Seeing How a Worksheet Will Print While Editing

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 10, 2024)

Larry is wondering how he can display his worksheet formatting (page numbers, header/footer, etc.) while he is working on the worksheet without going to Print Preview.

The easiest way to do this is to use the Page Layout view available in Excel. This can be used by either clicking the Page Layout button at the right side of the status bar, or by displaying the View tab of the ribbon and clicking the Page Layout tool.

The value of Page Layout view will depend, in large part, on how large of a screen you are using. Because this view crams more "stuff" within the Excel program window, you'll need to either zoom out a bit or enlarge the program window to make things as readable as possible.

A good compromise on using views is to use Normal view when you are entering in all your data and formulas, and then switch to Page Layout view when you are ready to work on how your information is displayed on the page as a whole.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10312) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

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

Protecting Print Settings

Need to have your print settings always be a certain way? Tired of resetting the settings after others use the workbook ...

Discover More

Adding Page Borders to a Printout

Need a full-page border on your Excel printouts? It's not as easy to get one as you might wish. There are a few ways you ...

Discover More

Capitalizing after a Sentence Ending with a Number

Word tries its best to be helpful and correct what it thinks is wrong with your typing. One such correction is to ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Disappearing Status Bar

Ever had your Excel status bar disappear unexpectedly? Here's some ideas on why this may be happening.

Discover More

Keyboard Shortcuts for Inserting Rows

A common task when editing a worksheet is to insert rows in your existing data. This tip looks at ways you can accomplish ...

Discover More

Working with Record Numbers

Want to keep track of various rows in a data table through the use of record numbers? Here are some options and ...

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 1?

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.