Print Preview

To see what you spreadsheet will look like when printed, and to avoid wasting paper if something is not right, use the Print Preview command. This mode will display your spreadsheet exactly as it will be when printed including charts, headers and footers, or other items that might not show up properly while you are editing.

Choose FilePrint Preview or click on the Print Preview button on the Standard Toolbar (Excel XP) or (Excel X)

The Print Preview Window

The Print Preview window will display your spreadsheet. You cannot edit the document in this mode, you can only view it. The mouse point serves as a magnifying glass. Click on the document once to zoom in, click again to zoom out. You will zoom in or out from the point of the document where you click. Use the scroll bars to move from one page to the next. 

You can also use the Print Preview Toolbar while in this view:
The Print Preview Toolbar
Excel XP		 The Print Preview Toolbar
Excel XP

The buttons in the toolbar are (from left to right):

  • Click on the first button to move to the next page. If this button is “grayed out”, then there is no next page.

  • Click on the second button to move to the previous page. If this button is “grayed out”, then there is no previous page.

  • Click on the third button to zoom in or out. 

  • Click on the fourth button to print.

  • Click on the fifth button to open the Page Setup dialog box.

  • Click on the sixth button to display markers to indicate column borders and margins. You can drag these markers to make changes to the margin settings or column widths. Changes made in the preview window are also made to the actual worksheet.

  • Click on the seventh button to display the worksheet in Page Break Preview mode. NOTE: This button will read Normal View if you enter print preview from Page Break Preview mode.

  • Click on the “Close” button to exit Print Preview.

 

The buttons in the toolbar are (from left to right):

  • Click on the first button to open the Page Setup dialog box.

  • Click on the second button to print.

  • Click on the third button to zoom in or out. 

  • Click on the fourth button to move to the next page. If this button is “grayed out”, then there is no next page.

  • Click on the fifth button to move to the previous page. If this button is “grayed out” as shown, then there is no previous page.

  • Click on the sixth button to display markers to indicate column borders and margins. You can drag these markers to make changes to the margin settings or column widths. Changes made in the preview window are also made to the actual worksheet.

  • Click on the seventh button to display the worksheet in Page Break Preview mode. NOTE: This button will read Normal View if you enter print preview from Page Break Preview mode.

  • Click on the “Close” button to exit Print Preview.

 

Now Don't Forget This …

 The main reason to use Print Preview is to determine the length of your document and to see where the page breaks will occur. One of the problems, however, is that pagination depends upon the printer you are using. Each printer has its own printer driver. If your computer is connected to an ink jet printer when you check your document, and then you actually print the document from another computer which is connected to a laser printer, then the difference in printer drivers (ink jet versus laser) could result in Print Preview showing one thing while actual printing shows something else. Oftentimes, such differences for word processing documents are minor but they can be major in other kinds of documents (for example, spreadsheets). In any case, you need to be aware that they exist. Platform (Mac versus Windows) usually does not matter when it comes to differences in printer drivers. However, you need to be aware that Mac and Windows process fonts differently. This will mean that something that fits nicely on one page using say Excel or Word for Mac may not fit on a single page when you try to print the same file using Excel or Word for Windows.

In either case, the best thing for you to do is to do a Print Preview from the same computer you are going to use for printing or do a Print Preview just before you print if you have to change computers.

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last updated August 12, 2003