XL: Setting Print Area and Print Titles on Worksheet

ID: Q121401

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

The following information describes different methods that you can use in Microsoft Excel to set a print title and a print area on your worksheet.


MORE INFORMATION

Print Area Menu Item

In Microsoft Excel versions 7.0 and 97, there is a "Print Area" menu item on the File menu. To set the print area on your worksheet using the "Print Area" menu item, do the following:

  1. Select the range of cells you want set as your print area.


  2. On the File menu point to Print Area and then click "Set Print Area."


NOTE: You can clear an existing print area by repeating Step 2, except click "Clear Print Area" instead.

Page Setup

You can use the Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box to set either a print area or a print title on your worksheet. To display the Page Setup dialog box, click Page Setup on the File menu.

NOTE: Although you can access the Page Setup dialog box by clicking the Setup button in Print Preview, you cannot enter a print area or print title using this method.

Use the following steps to set the print area or print title:

  1. In the Page Setup dialog box, click the Sheet tab.


  2. In the Print Area box, enter the reference of the cells you want to use as your print area, such as $A$1:$D$6.


  3. Under Print Titles, in the "Rows to repeat at top" box, enter the reference to the row(s) that you want to set as a title, such as $5:$5.


  4. In the "Columns to repeat at left" box, enter the reference to the column(s) that you want to set as a title, such as $D:$D.


  5. Click OK.


NOTE: You can click in the "Print area", "Rows to repeat at top", or "Columns to repeat at left" boxes and select cells in the worksheet to set the print area or row/column titles. You can also enter defined names in these boxes.

Set Print Area Button

By default, the "Set Print Area" toolbar button is not on the Standard toolbar. However, you can add the "Set Print Area" button to any existing toolbar, or create a custom toolbar that contains this button. This button allows you to set the selected cells on your worksheet as the print area.

To add the "Set Print Area" toolbar button to an existing toolbar, follow these steps.

Microsoft Excel 97

  1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars and then click Customize.


  2. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab.


  3. On the Commands tab, click File in the list of Categories.


  4. In the list of Commands, scroll down until you see "Set Print Area".


  5. Drag this command onto any currently visible toolbar.


  6. Click Close.


Microsoft Excel versions 5.0 and 7.0

  1. On the View menu, click Toolbars.


  2. Click Customize.


  3. In the Categories list, select File.

    The "Set Print Area" button is the fifth button in the first row of the toolbar buttons displayed in the "Buttons" section of the Customize dialog box.


  4. Drag this button to any visible toolbar, or to an open area on your worksheet to create a custom toolbar that contains this button.


  5. Click Close.


To set a print area using this button, select the cells on the worksheet that you want to set as the print area, and then click the "Set Print Area" button.

To clear a print area using this button, select the entire worksheet by clicking the select-all button (at the intersection of the row and column headings) or press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR and then click the "Set Print Area" button.

Set Print Titles Dialog Box

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You can use the following Visual Basic procedure to display the Set Print Titles dialog box: 


   Sub Set_Print_Titles()
      Application.Dialogs(xlDialogSetPrintTitles).Show
   End Sub


When you run this macro, the "Set Print Titles" dialog box appears. You can then enter or select ranges for either "Titles for columns" or "Titles for rows", or both.

NOTE: You can assign this procedure to a toolbar button for quick access.

Print Dialog Box Option to Print Selection



You can also print a selection of cells on a worksheet without setting a specific print area. To use this method, do the following:

  1. Select the cells on the worksheet that you want to print.


  2. On the File menu, click Print.


  3. Under "Print What", select Selection.


  4. Click OK.


For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q109192 : XL AppNOTE: Printing Questions and Answers (XE0924)

Q105817: XL: Defined Names for Print Area or Titles May Not Be Dynamic

Q117799 : XL: Print Titles Do Not Appear on Every Page of Output

Q105203 : XL: Print Selection Does Not Ignore Print Titles

Q106251 : XL: Print Area and Print Titles Boxes Empty in Print Preview


REFERENCES

For more information about the Set Print Area Button or Specifying An Area Of A Worksheet To Print, click the Search button in Help and type: 


   print area

Additional query words: 5.00c howto 8.00 97 


Keywords          : xlui xlprint 
Version           : WINDOWS:97,7.0,5.0,5.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999