Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365. 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: Printing a Draft of a Worksheet.

Printing a Draft of a Worksheet

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated January 5, 2019)

Excel allows you to print drafts of your worksheets. This can be very helpful in speeding up the printing process. When printing drafts, Excel doesn't include graphics or graphic-related items (such as gridlines) in the printed output. Instead, all you see is the text or numbers that make up your worksheet. To print a draft, follow these:

  1. Choose the Page Layout tab on the ribbon.
  2. Click the small Page Setup icon at the bottom-right of the Page Setup group. You will see the Page Setup dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Sheet tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

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

  4. In the Print area of the dialog box, click on the Draft Quality check box. If the check box is selected, Excel will print drafts of whatever is printed.
  5. Click on OK.

Remember that the exact way in which draft printing is implemented is, in large part, up to your printer. Don't be surprised if you get different results doing a draft print on one printer as compared to another.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6148) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Printing a Draft of a Worksheet.

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

Multiple Indexes in a Document

Adding a single index to a document is fairly easy. What if you want to add multiple indexes, however? And what if you ...

Discover More

Changing Input Conventions

Different cultures have different conventions for displaying numbers and for parameters in Excel's worksheet functions. ...

Discover More

Assigning a Macro to a Shortcut Key

Do you have a macro that you use frequently? Using the File menu to access the macro can be time consuming. This tip ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Printing a Range of Pages

If your worksheet, when printed, requires more than a single page to print, you may want to only print a range of the ...

Discover More

Printing a Portion of a Worksheet

Need to print a portion of a worksheet, but don't want to waste paper by printing the whole thing? It's easy to print ...

Discover More

Out of Kilter Borders

Borders not printing properly? It could be any one of a number of reasons causing the problem. This tip provides some ...

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}] 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 five more than 7?

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 © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.