The horizontal and vertical rulers in Word are often used to align text, graphics, tables, and other elements in a document.
To view the horizontal ruler across the top of your Word document and the vertical ruler along the left edge of your document, you must be in Print Layout view (Print Layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.).
Show or hide the horizontal and vertical rulers
- To show or hide the horizontal and vertical rulers, click View Ruler at the top of the vertical scroll bar.

Note The vertical ruler will not appear if it is turned off. To turn on the vertical ruler, do the following:
- Click the Microsoft Office Button
, and then click Word Options.
- Click Advanced.
- Under Display, select the Show vertical ruler in Print Layout view check box.
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