Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, 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: Setting Page Margins.

Setting Page Margins

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 3, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


In Excel, page margins are used to specify how much white space (blank area) should be left around the information in your worksheet. This is very similar to how margins are conceived and used in other programs, such as a word processor. Margins are used to provide a visual border for your printed page and an area where the page can be held or bound.

Setting margins for a worksheet is easy. All you need to do is to display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon and click on the Margins tool. Excel displays a few common margin settings from which you can choose, or you can customize your margins by choosing Custom Margins. The result is that Excel displays the Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

There are four margins you can specify: top, bottom, left, and right. Each margin refers to the distance from the edge of the paper to where the information in your worksheet can be printed. Thus, a one-inch top margin means there will be one inch of white space at the top of each page of your printout.

If you include headers and footers in your page layout, the settings in the Header and Footer boxes allow you to indicate where they should print. Typically, the value in the Header field should be less than the value in the Top field, and the value in the Footer field should be less than the one in the Bottom field. In this way you will ensure that the header and footer appear within the margins specified at the top and bottom of the page.

At the bottom of the dialog box there are some check boxes that control the centering of your information on the page. Clicking your mouse on either the Horizontally or Vertically check boxes will make sure your information is centered in that direction. Notice that as you make changes to the margins or to the information centering, Excel shows you what your layout looks like in the center of the dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11836) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Setting Page Margins.

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

Using Search Text in the Replacement

When you use the Find and Replace tool in Word, you may want to include what you searched for in the replacement text. ...

Discover More

Where is Toolbar Customization Information Stored?

When you make a change to one of Excel's toolbars, do you know where that change is stored? This tip explains the name ...

Discover More

Calculating the Interval between Occurrences

With a long list of items in a worksheet, you may want to determine the last time a particular item appeared in the list. ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Changing Excel's Background Color

Excel does not provide a built-in way to change the background color used in a worksheet. You can, however, try a few ...

Discover More

Centering Your Worksheet

Got just a small amount of worksheet data to print out? It might look better on the printed page if you center it. Excel ...

Discover More

Copying Formats to a New Worksheet

Do you want to copy formats from one worksheet to another? You can do so easily by using the Format Painter. It even ...

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 five more than 3?

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.