How to Print an Excel Sheet on One Page
Printing from Excel can be maddening: one column ends up on a page by itself, the headings disappear after page one, and you get twelve pages when you wanted one. A few settings fix all of that.
Always check the preview first. Go to File > Print (or press Ctrl + P) — the preview on the right shows exactly what will print.
Fit the whole sheet on one page
1. Press Ctrl + P (or File > Print).
2. Under Settings, click the last drop-down, which says No Scaling.
3. Choose Fit Sheet on One Page.
2. Under Settings, click the last drop-down, which says No Scaling.
3. Choose Fit Sheet on One Page.
Excel shrinks everything to fit. Great for small sheets — but on a big sheet the text can become too small to read.
Fit all columns on one page (usually better)
For long lists, choose Fit All Columns on One Page instead. All the columns fit across the page width, and the rows continue onto as many pages as needed. No more lonely columns on page 2.
Switch to landscape
Wide sheets fit much better sideways. In the print settings, change Portrait Orientation to Landscape Orientation.
You can also set this before printing on the Page Layout tab: Orientation > Landscape.
Make the margins smaller
In the print settings, change Normal Margins to Narrow. That little bit of extra space can be enough to pull a column back onto the page.
Print only part of the sheet
If you only need part of the sheet printed:
1. Select the cells you want to print.
2. Go to Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area.
2. Go to Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area.
Only that range prints, every time, until you clear it with Print Area > Clear Print Area.
For a one-off, select the cells, press Ctrl + P, and change Print Active Sheets to Print Selection.
Repeat headings on every page
When a list runs over several pages, you want the column headings at the top of each one.
1. Go to Page Layout > Print Titles.
2. Click in Rows to repeat at top.
3. Click the row number of your headings (for example, row 1). It shows as $1:$1.
4. Click OK.
2. Click in Rows to repeat at top.
3. Click the row number of your headings (for example, row 1). It shows as $1:$1.
4. Click OK.
Take control of page breaks
Go to View > Page Break Preview. You'll see your sheet with blue lines showing where each page ends and "Page 1", "Page 2" in the background.
• Drag the blue lines to change where pages break. Excel shrinks the content to fit automatically.
• Dotted lines are automatic breaks; solid lines are ones you've set.
• Dotted lines are automatic breaks; solid lines are ones you've set.
Go back with View > Normal.
Precise scaling
On the Page Layout tab, the Scale to Fit group lets you set:
• Width: 1 page
• Height: Automatic
• Height: Automatic
This is the same as "Fit All Columns on One Page", but it's saved with the workbook.
Print gridlines
By default, Excel doesn't print the grey gridlines. To include them, go to Page Layout and, under Gridlines, tick Print. (Or add borders to your cells with Home > Borders > All Borders.)
Wrapping up
Press Ctrl + P, choose Fit All Columns on One Page and Landscape, and check the preview. Add Print Titles for long lists, and you'll never waste paper on a stray column again.
