Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 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: Resetting Page Setup.

Resetting Page Setup

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 9, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


2

Lori wrote concerning a problem she was having with Excel. It seemed that the page setup for every worksheet in every workbook had changed. Worksheets that previously printed on a single page no longer fit on one page, instead printing on two.

The most likely explanations for behavior such as this is that something has changed in relation to how you print your worksheets. I don't mean that you have gone in and changed your page setup—I mean that you have physically changed a printer on your system or that the printer driver used by your system has been changed. Making such changes can universally affect your worksheets.

It is also possible that the change is due to a change in your version of Excel. If you recently upgraded to a different version, then worksheets could be rendered differently by Excel than they used to be.

Unfortunately, the only way to solve this issue—regardless of the cause—is to manually go through each workbook and change the page setup information for each worksheet. It is time consuming, but the only solution available.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9604) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Resetting Page Setup.

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

Embedding an Excel Worksheet

Word and Excel are both integral parts of Microsoft's Office suite of applications. As such, Word allows you to embed ...

Discover More

Understanding the If ... End If Structure

One of the powerful programming structures provided in VBA allows you to conditionally execute commands. The If ... End ...

Discover More

Printing a Chart Across Multiple Pages

Wouldn't it be great to have your huge charts print out on multiple pieces of paper that you could then piece together? ...

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)

Can Only Print to Default Printer

It is helpful to be able to print out worksheets when you need to share them with others. It is even more helpful if you ...

Discover More

Flipping Landscape Orientation when Printing

When printing a worksheet, you may want to rotate the output on the page to fit a certain orientation. Excel doesn't ...

Discover More

Using Duplex Printing

Need to print on both sides of a piece of paper? If your printer can handle it, you can duplex your output from within ...

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.

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 three less than 3?

2021-01-09 15:56:12

Tomek

Isn't it possible that changing printing preferences for the new printer or fora printer with a new driver would return to the desired output?


2021-01-09 08:59:44

Graham Rice

The task is actually very easy to automate for all Worksheets / Workbooks that require the same setup. The answer is to use a macro, probably best to store it in a separate workbook, such as the Personal.xls

First manually setup the printing options for a SINGLE worksheet.
Then start the 'Record Macro' option and select the required storage location.

From the Ribbon select 'Page Setup'
NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING IN THIS DIALOGUE.
Click 'OK' or 'Cancel'

Stop the macro.

Although you have not actually done anything in this macro, all of the current print options are recorded. Below is an example from my computer.

########################################
Sub Macro1()
Application.PrintCommunication = False
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.PrintTitleRows = "$1:$1"
.PrintTitleColumns = ""
End With
Application.PrintCommunication = True
ActiveSheet.PageSetup.PrintArea = "$A:$D"
Application.PrintCommunication = False
With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
.LeftHeader = ""
.CenterHeader = ""
.RightHeader = ""
.LeftFooter = ""
.CenterFooter = ""
.RightFooter = ""
.LeftMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0)
.RightMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0)
.TopMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.393700787401575)
.BottomMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0.196850393700787)
.HeaderMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0)
.FooterMargin = Application.InchesToPoints(0)
.PrintHeadings = False
.PrintGridlines = True
.PrintComments = xlPrintNoComments
.CenterHorizontally = True
.CenterVertically = False
.Orientation = xlPortrait
.Draft = False
.PaperSize = xlPaperA4
.FirstPageNumber = xlAutomatic
.Order = xlDownThenOver
.BlackAndWhite = False
.Zoom = False
.FitToPagesWide = 1
.FitToPagesTall = 3
.PrintErrors = xlPrintErrorsDisplayed
.OddAndEvenPagesHeaderFooter = False
.DifferentFirstPageHeaderFooter = False
.ScaleWithDocHeaderFooter = True
.AlignMarginsHeaderFooter = False
.EvenPage.LeftHeader.Text = ""
.EvenPage.CenterHeader.Text = ""
.EvenPage.RightHeader.Text = ""
.EvenPage.LeftFooter.Text = ""
.EvenPage.CenterFooter.Text = ""
.EvenPage.RightFooter.Text = ""
.FirstPage.LeftHeader.Text = ""
.FirstPage.CenterHeader.Text = ""
.FirstPage.RightHeader.Text = ""
.FirstPage.LeftFooter.Text = ""
.FirstPage.CenterFooter.Text = ""
.FirstPage.RightFooter.Text = ""
End With
Application.PrintCommunication = True
End Sub
########################################

This macro can then be run on any other Worksheet to give an identical printing setup.
It could be modified to run through all Worksheets in a Workbook, for example enclose the code above with :-
Sub Macro1()
Dim WS_Count As Integer
Dim I As Integer
' Set WS_Count equal to the number of worksheets in the active workbook.
WS_Count = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets.Count
For I = 1 To WS_Count
' INSERT THE CODE HERE.
Next I
End Sub

A similar approach could be used to select all Workbooks in a folder.

The macro above was recorded within Excel 2019, although it should be similar with earlier versions. I do recall that when running Excel 2010 the code included some lines naming my specific printer. You may need to remove these lines, especially if sharing the code with other people.

Obviously if you have several alternative printing setups you can repeat the process for each setup.


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.