How to Set Print Area in Google Sheets (Easy Guide)

When printing in Google Sheets, you can control every step of the process. If you don’t want to print the entire sheet or workbook, you can choose to print selected ranges or objects. You can also customize every aspect of how Google Sheets prints your selection. The print settings allow you to select the paper size, orientation, scale, and margins. Additionally, you can add custom page breaks and choose from several formatting options, such as the alignment, the order in which pages are printed, or whether to show gridlines. Finally, you can customize the headers and footers to include any information you want.

In this guide, you will learn how to print exactly what you want and exactly how you want it in Google Sheets. You will learn how to set the print area to include the cells you need, such as a selected range of cells, the current sheet, or the current workbook. You will also learn how to customize the print settings, such as orientation, scale, margins, page breaks, headers, and footers. Additionally, you will learn how to repeat headers on all print pages. Finally, you will also learn how to print named ranges and how to use them to set a permanent print area.

How to Set Print Area in Google Sheets?

To print a specific range, select the cells you want to print and press Ctrl/Cmd + p (Windows/Mac). You can customize the print settings, including orientation, formatting, margins, page breaks, and header/footer. Click ‘Next’ to choose the printer and printing options you want, then press ‘Print’ or ‘Save’.

1. Select Cells

Select the cells you want to print. In this case, I have selected one of the two tables on the sheet. Click the print button on the toolbar, as shown below. Alternatively, go to File > Print or use the shortcut Ctrl + p (Windows) or Cmd + p (Mac).

2. Choose Selected Cells

As shown below, you can select whether to print the current sheet, the whole workbook, or the cells you have selected.

3. Print Settings

In this case, I have modified the paper size setting, but you can also change the orientation, scale, margins, page breaks, formatting, and headers/footers. Click ‘Next’ when you’re happy with the settings.

4. Printer Options

You can select a physical printer or choose to ‘Save as PDF’, as well as make more adjustments to the printing options.

How to Set Printable Margins in Google Sheets?

Select the area to print and go to File > Print. By default, the ‘Normal’ preset margins are used. Click the ‘Margins’ dropdown to select from ‘Narrow, ‘Wide’, or ‘Custom numbers’. With ‘Custom numbers’, you can specify the value for each margin individually.

1. 1. Select the area you want to print and go to File > Print or use the shortcut. From the print settings, click on the ‘Margin’ drop-down menu to see the options.

1. 2. To set the specific value for each margin, select ‘Custom numbers’ and click on each value to edit.

1. 3. You can also choose a custom value for ‘Scale’. Below, I have selected a 120% scale, as the table is quite small. The preview shows a visible grid line, which I will remove in the next step.

1. 4. Click ‘Formatting’ to expand the options. I have unchecked the ‘Show gridlines’ checkbox to remove the gridline at the top of my table. Click ‘Next’ to see the final preview.

1. 5. Check the preview and printing options, then click ‘Print’ or ‘Save’.

How to Repeat Headers When Printing Pages in Google Sheets?

If printing a large table, you probably want to repeat the header row or rows on each page. You can also repeat one or more columns on each printed page using the same method.

In the example below, I will freeze the header row and adjust the print settings so that it is repeated on all pages. Check out our guide on How to Freeze a Row or Column in Google Sheets to learn about freezing rows and columns.

1. 1. Select your table’s header row and go to View > Freeze > Up to row 1.

1. 2. Keep the first row selected and go to File > Print.

1. 3. Click on ‘Headers & footers’ to expand the options.

1. 4. Scroll down and check the ‘Repeat frozen rows’ checkbox. Click ‘Next’ to preview the result.

1. 5. As you can see below, the header is repeated on each page.

How to Set Custom Page Breaks for Printing in Google Sheets?

Follow the steps below to set custom page breaks for printing.

1. 1. Select your table and click the ‘Print’ button on the toolbar.

1. 2. Click on the ‘Custom page breaks’ button, as shown below.

1. 3. You can adjust the page breaks by moving them up or down. You can also delete them by selecting them and clicking on the x on the left-hand side of the line. Finally, you can add more page breaks by pulling down the line at the top.

1. 4. If you make a mistake, you can reset the original page breaks. Once you’re happy with the settings, click ‘Confirm Breaks’.

How to Use Named Ranges as Print Areas?

You can use named ranges to set a permanent print area in your spreadsheet. Select the range of cells you want to use as the print area and go to Data > Named Ranges. Choose the range’s name and save. Check out our guide on Named Ranges in Google Sheets for more information.

1. Select Named Range

From any sheet in your spreadsheet, you can select a named range from the name box in the top-left corner. Click on the named range in the drop-down to go to that range.

2. Print Selected Cells

With your named range selected, use the shortcut: Ctrl + p (Windows) or Cmd + p (Mac).

3. Set Print Settings

Adjust your print settings and click ‘Next’ to choose the printer.

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Conclusion

Printing from Google Sheets is easy. You can select the specific area you want to print and adjust the print settings so that it looks exactly how you want it. You now know how to print the current sheet, the whole workbook, or a selection of cells.

You know how to adjust the paper size, orientation, margins, and formatting, as well as how to repeat the header row on all pages. You also know where to customize the header and footer contents, how to set custom page breaks for printing, and how to use named ranges to set a permanent print area.

To learn more about named ranges and freezing rows and columns in Google Sheets, check out our guides on:

• Named Ranges in Google Sheets (Complete Guide)
• How to Freeze a Row or Column in Google Sheets