Page Layout Settings for Printing in Excel 2013

Printing a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 2013 is not always easy because an Excel worksheet can contain a large amount of data spread across many rows and columns. Before printing, you should decide which part of the worksheet you want to print and how the data should fit on paper.

Excel 2013 provides several page layout and printing options to help you print worksheets properly. These options are available mainly under the Page Layout tab and the Print screen.

You can print a selected area, a complete worksheet, selected pages, or multiple worksheets according to your requirements.

1. Print Area in Excel 2013

The Print Area feature allows you to print only a selected part of a worksheet instead of printing the entire sheet.

Steps to Set Print Area

1. Open your Excel worksheet.

2. Select the range of cells you want to print.

3. Click the Page Layout tab.

4. Click Print Area in the Page Setup group.

5. Select Set Print Area.

Now, when you print the worksheet, Excel prints the selected area.

Example: If your worksheet contains data from A1 to Z100 but you only want to print A1 to F20, select A1 and set it as the Print Area.

How to Clear Print Area

If you want to remove the previously selected print area:

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Print Area.

3. Select Clear Print Area.

Excel will remove the defined print area.

2. Margins in Excel 2013

Margins are the blank spaces around the edges of a printed page. Excel allows you to adjust the top, bottom, left, and right margins.

Steps to Set Margins

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Margins in the Page Setup group.

3. Choose one of the available options:

   • Normal: Standard margins.

   • Wide: Wider margins around the page.

   • Narrow: Smaller margins to provide more printing space.

4. To set your own margins, click Custom Margins and enter the required values.

You can also adjust the header and footer margins in the Page Setup dialog box.

3. Orientation in Excel 2013

Orientation determines whether a page is printed vertically or horizontally.

Excel provides two orientation options:

• Portrait: The page is taller than it is wide. This is suitable for worksheets with fewer columns.

• Landscape: The page is wider than it is tall. This is useful for worksheets containing many columns.

Steps to Change Orientation

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Orientation.

3. Select Portrait or Landscape.

Example: If your worksheet contains many columns, Landscape orientation may make the data easier to read.

4. Paper Size in Excel 2013

The Size option allows you to choose the paper size for printing your worksheet.

Common paper sizes include:

• A4

• Letter

• Legal

• A3

Steps to Change Paper Size

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Size in the Page Setup group.

3. Select the required paper size.

Make sure the selected paper size matches the paper loaded in your printer. The available sizes may depend on your printer driver.

5. Print Titles in Excel 2013

Print Titles allows you to repeat specific rows or columns on every printed page. This is especially useful when printing a worksheet that extends across multiple pages.

For example, if the first row contains column headings, you can repeat it at the top of every printed page.

Steps to Set Print Titles

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. Click Print Titles in the Page Setup group.

3. In the Page Setup dialog box, open the Sheet tab.

4. In Rows to repeat at top, select the row you want to repeat, such as $1:$1.

5. If required, set Columns to repeat at left.

6. Click OK.

When printed, the selected rows or columns will repeat on each applicable page.

6. Page Breaks in Excel 2013

Page breaks determine where Excel divides a worksheet into separate printed pages.

Excel automatically inserts page breaks according to the worksheet size, paper size, margins, and scaling settings. You can also insert manual page breaks.

Steps to Insert a Page Break

1. Select the row below or the column to the right of where you want the page break.

2. Click the Page Layout tab.

3. Click Breaks in the Page Setup group.

4. Select Insert Page Break.

To remove manual page breaks, click Breaks and select Remove Page Break or Reset All Page Breaks, as appropriate.

Page Break Preview

To see how the worksheet will be divided into printed pages:

1. Click the View tab.

2. Select Page Break Preview.

This view displays the page boundaries and helps you adjust where pages begin and end.

7. Scaling in Excel 2013

Scaling helps you fit worksheet data onto a desired number of printed pages. This is useful when your worksheet is too wide or too long.

Excel 2013 provides scaling options under the Page Layout tab, including Width, Height, and Scale.

Steps to Fit a Worksheet on One Page

1. Click the Page Layout tab.

2. In the Scale to Fit group, set Width to 1 page.

3. Set Height to 1 page if you want the entire worksheet to fit on a single page.

4. Open Print Preview to check the result.

You can also choose:

• Fit All Columns on One Page: Useful when columns extend across several pages.

• Fit All Rows on One Page: Useful when rows extend across several pages.

• No Scaling: Prints at the normal scale, subject to other page settings.

Important: Fitting a large worksheet onto one page may make the text too small to read. Always check the preview before printing.

8. Headers and Footers in Excel 2013

Headers appear at the top of printed pages, while footers appear at the bottom. You can use them to display information such as a worksheet title, date, page number, or file name.

Steps to Add a Header or Footer

1. Click the Insert tab.

2. Select Header & Footer.

3. Click the header or footer area.

4. Enter your text or use the available Header & Footer Elements options.

5. Return to the worksheet and check the result in Print Preview.

For example, you can display the page number at the bottom of each printed page.

9. Print Preview in Excel 2013

Print Preview allows you to check the appearance of your worksheet before sending it to the printer. It helps identify missing columns, unwanted blank pages, small text, and incorrect page orientation.

Steps to Open Print Preview

1. Click the File tab.

2. Select Print.

3. Review the preview displayed on the right side.

4. Check the printer, page orientation, paper size, margins, and scaling.

5. If everything looks correct, click Print.

You can also press Ctrl + P to open the Print screen directly.

10. How to Print a Worksheet in Excel 2013

Follow these steps to print your worksheet:

1. Open the worksheet.

2. Set the Print Area if you only need a particular range.

3. Adjust Margins, Orientation, and Paper Size.

4. Set Print Titles or Scaling if required.

5. Press Ctrl + P or go to File → Print.

6. Select the printer and the required print settings.

7. Review the Print Preview.

8. Click Print.

Common Print Options

In the Print screen, you can choose:

• Print Active Sheets: Prints the currently selected worksheet or worksheets.

• Print Entire Workbook: Prints all worksheets in the workbook.

• Print Selection: Prints the currently selected cell range.

• Pages: Allows you to specify a page range when supported by the current print settings.

Conclusion

Page Layout settings in Excel 2013 help you control how worksheet data appears on printed pages. Features such as Print Area, Margins, Orientation, Size, Print Titles, Page Breaks, and Scaling make it easier to produce clear and well-organized printouts.

Before printing a large worksheet, always check Print Preview to ensure that the data fits properly and remains readable.

For more tutorials, read What Is MS Excel? and MS Excel 2013 Screen Components.