Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: Flipping Landscape Orientation when Printing.

Flipping Landscape Orientation when Printing

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 13, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365


2

Al asked if there was a way to change the rotation on an Excel worksheet printed in landscape mode. The landscape pages are rotated by automatically by Excel, but he wants to adjust that by rotating an additional 90 degrees. This way it will print correctly for the three-hole paper on which he is printing.

There is nothing intrinsic in Excel that allows you to specify the rotation on printed pages. Also, there is no way to do this from within a macro. Some printers may allow you to control rotation within the printer driver itself, but it is pretty certain that most will not.

The solution may be as simple as rotating the paper in your printer's paper tray by however many degrees you need. (I do this all the time with my printer to get the "holes" on the right side of the printout.) This may not be possible in some printers, however, and it may mess up printing for some of your other applications.

A third-party solution may be the best way to do what you want. For instance, you may want to check out products such as ClickBook, from Blue Squirrel Software.

https://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/clickbook/

This recommendation should not be taken as an endorsement of the software; we have not tested it in any way. The product description indicates it will work with Excel and it will rotate pages. (And, it appears, do a heck of a lot of other things.) Undoubtedly there are other competing products available through a search of the Internet.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11888) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Flipping Landscape Orientation when Printing.

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

Generating a Table of Authorities

With the entries for your table of authorities marked throughout your document, you are ready to actually generate the ...

Discover More

Simplifying the Font List

Excel normally displays the font list on the toolbar or using the very fonts it is displaying. Here's how to change that ...

Discover More

Single Clicking Enters Edit Mode

Double-click a cell and you should be able to edit the contents of that cell. If single-clicking a cell results in the ...

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 Based on Cell Contents

Would you like to have a worksheet automatically printed when a particular cell contains a specified value? You can ...

Discover More

Printing a Single Column in Multiple Columns

Ever printed out a worksheet only to find that you have text only at the left side of each page? You can use more of each ...

Discover More

Controlling the Printer in a Macro

Need to access the advanced capabilities of a printer from within an Excel macro? You may be out of luck, unless you ...

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 three less than 3?

2025-09-15 09:58:20

DaveS

To extend CADcliff's suggestion, the pdf can be created with individual worksheets oriented as required using a simple macro along the lines of the following:

Sub Printpdf()

Dim SheetArray As Variant
Dim wks As Variant

'define array of worksheets to print
SheetArray = Array("Sheet1", "Sheet2", "Sheet3")

'set orientation of each worksheet (defaults to portrait)
For Each wks In SheetArray
Select Case Sheets(wks).Name
Case "Sheet1", "Sheet3"
Sheets(wks).PageSetup.Orientation = xlLandscape
Case Else
Sheets(wks).PageSetup.Orientation = xlPortrait
End Select
Next

'print to pdf
Sheets(SheetArray).Select
ActiveSheet.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, _
Filename:="C:\Documents\Report.pdf", _
Quality:=xlQualityStandard, _
IncludeDocProperties:=True, _
IgnorePrintAreas:=False

End Sub

Obviously the folder referenced in 'Filename' needs to exist on your PC.


2025-09-13 23:10:29

CADcliff

I might suggest printing the Excel sheet to a PDF output. Then you can rotate the PDF pages before printing the paper copy.


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.