Margin

Updated: 12/26/2023 by Computer Hope

A margin may refer to any of the following:

1. A margin is a space separating text or other elements from the edge of the paper commonly adjusted through the page setup. Most programs allow for the top, bottom, left, and right margins to be set. The standard margin settings are 1" top and bottom and 1.25" left and right.

Example of the top, left, right, and bottom margin of a page

The picture above is an example of a document with each of the margins shown in red.

How does adjusting the margins affect the text?

By increasing the size of the margins, you decrease the space on the page that text can occupy. In other words, a page with bigger margins has less room for text. If you decrease the size of the margins, the page can accept more text.

What is an inside margin?

An inside margin describes the space between where the text starts and the spine of a book. If there is not enough inside margin, the text may start too close to the book's spine, making it difficult or impossible to read everything. It's also important to realize that if there is too much inside margin, it may also make the page appear off-balanced.

2. With CSS (cascading style sheets), a margin is a white space around an element or another object on a web page. The picture below helps demonstrate the difference between padding and a margin when working with CSS. As shown, the padding is in the border, and the margin is outside the border.

Example of margins, border, and padding.

Borderless printing, Bottom, Gutter, Justify, Page setup, Printer terms, Top, Typography terms, Web design terms, Word processor terms