhance readability. Use styles consistently.

• Margins – Make sure content doesn’t get too close to the page edge. 0.5 – 1 inch margins are standard.

Taking time to carefully refine the document will give your booklet a professional, polished look.

Add Finishing Touches

With your booklet formatted, add any final touches like:

• Cover page graphics – Images, logos, titles and subtitles make an attractive cover to introduce the booklet.

• Contact info – Add website, email and other contact info to the back cover so readers can find you.

• Copyright page – Add copyright, publication date and other legal info on a dedicated page.

• Table of contents – List key sections and page numbers to help guide readers.

• Indexes – Manually create any helpful indexes of keywords, names or subjects.

• Foreword – A short opening essay sets the stage for the booklet content.

With your information organized into an aesthetically pleasing booklet format with covers, page numbers, headings and other professional touches, your publication is ready for printing and distribution!

Print Your Booklet

When you’re ready to print:

1. Go to File > Print and select print options like number of copies.
2. Under settings, choose to print “On both sides” to enable duplex printing.
3. Select ‘flip pages on long edge’ to print booklet-style imposition.
4. Click Print. Fold and assemble pages to create your finished booklet.

Some printers may have direct options for booklet or brochure printing as well. Refer to your printer’s user guide for details.

Other Booklet Tips and Ideas

Booklets are very versatile and can be created to fit any topic or purpose. Keep these additional tips in mind:

• Use booklets for organizing information and instructions for events, classes, projects or procedures. The booklet format makes it easy for readers to follow.

• Booklets with diagrams, charts and illustrations are great for reference guides, training manuals, workbooks and handbooks.

• For longer booklets, consider adding a table of contents, index, sections, chapter numbers or other navigation helps.

• Showcase your creativity with booklets designed for poetry, art, photography, recipes, journals, logs and other personal projects.

• For business uses, booklets lend themselves well to marketing materials like brochures, sales sheets, catalogs, menus and programs.

Booklets make information more organized, presentable and easy to digest. By following the simple tips in this article, you can use Word to give any topic or project a professional, polished look your readers will appreciate.