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Microsoft Excel 2008

Customizing Page Layout

In order to fit information on a page or change the appearance of a page, you may want to customize your page layout. Several different aspects of your page layout may be altered to customize the way your printed worksheet appears, including:

return to topChanging the Orientation

Most documents are portrait (tall) oriented, but many worksheets may be easier to read in the landscape (wide) mode. In addition, changing the orientation can also help to fit a large worksheet to one sheet of paper. After changing the orientation, you may need to proceed with Changing the Paper Size.

Changing the Orientation: Dialog Box Option

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.
    Page Setup dialog box - Page tab

  2. Select the Page tab

  3. Under Orientation, select the desired option (Portrait or Landscape)

  4. Click OK

Changing the Orientation: Formatting Palette Option

  1. Click TOOLBOXToolbox button
    The Formatting Palette appears.

  2. If the Page Setup section is not expanded, click it
    The Page Setup section expands.
    Page Setup section

  3. In the Orientation section, select the desired option (Portrait or Landscape)
    The desired orientation is applied.

return to topChanging the Paper Size

The default paper size is 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, but you can select other available paper sizes, such as legal (11" x 14"). To select a different paper size:

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Page tab

  3. Click OPTIONS...
    The second Page Setup dialog box appears.
    Second Page Setup dialog box

  4. From the Paper Size pull-down menu, select the desired size
    Paper Size pull-down menu

  5. Click OK
    You are returned to the first Page Setup dialog box.

  6. Click OK
    The desired paper size is applied.

return to topAdjusting the Scale

The scaling option allows you to adjust the actual size of the printed copy. The default size of the printed copy is 100%. You can adjust the scale to a percentage of the normal size, or choose to fit the worksheet to a specific number of pages; both allow you to reduce or enlarge the entire worksheet. These options are described below.

Adjusting the Scale: Percentage: Dialog Box Option

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Page tab

  3. In the Scaling section, select Adjust to

  4. In the % normal size text box, type the appropriate percentage
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate percentage

  5. Click OK

Adjusting the Scale: Percentage: Formatting Palette Option

  1. Click TOOLBOXToolbox button
    The Formatting Palette appears.

  2. If the Page Setup section is not expanded, click it
    The Page Setup section expands.
    Page Setup section

  3. In the Print Scaling section, in the Adjust to text box, type the appropriate percentage
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate percentage

Adjusting the Scale: Fit to Page: Dialog Box Option

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Page tab

  3. In the Scaling section, select Fit to

  4. In the page(s) wide and page(s) tall text boxes, type the number of pages wide by the number of pages tall
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate numbers

  5. Click OK

Adjusting the Scale: Fit to Page: Formatting Palette

  1. Click TOOLBOXToolbox button
    The Formatting Palette appears.

  2. If the Page Setup section is not expanded, click it
    The Page Setup section expands.
    Page Setup section

  3. In the Print Scaling section, select Fit to
    NOTE: The option is selected when a checkmark appears.

  4. In the page(s) wide and page(s) tall text boxes, type the number of pages wide by the number of pages tall
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate numbers

return to topAdjusting the Margins

The margins of the worksheet can be customized to your needs. You can either use the dialog box option or the Formatting Palette option.

Adjusting the Margins: Dialog Box Option

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Margins tab
    Page Setup dialog box - Margins tab

  3. In the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right text boxes, type the appropriate margins
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate value

  4. Click OK

Adjusting the Margins: Formatting Palette Option

  1. Click TOOLBOXToolbox button
    The Formatting Palette appears.

  2. If the Page Setup section is not expanded, click it
    The Page Setup section expands.
    Page Setup section

  3. Under Sheet, click MARGINS...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  4. In the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right text boxes, type the appropriate margins
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate value

  5. Click OK

Adjusting the Header and Footer Margins

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Margins tab

  3. In the Header and Footer text boxes, type the appropriate margins
    OR
    With the nudge buttons, select the appropriate values

  4. Click OK

return to topCentering the Worksheet on the Page

  1. From the File menu, select Page Setup...
    The Page Setup dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Margins tab

  3. To center within the left and right margins, in the Center on page section, select Horizontally

  4. To center within the top and bottom margins, in the Center on page section, select Vertically

  5. Click OK

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