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: Adding the Set Print Area Tool.

Adding the Set Print Area Tool

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365

If you have the need to define different areas of a worksheet to print, you know that you can do so by simply defining different print areas in your worksheet. The normal way you do this is to select the range of cells you want in the print area, display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon, click the Print Area tool (in the Page Setup group), and then choose Set Print Area.

If you need to change print areas quite often, these steps may get tiresome. You may be interested in speeding things up a bit by adding a tool to the Quick Access toolbar that defines the print area. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Customize (Excel 2007) or Quick Access Toolbar (Excel 2010 or a later version). (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Customize area of the Excel Options dialog box.

  3. Use the Choose Commands From drop-down list to choose All Commands.
  4. In the list of Commands, scroll down until you see the Set Print Area command. Select the command.
  5. Click the Add button. The command is now listed in the box at the right side of the dialog box.
  6. Click on OK.

Now, when you need to set a print area, you simply choose the area on the screen and click on the Set Print Area button.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9842) 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: Adding the Set Print Area Tool.

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. ...

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