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: Clearing the Print Area.

Clearing the Print Area

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 24, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


In other issues of ExcelTips you learn how you can set a print area within a worksheet. This special area is used to define exactly what range you want printed. At some point you may need to delete the print area. (By "delete" I mean to get rid of the special area designation, not the information contained within that area.)

To clear the print area, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Page Setup tab of the ribbon.
  2. In the Page Setup group, click Print Area. Excel displays a menu containing two choices.
  3. Choose Clear Print Area from the menu.

Pretty easy, huh? Well, there are other ways you can go about clearing the print area, as well. This is one that I like to use from time to time:

  1. Make sure the Formulas tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  2. In the Defined Names group, click Name Manager. Excel displays the Name Manager. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Name Manager.

  4. Look in the list of defined names for one called Print_Area. This is the definition of your print area. (If you don't see an entry by this name, there is no print area defined in your workbook.)
  5. Select the Print_Area entry and click on Delete. The entry is removed, and your print area is now deleted.
  6. Click on Close to close the Name Manager.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10002) 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: Clearing the Print Area.

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

Jumping Back in a Long Document

Navigating quickly and easily around a document becomes critical as the document becomes larger and larger. This tip ...

Discover More

Eliminating "Before Spacing" at the Top of a Page

When formatting paragraphs in Word, you have several options to adjust the spacing before, within, and at the end of each ...

Discover More

Sheets for Months

One common type of workbook used in offices is one that contains a single worksheet for each month of the year. If you ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Printing Multiple Worksheet Ranges

Need to print more than one portion of your worksheet? If you use named ranges for the different ranges you want to ...

Discover More

Printing Multiple Selections

Need to print several portions of a worksheet all on a single piece of paper? Here's an easy way you can get what you ...

Discover More

Dynamically Setting a Print Area

You can define, in your worksheet, an area that you want printed. If you want this print area to be dynamic, based on the ...

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 eight minus 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.