In Excel: select the exact range you want on paper, then choose Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Set Print Area — everything outside that selection is left off every printout and PDF export until you clear or change it.
On this page7
Select the exact range you want printed (e.g. A1:F40).
Go to Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Set Print Area.
Press Ctrl+P (or File ▸ Print) and confirm in Print Preview that only that block appears.
To print a second, separate block too, select it and choose Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Add to Print Area — Excel prints each area as its own page.
To remove the restriction and print the whole sheet again, use Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Clear Print Area.
What this does
The print area restricts what portion of a worksheet actually prints or exports to PDF, independent of how much data the sheet contains. It is stored per-sheet (as the hidden Print_Area defined name) and persists across sessions until cleared. This is different from page breaks, which control where a printed print area splits across multiple pages, and from Print Titles, which repeat header rows on every page — print area controls what is selected in the first place, not how it paginates. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. Treat “change print area in excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected cells shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a workspace setting that makes a big sheet comfortable to navigate into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
A worksheet has a six-column dashboard summary in A1:F40 and 150 rows of raw supporting data spilling through column M below and beside it. Select A1:F40, choose Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Set Print Area, then press Ctrl+P: Print Preview now shows only the 6-column, 40-row summary block. The raw data columns and rows are excluded from both paper printing and File ▸ Export ▸ Create PDF/XPS, with no further formatting changes needed. Reach for print area whenever a workbook mixes a client-facing summary with rows of backing calculations, and the printed page or exported PDF needs to show only the clean section rather than everything on the tab. A practical tip: try it on a copy of the sheet or a handful of sample rows first and check the result before you apply it to the real data. That one habit catches almost every surprise while it is still cheap to reverse.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. Keep this page bookmarked for the next time the same question comes up. Better still, repeat the steps once in your own workbook — doing it yourself is what turns a copied answer into something you remember. If you take one thing from this page on “change print area in excel”, make it the order of checks rather than the individual clicks: confirm what is selected, apply the step, and look at the result before moving on. That small routine is what keeps Excel work predictable when the same task comes back in a slightly different workbook.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting a print area was set months ago, so new rows or columns added outside it silently never appear on a printout or PDF.
- Selecting a non-contiguous range for Set Print Area and expecting one merged page — Excel prints each block as a separate page instead.
- Confusing print area with Page Break Preview — page breaks decide where a printed print area splits across pages, not what gets selected to print.
- Not re-checking the print area after inserting new rows or columns, since it is a fixed range reference that does not auto-expand with the data.
- Setting a print area on a range with hidden rows or filtered-out rows and being surprised they are skipped — hidden rows and columns never print by default, print area or not.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print the whole sheet again after setting a print area?
Page Layout ▸ Print Area ▸ Clear Print Area removes the restriction, so File ▸ Print reverts to the sheet's full used range.
Does print area carry over to PDF exports?
Yes — File ▸ Export ▸ Create PDF/XPS and printing to "Microsoft Print to PDF" both honor whatever print area is set for that sheet.
Can every sheet in a workbook have a different print area?
Yes — print area is stored per worksheet, so each tab can have its own independent print area, or none at all.
Other ways people ask this
On the way here you may have searched this as “how to change printing area in excel”, “how to change printable area in excel”, “change print area excel” and “how to change the print area in excel” — it is all the same task, and this page is the single, complete answer to it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how to change printing area in excel”, “how to change printable area in excel”, “change print area excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.