Microsoft Excel XP/X

Gradebook: Printing Tips

Excel allows you to print only the information that is necessary or most helpful from your worksheet. You have the option to select which rows and columns will print and how you would like these columns and rows to appear on the printout. This document contains information on the following:

Repeating Columns and Rows
Hiding Columns and Rows
Setting the Print Area
Printing the Worksheet or the Set Print Area
Changing to Landscape View
Scaling

Repeating Columns and Rows

If your gradebook worksheet spans multiple pages, repeating columns and rows will help improve the readability and usability of the printed gradebook.

In your open gradebook worksheet, take note of the letters of the columns and the numbers of the rows that you want to repeat
From the File menu, select Page Setup...
The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Select the Sheet tab
In the Rows to repeat at top text box, type the range of rows that you want printed on each page (e.g., 1:3)
NOTES:
If you are only repeating one row on each page, you must type that number as the starting and ending row reference (e.g., to repeat only row one, type 1:1). The computer automatically adds a dollar sign ($) before each typed character to make the range fixed. Refer to Copying Formulas in Editing Cell Contents for more information.
In the Columns to repeat at left text box, type the range of columns that you want printed on each page (e.g., A:C)
NOTE: If you are only repeating one column on each page, you must type that letter as the starting and ending row reference (e.g., to repeat only the first column, type A:A).
Click OK
To print, click PRINT...

Hiding Columns and Rows

One problem you may have with your gradebook is that you might want to post grades along with an ID number, but there are columns between the ID number and the grades you want to post. The solution is to hide the columns between the ID numbers and the grades you want to post. Then, set your print area for those two unhidden columns.

Hiding Columns

Select the column(s) you want to hide
1. To select a column, click the COLUMN ID (A, B, C...)
  The entire column is selected.
  NOTE: You may select more than one column by clicking and dragging across several COLUMN IDs
From the Format menu, select Column » Hide
The column is hidden.

Hiding Rows

Select the row(s) you want to hide
1. To select a row, click the ROW ID (1, 2, 3...)
  The entire row is selected.
  NOTE: You may select more than one row by clicking and dragging across several ROW IDs
From the Format menu, select Row » Hide
The row is hidden.

Unhiding Rows or Columns

Select the rows or columns that border the hidden rows or columns
(e.g., if row 5 is hidden, select rows 4 and 6 or if Columns B and C are hidden, select columns A and D)
From the Format menu, select Row or Column » Unhide
The row or column is displayed.

Setting the Print Area

Setting a print area allows you to set what will be printed from your gradebook worksheet. Only the print area you set will actually print. For example, you may want to print only the ID numbers and the current test scores. Setting the print area to only contain the ID numbers and test scores would allow you to do this. If the columns containing this information are not contiguous (touching), they will print on separate pages, so you will need to hide the columns in between before setting the print area.

Select the area you wish to print (e.g., the column containing the ID numbers and the column containing the test scores)
From the File menu, select Print Area » Set Print Area
A dashed line appears around the area you have selected to print. Only that information within this dashed line will print.

Clearing the Print Area

You can easily clear the selected print area after you have printed your selection.

From the File menu, select Print Area » Clear Print Area
The print area is cleared. If the document is printed, the entire document will now print.

Printing the Worksheet or the Set Print Area

Once you have set the print area, you are ready to print your worksheet or a part of your worksheet. Excel provides many options for customizing your print jobs. For more information, refer to Using Printing Options or Other Printing Options. For a simple print job, follow these steps.

From the File menu, select Print...
The Print dialog box appears.
In the Printer section, in the Name text box, verify that the printer is correct
1. If it is not, from the pull-down list, select the correct printer
Choose your desired settings
Windows only: For more print settings, click PROPERTIES...
Windows: When you are ready to print, click OK
Macintosh: When you are ready to print, click PRINT
The file or the print area you set will print.

Changing to Landscape View

As gradebook worksheets are often quite wide, they may span across multiple pages. Depending on your gradebook, setting the paper orientation to landscape (wide) may help save paper and improve readability.

From the File menu, select Page Setup...
The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Select the Page tab
In the Orientation section, select Landscape
Click OK
To print, click PRINT...

Scaling

If your gradebook worksheet almost fits on the page or you simply want to force it to fit on a single page, you can do this by adjusting the scale of the printout.

From the File menu, select Page Setup...
The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Select the Page tab
To set the scaling percent, in the Scaling section, in the Adjust to text box, type the percentage of normal size you would like the worksheet to appear
To force to one page, select Fit to 1 pages wide by 1 tall
Click OK
To print, click PRINT...