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: 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 Excel in Microsoft 365

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.

  3. 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.)
  4. Select the Print_Area entry and click on Delete. The entry is removed, and your print area is now deleted.
  5. 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 Excel in Microsoft 365. 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. ...

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