Page Break Control

Although most of us would like to have a truly Paperless world, that day hasn’t come yet, and probably won’t for many years. In the meanwhile, even the savviest Excel Enthusiast may need to Print a worksheet from time to time.

So, let me ask you something: Have you ever printed an Excel worksheet and not gotten the results you wanted? For instance, some of your data on the right side (perhaps just a couple of columns) may print on its own page. If your intent is to create an easily-referenced document to distribute in a meeting, this can be a Real Drag!

Now, by resizing your fonts and row/column widths, you can use Trial and Error to get your print the way you want it. There is, of course, a far better way. Simply go to View / Workbook Views / Page Break Preview. In this mode, you can easily exercise maximum control with a minimum of effort!

In Page Break Preview you get a view of your worksheet with page breaks shown as Blue Lines. Initially, the lines will be Dashed, indicating Automatic page breaks. By hovering you mouse pointer over one of the lines, you can select it and move it wherever you wish. The lines will then become Solid Blue, indicating Manual page breaks (i.e. those that you have set).

This can be particularly useful when you have just a few columns or rows that don’t initially get onto the printed page you want to present. A Small Word Of Caution, however: It may be tempting to manually slide your Page Breaks to include a great deal of columns or rows, so that you can have an Elegant One-Page Handout for your meeting. Whereas you will, indeed, get all of your data printed on one page, your audience may need strong Magnifying Glasses to read it!

Page Break Control; Another tool that enables you to have Excel do things Your Way!

(You may even have time for another cup of coffee before the meeting…)