Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 25, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Ian puts together Excel workbooks that typically contain, at minimum, 30 worksheets. Each worksheet, if printed, requires a minimum of eight pages. Ian often updates data in each worksheet that would appear on the first two printed pages of those worksheets. When it comes time to print, Ian would like a way to print just the first two pages of each worksheet.
When you select a range of worksheets and then choose to print, those worksheets are considered by Excel to be a single, contiguous print job. So, for instance, if you selected 20 worksheets and each worksheet required eight pages, that would not be treated by Excel as 20 individual print jobs of eight pages each, but as a single 160-page print job.
Theoretically you could specify, in the Print dialog box, that you wanted to print pages 1, 2, 9, 10, 17, 18, etc., but this is prone to error and quite tedious. It gets even more difficult if the worksheets being printed consist of varying numbers of pages.
The best solution is to write a macro that will do the printing for you. The macro can step through however many worksheets you've selected and print only the first two pages of each of those worksheets. The following macro implements this technique:
Sub PrintTwoPages() Dim sht As Variant For Each sht In ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets sht.PrintOut From:=1, To:=2, Preview:=True Next Set sht = Nothing End Sub
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3279) 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: Printing Limited Pages from a Range of Worksheets.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
If you are using a macro to create your printed Excel output, you may need a way to specify that paper should come from a ...
Discover MoreWhen you accumulate quite a few workbooks in folder, you might need to print out selected worksheets from all of the ...
Discover MoreIf you want to save paper on a printout, you might consider printing multiple pages on a single piece of paper. This can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments