[Fixed!] Excel Set Print Area Not Working (2 Possible Solutions)

In this tutorial, I am going to show you 2 possible solutions to the problem Excel set print area not working. A lot of times after you have set a printing area in your worksheet when you go to the print preview, you find that some data cells are missing. Also, you do not get any error messages either which sometimes makes it difficult to spot. In the following sections, we will try to use some simple ways to solve this common problem.

Excel Set Print Area Not Working: 2 Possible Solutions

1. Using Page Break Preview

This is the first solution that you should try if the Excel set print area is not working properly. This feature in Excel gives you direct control over the bounds of the printing area. Let us see how to apply this method.

Steps:

• First, go to the View tab and then to Workbook Views.
• Here, select Page Break Preview.

• Then, you will see a blue border line around the dataset.
• Finally, move your mouse pointer on this line and drag it to adjust the print area to your needs.

2. Clearing Previously Set Print Area

A lot of times what happens is that a wrong print area is already in place. Then you face the issue where the newly set print area option doesn’t seem to work properly. So make sure to clear the print area.

Steps:

• To begin with, go to the Page Layout tab and then to Print Area.
• Next, click on Clear Print Area.
• As a result, this will remove any previously set print area.

How to Extend Print Area in Excel

It may happen that you have set a print area that has a few columns or rows missing. In that case, you can add those missing data cells to your print area. Follow the steps below to Extend the Print Area in Excel.

Steps:

• First of all, select the cells that you want to add to the print area. Note that, they have to be adjacent to the current print area.
• Now, navigate to the Page Layout tab and again to Print Area.
• Next, select Add to Print Area.
• Consequently, Excel will add the new cells to the current print area.

Things to Remember

• If you do not want to print the whole worksheet, try printing only the selected cells you need. This can avoid a lot of printing problems.
• The blue border defines the print area in the Page Break Preview. So, make sure to adjust it properly.
• To confirm that Excel has set the print area as you want, press Ctrl+P and go through each of the page previews.
• If you have one or more columns missing in the print, it may be because the column width exceeds the paper size. Try to adjust the column width for this.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here.

Conclusion

I hope that the 2 ways I showed in this tutorial solved your problem of the set print area not working in Excel. Download the practice workbook and try these solutions on the given dataset. If you have any queries, please let me know in the comments.

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• How to Show Print Area in Excel
• How to Delete Extra Pages in Excel
• [Solved:] Print Area Is Grayed Out in Excel

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