Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Resetting Page Setup.

Resetting Page Setup

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 25, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Lori wrote concerning a problem she was having with Excel. It seemed that the page setup for every worksheet in every workbook had changed. Worksheets that previously printed on a single page no longer fit on one page, instead printing on two.

The most likely explanations for behavior such as this is that something has changed in relation to how you print your worksheets. I don't mean that you have gone in and changed your page setup—I mean that you have physically changed a printer on your system or that the printer driver used by your system has been changed. Making such changes can universally affect your worksheets.

It is also possible that the change is due to a change in your version of Excel. If you recently upgraded to a different version, then worksheets could be rendered differently by Excel than they used to be.

Unfortunately, the only way to solve this issue—regardless of the cause—is to manually go through each workbook and change the page setup information for each worksheet. It is time consuming, but the only solution available.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2578) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Resetting Page Setup.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Highlighting Pattern Violations

A common part of working with text strings in a worksheet is normalizing those strings so that they follow whatever rules ...

Discover More

Cascading Document Windows

Want the various documents you have open to be cascaded on-screen so you can organize them easier? The capability is ...

Discover More

Removing Cells Containing Specific Terms

Macros are great for processing large amounts of data quickly. This tip examines several ways you can remove specific ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Scaling Your Printing

If you want to cram more of your worksheet onto each page of a printout, one way to do it is by using scaling. Here's how ...

Discover More

Changing Page Margins

If your worksheet is destined to be printed, you'll need to be concerned with how it appears on the page. One layout ...

Discover More

Setting Page Margins

When getting ready to print your worksheet, you may want to take a moment to check what margins Excel will use on the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three more than 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.