Adjusting Page Layout
FIGURE 9-11 DEMONSTRATES that unlike the Normal view, the Page Layout view displays portions of the worksheet that are usually hidden until you view them on the Print Preview window. Instead of using dotted lines to indicate a page break, the Page Layout view shows an actual break in the worksheet as if you were looking at a piece of paper. Using this view allows you to make changes to elements of your document that are not normally visible, such as margins, titles, and headers and footers.
The Ribbon’s Page Layout tab (see Figure 9-12) includes five groups of elements that can be changed:
Themes. As you discovered in Chapter 5, “Making the Worksheet Look Good,” the Themes group contains a number of built-in tools to control the colors and fonts used in your worksheet.
Page Setup. Control the margins, print area, page orientation, and printed appearance of your worksheet from the Page Setup group, as described in Table 9-2. Many of these controls are also available in the Print Preview window.
Table 9-2. Page Setup Tools Button Description Margins Adjusts the whitespace at the top, bottom, and sides of your data. Orientation Changes the paper layout from portrait to landscape. Size Changes the size of the paper to which you will be printing. Print Area Highlights the area of the worksheet that you want to print. Breaks Sets or removes manual page breaks. Background Adds a picture behind your worksheet data. Print Titles Adds repeating rows and columns to the printed page. Scale to Fit. As in the Print Preview window, the Scale to Fit group contains controls to help you fit your data onto a specified number of pages.
Sheet Options. This group contains controls to make gridlines or cell headings appear on the screen and printed page.
Arrange. The Arrange group controls the alignment of the graphical elements of your worksheet. You learn more about those elements in Chapter 12, “Inserting Illustrations.”
Returning to NormalWhen you finish working in any view, you can return to Normal view by choosing View > Workbook Views > Normal. |
Working with Margins
Margins are the whitespace found at the top, bottom, and sides of printed pages. There is no correct margin size. The right size is a personal choice for aesthetic or functional purposes. Use one of the three built-in margin settings by choosing Page Layout > Page Setup > Margins and selecting one of the options in the drop-down menu (see Figure 9-13).
Figure 9-13. Built-in margin options.
Choosing Custom Margins from the drop-down menu will open the Page Setup dialog box. The Margins tab displays a miniature worksheet and small up and down arrows, called spinners, for each of the modifiable margins as shown in Figure 9-14. To change a margin, click the appropriate spinner arrow or type the value manually.
Figure 9-14. Manually adjust margins from the Margins tab.
Tip
Center the worksheet data horizontally and vertically on the printed page by checking those options on the Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.
Margins can also be changed from the Print Preview window once the print area has been established. Just follow these steps:
1. | Choose File > Print to open the Print Preview window. |
2. | Click the Margins icon in the lower-right corner. Excel displays the margins over the worksheet (see Figure 9-15). |
3. | Drag the square margin handles to manually adjust the margin settings. |
Tip
The Margins icon also displays column handles. Drag these handles to resize the column widths so that all of your data is visible.
Manually Changing Page Breaks
If you want to see where Excel breaks your data to a new printed page, you can select View > Workbook Views > Page Break Preview. Not only can you see blue dotted lines and page-number labels (see Figure 9-16) to indicate the breaks, you can change where the breaks occur.
To move a page break, position the mouse over the blue lines until the mouse pointer turns into a double-headed arrow. Click and drag the page break lines into the desired position. Excel will adjust the page scaling so that the information fits on the requested number of pages.
Tip
Each time you open the Page Break preview, you will see a Page Break Preview message. Check the Do Not Show This Dialog again box to prevent the message from reappearing.
Besides moving existing page breaks, you will also be able to insert page breaks at any point in the worksheet from the Page Break preview. Page breaks can be placed vertically (between columns) or horizontally (between rows). Select the first cell in the row or column you want to be placed on a new page and then choose Page Layout > Page Setup > Breaks from the Ribbon. Select Insert Page Break from the drop-down menu. Excel adds a solid blue line to indicate a manual page break as shown in Figure 9-17.
Creating Backgrounds
Pictures can add life and context to your worksheet data and the Page Layout tab offers an interesting option: add an image as a background on your worksheet. What makes this so interesting is that the image cannot be printed; it is only visible within Excel. This limitation can work well within a corporate environment where including an image, for example a corporate logo, might be a requirement.
Caution
| Background images cannot be edited once they are inserted. Smaller images will be tiled to fill the sheet. |
To add a sheet background, first open the worksheet upon which you want to add the background image, and then follow these steps:
1. | Choose Page Layout > Page Setup > Background. Excel opens the Sheet Background dialog box. |
2. | Select a picture for the sheet background, and then click Insert. The image is placed behind the gridlines and cell contents, as shown in Figure 9-18. |
Delete Your BackgroundThe Backgrounds button changes to a Delete Background button once a background image has been inserted. Click this button to remove a background image from your worksheet. |
Printing Gridlines and Headings
As a rule, worksheet elements are visible on the worksheet views, but are not printed. However, two of these sheet options can be printed.
Gridlines. Lines between cells in the worksheet
Headings. Row numbers and column letters
To force Excel to print these elements, click the Print check box under the appropriate option on the Page Layout tab as in Figure 9-19.
Figure 9-19. Sheet options can be printed.
Including Titles
In most instances data tables will include a label, or title, describing the data that will be included in that row or column. Because that information is only included once on the worksheet, it will print only once. If your worksheet is more than one page long, the second page will not include the descriptive title (see Figure 9-20).
You can use Page Layout tools to force Excel to repeat those titles on every page of your printed document. Choose Page Layout > Page Setup > Titles. Excel opens the Page Setup dialog box with the Sheet tab selected (see Figure 9-21).
Then, follow these steps to repeat rows or columns on your printed document:
1. | Click the Collapse button at the end of the Rows to Repeat at Top option. The dialog box is collapsed to show only that option box. |
2. | Use your mouse to select the row, or rows, that you want to repeat at the top of every page and click the Collapse button again to return to the full dialog box. |
3. | If necessary, repeat the process with the Columns to Repeat at Left option. |
4. | Click OK to close the dialog box. |
Figure 9-22 illustrates the effect of repeating the row titles on this document. The second page now includes descriptive labels at the top of the page.
