How to Delete a Page in Excel

Stop printing blank pages

By
Amanda Derrick
Amanda Derrick
Amanda Derrick
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Utah
  • Florida Tech
Amanda Derrick is a mechanical engineer, business strategist, and former Lifewire writer who has also written for USAF Civil Service, ATK, and Boeing.
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Updated on October 15, 2022
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
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What to Know

  • Go to the View tab, select Page Break Preview, then drag the dotted blue line to adjust the area you want to print.
  • If you only want to print part of the worksheet, highlight the area you want to print, then go to the File tab and select Print.
  • To set a print area for the document permanently, go to the Page Layout tab, highlight the area you want to print, then select Print Area.

This article explains how to delete pages in Excel. Instructions apply to Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2019, Excel 2016, Excel 2013, and Excel 2010.

How to Delete Unwanted Pages in Excel

Page breaks are the boundaries in a worksheet that decide what content goes on your printed document page. Excel chooses these for you automatically, using your default paper size and margin settings. You can also adjust the automatic page breaks by scaling your print job smaller (less than 100 percent) or larger (more than 100 percent) than your working document.

Insert, delete, or move page breaks in Excel to make sure pages print as expected.

  1. Open the worksheet in which you want to delete a page and select the View tab.

    The View tab in Excel

  2. Select Page Break Preview in the Workbook Views group.

    You can adjust page breaks in the Normal view in Excel, but it's easier to use Page Break Preview to work on the page break layout. The preview mode shows how any change you make to columns or rows impacts the automatic page breaks.

    The "Page Break Preview" button in Excel

  3. With Page Break Preview enabled, you can see a dotted line representing the automatic page break, with each page numbered.

    You can select any of the blue lines (both dotted and solid) to adjust the print areas.

    Page Break Preview

  4. Select and drag the dotted blue line (an automated print break) to adjust the area you would like to print. The line turns solid, converting it to a manual page break.

    Blue line in page break preview

  5. When you finish adjusting the page breaks, select Normal in the Workbook Views group.

    The "Normal" button in Workspace Views

How to Set Your Print Area in Excel

Creating page breaks is a great way to manage larger documents, but what if you want to print a snapshot of the content and not the whole worksheet? You can use printer options to print a selected area by following these steps.

For one-time printing:

  1. Select and drag to highlight the area of the worksheet that you want to print.

    Selected cells in Excel

  2. Select the File tab.

    The File menu in Excel

  3. Choose Print.

    The Print command in Excel

  4. Choose Print Selection in the list under Settings.

    The "Print Selection" command

Change Print Settings Permanently

If you'll print the selected area more than once and want to set a print area for the document permanently, you can do it this way.

  1. Go to the Page Layout tab.

    The Page Layout tab

  2. Highlight the area that you want to print, then select Print Area in the Page Setup group.

    The "Print Area" button

  3. Choose Set Print Area.

    The "Set Print Area" command

  4. You'll see a slight outline illustrating the new print area. If you need to change the print area, select Print Area > Clear Print Area.

    The "Clear Print Area" command
FAQ
  • How do I insert a page break in Excel?

    To insert a page break in Microsoft Excel, select View > Page Break Preview. For a vertical page break, select the row below where the break will be. For a horizontal page break, select the column to the right of where the break will be. When you're ready, select Page Layout > Breaks > Insert Page Break.

  • How do I remove page breaks in Excel?

    To remove a horizontal page break, select the row below the page break. To remove a vertical page break choose the column to the right of the page break. When you're ready, select Page Layout > Breaks > Remove Page Break.

  • How do I add page numbers in Excel?

    To insert page numbers in an Excel worksheet, go to the Insert tab, select Header & Footer, and choose Click to add header or Click to add footer. In Header & Footer tools, select the Design tab, choose where you want the page number to appear, and select Page Number. Click outside the header or footer to see the page numbers.

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