Microsoft Excel 2013: Printing Basics

When printing in Excel, you can print all or part of the current workbook or worksheet.

This document introduces some helpful printing options and techniques.

NOTE: Remember no blank rows & columns will make Excel work perfectly.

Printing Tips

 To verify how the printout will look, go under the File tab, Print to preview it.

 For wide worksheets, you may want to print the information in landscape

orientation (11" x 8.5") rather than portrait orientation (8.5" x 11").

 The Page Setup dialog box lets you modify various document properties, such as

footers and headers, page alignment, and more.

Printing the Active Worksheet

Excel lets you print the active sheet in your workbook without having to print the rest of

the workbook. Unless you select multiple worksheets, the active worksheet is the visible

worksheet. As explained below, however, it is possible to activate specific multiple

worksheets for printing.

1. To activate the worksheet you want printed, click the tab of that worksheet. The

worksheet is active.

2. To make more than one worksheet active:

a. Click the tab of the first sheet you want to activate.

b. To activate sheets adjacent to the first one you selected, press [Shift] while

you click the tab of the last sheet you want selected. All sheets between the

first and last tabs selected are active.

To activate sheets that are not adjacent to the first one you selected, press

[Ctrl] while you click the tabs of all sheets you want selected. All selected

sheets are active.

3. In the top left corner, click the File tab, select Print. The Print details appear.

4. In the first dialog box under Settings, drop down arrow to select Active sheet.

5. Click Print. The active worksheet is printed.

Printing the Entire Workbook

Printing the entire workbook will print all worksheets that contain data.

1. Follow the same steps as above.

2. In the first dialog box under Settings, drop down arrow to select Entire workbook.

3. Click Print. The entire workbook is printed.

Defining the Print Area: Print Area Option

By default, Excel prints all data on the current worksheet. However, you can define a

specific print area from the Page Setup dialog box or the Print Area command. Excel

will keep the print area you have defined until it is cleared or replaced.

To set the print area:

1. Select the range of cells you want to print. The Cntl +A shortcut selects all cells with

data.

2. Select the Page Layout tab.

3. In the Page Setup group, click Print Area select Set Print Area.

To clear the print area:

1. In the Page Setup group, click Print Area select Clear Print Area.

Scale to Fit Printing Options

1. In the Page Layout tab, Scale to Fit options allow you to adjust the Width, Height

& Scale. Under the Width & Height you will find pages. The adjustment will be by

scaling the font size to fit. Remember to set the Orientation to suit your data, also

found under the Page Layout tab.

Changing the Orientation

Most documents are portrait (tall) oriented, but many worksheets may be easier to read in

the landscape (wide) mode. In addition, changing the orientation can also help to fit a

large worksheet to one sheet of paper. After changing the orientation, you may need to

proceed with Changing the Paper Size.

1. Select the Page Layout tab

2. Select the Orientation icon

3. Under Orientation, select the desired option

Changing the Paper Size

The default paper size is 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, but you can select other available paper

sizes, such as legal (11" x 14"). To select a different paper size:

1. Select the Page Layout Tab

2. Select the Size icon. From the Size pull-down list, select a size.

Adjusting the Scale

The scaling option allows you to adjust the actual size of the printed copy. The default

size of the printed copy is 100%. You can adjust the scale to a percentage of the normal

size, or choose to fit the worksheet to a specific number of pages; both allow you to

reduce or enlarge the entire worksheet. These options are described below.

Adjusting the Scale: Percentage and Fit to Page

1. Select the Page Layout Tab

2. Go to the Scale-to-Fit Section

3. Adjust either page width, height, or % of size

Adjusting the Margins

1. Select the Page Layout Tab

2. Select the Margins icon

3. Select desired template or customize margins

Centering the Worksheet on the Page

1. Select Page Layout Tab

2. Select the Margins Icon

3. Select Custom Margins

4. To center within the top and bottom margins, under Center on page, select

Vertically.

5. Click OK.

Printing Ranges of Cells

You can manually select ranges of cells for printing. You also have the option of

selecting multiple non-contiguous ranges for printing. Unless you provide a print range,

Excel will print everything on the current worksheet, resulting in a printout of all cells

from A1 to the last column and row containing information.

Selecting a Print Range Manually

1. Select the range of cells to be printed

2. In the top left corner, click the File tab, select Print.

3. In the first dialog box under Settings, drop down arrow to select Print Selection

4. Click OK. The specified range of cells is printed.

Selecting Multiple Ranges

Selected ranges will print on separate pages.

1. Select the first range to be printed, then select the second range & so on.

2. In the top left corner, click the File tab, select Print.

3. In the first dialog box under Settings, drop down arrow to select Print Selection

4. Click Print. The specified ranges of cells is printed on separate pages.

Using Printing Options by using Custom Page Breaks

Page breaks determine the boundaries of printable information. The dotted lines that

appear represent the margins of the printer paper. When a document is printed,

information on each side of the break will appear on different pages.

NOTE: Excel will print every page designated by a custom page break, including blank

pages. Do not create more custom page breaks than you require.

Establishing a Custom Page Break

1. Select the cell whose upper left corner is where you want the page break to

appear.

2. From the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Breaks select

Insert Page Break. The page break appears in the worksheet.

Removing a Custom Page Break

1. Select the cell whose upper left corner is where the page break you want to delete

is located

2. From the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Breaks, select

Remove Page Break. The page break is removed.

Printing Formulas

Troubleshooting your worksheets can be easier if you print the formulas. In order to print

the formulas, they must first be displayed. Formulas are toggled on and off by the Show

Formulas button.

1. From the Formulas command tab, in the Formula Auditing grouping, click

Show Formulas The formulas are displayed.

2. To hide formulas, click Show Formulas again.

Hiding Information

To keep your printouts concise, you may want to hide some parts of the worksheet,

including entire columns, rows, and selected cells.

Applying Additional Printing Options

The Page Setup dialog box offers additional printing options for you. You may choose to

print in color or print gridlines and headings. You may also edit how you want cell errors

to appear in printouts. These options are all available in the Page Setup dialog box.

1. From the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Page Setup icon

The Page Setup dialog box appears. Select the Sheet tab.

2. To print gridlines, in the Print section, select Gridlines

3. To print your worksheet in shades of black and white, in the Print section, select

Black and white

4. To print row and column headings, in the Print section, select Row and column

headings

5. Click OK. The changes are saved and the Page Setup dialog box closes.