Osman Goni Ridwan
You have come to the right place if you are looking for the answer or some unique tips to solve the problem when Excel is not printing the gridlines. There are several ways to print gridlines in Excel. This article will walk you through each and every step with appropriate examples. As a result, you can use them easily for your purpose. Let’s move on to the article’s main discussion.
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7 Ways to Fix If Excel Is Not Printing Gridlines
In this section, I will show you 7 quick and easy methods to solve the problem when Excel is not printing the gridlines on the Windows operating system. This article contains detailed explanations with clear illustrations for everything. I have used the Microsoft 365 version here. However, you may use any other version depending on your availability. Please leave a comment if any part of this article does not work in your version.
Here, I’m going to use a sample data set named Missing Gridlines When Printing. Which contains 3 columns. These are Student ID, Test Score, and Status. The dataset is given below.
- When I was trying to print this dataset, I was facing an issue that the gridlines aren’t showing in the layout to print.
1. Mark the Print Checkbox in Sheet Options
If the Gridlines are not selected from Sheet Options, then they won’t be visible when printing. First, you will need to check whether it is set or not. To select Gridlines for printing, follow the steps below:
- Firstly, you have to open your worksheet in Excel.
- Secondly, you must go to the Page Layout tab on the top ribbon. Here, you can also use Excel keyboard shortcuts ALT+P to go to the Page Layout
- Thirdly, from the Sheet Options and, then, mark the checkbox Print under the Gridlines
- As a result, now, I am able to print the file showing the gridlines.
Read More: How to Print Gridlines in Excel Online (2 Easy Ways)
2. Mark Gridlines Option in Page Setup Window of Excel
In this method, I will show you how to show gridlines in Excel when printing by using the Page Setup option in the Print window. Let’s see the steps.
- First, go to the Page Layout
- Secondly, select the dialog box option from Page Setup.
- Here, you will see the dialog box named Page Setup.
- Then, go to the Sheet
- Here, mark the checkbox Gridlines under the Print option.
- Finally, press OK.
- Then, you can see the gridlines in the print preview.
Read More: [Fixed!] Missing Gridlines in Excel When Printing (5 Solutions)
3. Change the Color of Gridlines
Sometimes, there are such cases when you keep on the Gridlines while printing, but still, the Gridlines are not visible on the printed copies. In that case, perhaps, the Gridlines’ color becomes white. If the Gridline’s color becomes white, then the Gridlines will not be visible in the printed copies. Now, let’s change the gridlines’ color to fix the missing Gridlines in Excel when printing. So, the steps are given below.
- First, you need to go to the File
- Now, you need to select the Advanced
- Then, under the Gridline color menu, choose your preferable color.
- Finally, you must press OK to make the changes.
- Now, if you go to the Print Preview option then you can see the following result which has visible Gridlines.
Read More: How to Print Excel Spreadsheet with Lines and Change Its Color
4. Check Fill Color of Printing Area
Let’s say that you have used Fill Color for a dataset’s background. If you print the Excel spreadsheet in this case, the Gridlines will not be visible. I have given an example of this below. Here, the following dataset is filled with a background color. While the Gridlines option is selected in the Sheet Options, the print preview looks like the screenshot below, where the cells with Fill Color have lost their gridlines.
So, you can follow the steps, given below to solve the problem of missing gridlines in Excel when printing.
- First, you need to select the data range up to which you want to print.
- Secondly, you may go to the Home Or, you can use the Context Menu Bar option for this. Where you will also get the Fill Color feature.
- Now, from the Fill Color feature, you have to choose No Fill option
- As a result, if you preview the printing draft, you will be able to see the Gridlines, as shown in the screenshot
Read More: How to Print Gridlines with Fill Color in Excel (4 Useful Ways)
5. Clear the Conditional Formatting Rules
If there is any Conditional Formatting, the Gridlines may not appear in the printed copies. So, to fix missing Gridlines in Excel when printing, remove the Conditional Formatting. The procedures are outlined below.
- Firstly, you need to select the data range up to which you want to print. Here, I have selected the range B2:D10.
- Then, go to the Home tab on the top ribbon.
- Finally, from the Conditional Formatting, you have to choose Clear Rules
Read More: How to Show Gridlines in Excel When Printing (6 Easy Ways)
6. Apply All Borders Command in the Worksheet
When using a white color inside or outside the border, the gridlines may not be visible in the printed copies. Thus, you have to Re-Format the cells. Here, you can apply borders from the top ribbon to solve this problem. The steps are given below.
- Firstly, select the whole worksheet by clicking on the marked portion in the following image.
- Secondly, go to the Home
- Thirdly, select the drop-down option for Borders.
- Now, a drop-down menu will appear. Select All Borders option here.
- Now, go to the Print Preview and you will see the gridlines are showing.
Read More: How to Hide Gridlines in Excel When Printing (4 Quick Tricks)
7. Change Display Properties
Sometimes, you may face some random gridlines missing or not printing in Excel. It may happen due to a display problem. The brightness and contrast of the display can sometimes affect how the gridlines appear. Different brightness levels and contrast ratios can reduce gridline visibility. Furthermore, the gridlines are a very light color in the worksheet and give the impression that the gridlines are not in the worksheet, although they were there from the beginning. So, try resetting your display settings to default or adjusting the brightness and contrast values until you can see the gridlines clearly. If all of the previous methods have failed to resolve your problem, you should try this one.
Conclusion
In this article, you have found how to solve the problem when Excel is not printing the gridlines. I hope you found this article helpful. You can visit our website, ExcelDemy, to learn more Excel-related content. Please leave comments, suggestions, or queries if you have any in the comment section below.
