Weekly Computer Tip # 404
22 September 2013


Fit a worksheet on the printed page (Excel 2010-2013)

Have you ever tried to squeeze a few last rows or columns on a single page? If so, you may have used the Scale to Fit options on the Page Layout tab to reduce the size of the worksheet to better fit the printed page. (For example, if you select 1 page in the Width box and in the Height box select Automatic, all columns will appear on one page, but the rows could still be more than one page.) But as you typically spot you need to make these tweaks when doing a Print Preview, why not use the Scaling options from the "Backstage view"?

Here's how:

  1. Press CTRL + P to open "Backstage view", from where you can preview and print files and (best of all) set options.
  2. From the No Scaling drop-down list select one of the following:
    a. Fit Sheet on One Page
    b. Fit All Columns on One Page
    c. Fit all Rows on One Page

For example, if you select Fit All Columns on One Page your columns will appear on one page, but the rows may extend to more than one page. If you have more than one page you may want to print a specific row or column as your title on every page of a printed worksheet; click on the Print titles button available from the Page Layout tab and follow the steps as described in tip 148 (tip_148.html) . (For some mysterious reason you cannot use this functionality if you click Page Setup from the Backstage view.)

.