[Solved:] Print Area Is Grayed Out in Excel (2 Easy Solutions)

Excel is the most useful tool to deal with massive datasets. We can perform myriads of tasks of multiple dimensions in Excel. While working in Excel, we often need to print the datasheet for our convenience. But sometimes, the print area does not function properly in Excel. Often, the print area is grayed out in Excel. In this article, I will discuss the problem in detail and give 2 easy solutions to this problem.

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An Overview of the Problem

2 Simple Solutions If Print Area Is Grayed Out in Excel

1. Ungroup Sheets Using Mouse

2. Ungroup Sheets by Selecting Another Sheet

Things to Remember

Conclusion

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Print Area Grayed Out.xlsx

An Overview of the Problem

This is the datasheet that I am going to use to explain the problem in detail. There are some products and respective sales amounts.

When I tried to set the print area, I found out that the print area was grayed.

This is the problem for today’s article.

Reasons:

This may occur due for 2 reasons. They are,

Someone has grouped multiple sheets. For instance, Product and Employee sheets are grouped.

Someone saved the file with grouped sheets.

2 Simple Solutions If Print Area Is Grayed Out in Excel

In this section, I will discuss 2 solutions to the problem. Let’s learn about them step by step.

1. Ungroup Sheets Using Mouse

The first solution is to ungroup the sheets using your mouse. In our problem, we have two sheets that we need to ungroup. Let’s do it step by step.

Steps:

Take your cursor on any one of these sheets.
Then, right-click your mouse. A menu will pop up.
After that, select Ungroup Sheets.

Now, you can see the Print Area is active and usable.

Read More: How to Set Print Area in Excel (5 Methods)

2. Ungroup Sheets by Selecting Another Sheet

Now, I will show another simple solution. You can also ungroup the sheets by selecting another sheet. Suppose I have another datasheet Area. I have grouped the Product and Employee datasheet and the Area is separate.

I will now ungroup the 1st two sheets using the 3rd one.

Steps:

Take your cursor on the Area.
Then, select it.
Excel will ungroup the Product and Employee.

Now, you can see the Print Area is active and usable.

Things to Remember

Print Setup and Print Area options do not function for grouped sheets.
You will find the Print Area in the Page Layout.

Conclusion

In this article, I have illustrated the problem – the print area is grayed out in Excel – and provided 2 solutions for this problem. I hope it helps everyone. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or feedback, please feel free to comment below. Please visit Exceldemy for more useful articles like this.