Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Hiding Errors on Printouts.

Hiding Errors on Printouts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 5, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Excel has a number of different errors that can appear in your worksheet, for any number of reasons. Errors values show up with a pound (hash) symbol followed by the type of error, as in #DIV/0! or #N/A.

When you print your worksheet, Excel prints the error values, by default. If you prefer, you can choose to have Excel not print the error values. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the lower-right of the Page Setup group. Excel displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Sheet tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  4. Use the Cell Errors As drop-down list to specify how you want the error values printed.
  5. Click OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.

In step 4, you have several options in the drop-down list:

  • Displayed. Prints the error values as they show in the worksheet.
  • <Blank>. Replaces the error value with a blank; effectively hides the error values.
  • --. Replaces the error value with two dashes.
  • #N/A. Replaces all error values with #N/A.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6144) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Hiding Errors on Printouts.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Deleting Menu Items

Want to get rid of some menu options so that they can't be selected? It's easy to do when customizing Word by using these ...

Discover More

Counting Groupings Below a Threshold

When analyzing data, you may need to distill groupings from that data. This tip examines how you can use formulas and ...

Discover More

Getting Word to Remember the Default Date and Time Format

One way to insert the current date into your document is to use the Date and Time dialog box. The Default button in the ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Printing Multiple Pages On a Piece of Paper

If you want to save paper on a printout, you might consider printing multiple pages on a single piece of paper. This can ...

Discover More

Forcing Worksheets to Print on a New Sheet

Excel allows you to easily print an entire workbook. Doing so, however, may not give the desired results if you a ...

Discover More

Top Margin Ignored when Printing

When you press the Print button in Excel, you want your worksheet to go to your printer and produce output as you expect. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one more than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.