Excel print area: how to set, change and clear

Fastest way to set print area in Excel

The quickest way to set a constant print range is this:

1. Select the part of the worksheet that you want to print.
2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Print Area > Set Print Area.

A faint gray line will appear denoting the print area.

More informative way to define print area in Excel

Want to visually see all your settings? Here's a more transparent approach to defining a print area:

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the dialog launcher . This will open the Page Setup dialog box.
2. On the Sheet tab, put the cursor in the Print area field, and select one or more ranges in your worksheet. To select multiple ranges, please remember to hold the Ctrl key.
3. Click OK.

Set print area in selected sheets as on the active sheet

This macro automatically sets the print area(s) for all selected worksheets the same as on the active sheet. When multiple sheets are selected, the active sheet is the one which is visible when you run the macro.

Set print range in all worksheets as on the active sheet

No matter how many sheets you have, this code defines the print range in a whole workbook in one go. Simply, set the desired print area(s) on the active sheet and run the macro:

Set the specified print area in multiple sheets

When working with different workbooks, you may find it convenient if the macro prompts you to select a range.

Here's how it works: you select all the target worksheets, run the macro, select one or more ranges when prompted (to select multiple ranges, hold the Ctrl key), and click OK.

How to use the macros

The easiest way is to download our sample workbook with Print Area Macros and run a macro directly from that workbook. Here's how:

1. Open the downloaded workbook and enable the macros if prompted.
2. Open your own workbook.
3. In your workbook, press Alt + F8, select the macro of interest, and click Run.

The sample workbook contains the following macros:

• SetPrintAreaSelectedSheets - sets the print area in the selected sheets as on the active sheet.
• SetPrintAreaAllSheets – sets the print area in all sheets of the current workbook as on the active sheet.
• SetPrintAreaMultipleSheets - sets the specified print area in all the selected worksheets.

Alternatively, you can save your file as a macro-enabled workbook (.xlsm) and add a macro to it. For the detailed step-by-step instructions, please see How to insert and run VBA code in Excel.

How to expand print area in Excel

To add more cells to the existing print area, just do the following:

1. Select the cells that you'd like to add.
2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Print Area > Add to Print Area.

Done!

This is of course the fastest way to modify print area, but not transparent. To get it right, here are a few important things to remember:

• The Add to Print Area option appears only when the worksheet already has at least one print area.
• If the cells you are adding are not adjacent to the existing print area, a new print area is created, and it will print as a different page.
• If the new cells are adjacent to the existing print area, they will be included in the same area and printed on the same page.

Edit print area in Excel by using Name Manager

Every time you set a print area in Excel, a defined range named Print_Area is created, and there is nothing that would prevent you from modifying that range directly. Here's how:

1. On the Formulas tab, in the Defined Names group, click Name Manager or press Ctrl + F3 shortcut.
2. In the Name Manager dialog box, select the range you want to change and click the Edit button.

Change print area via Page Setup dialog box

Another quick way to adjust print area in Excel is to use the Page Setup dialog box. The best thing about this method is that it lets you make any changes you want – modify the print area, delete or add a new one.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the dialog launcher (a small arrow in the lower-right corner).
2. On the Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box, you will see the Print area box and can do your edits right there:
   • To modify the existing print area, delete and type the correct references manually.
   • To replace the existing area, put the cursor in the Print area box and select a new range on the sheet. This will remove all the existing print areas so only the selected one is set.
   • To add a new area, press and hold the Ctrl key while selecting a new range. This will set a new print area in addition to the existing one(s).

Cannot set print area in Excel

Problem: You can't get Excel to accept the print area that you define. The Print Area field shows some odd ranges, but not the ones you have entered.

Solution: Try to clear print area completely, and then select it anew.

Not all columns are printed

Problem: You have selected a certain number of columns for the print area, but not all of them are printed.

Solution: Most likely, the column width exceeds the paper size. Try making the margins narrower or adjust scaling – choose Fit All Columns on One Page.

The print area prints on several pages

Problem: You want the one-page printout, but it prints on several pages.

Solution: Non-adjacent rages are printed on individual pages by design. If you selected just one range but it gets split to several pages, then most probably it is bigger than the paper size. To fix this, try setting all margins close to 0 or choose Fit Sheet on One Page. For more details, please see How to print Excel spreadsheet on one page.