Print, Share and Work Faster: Page Setup and Shortcuts

A workbook is only useful if people can read and use it. Often that means printing it, sending a PDF, or sharing a file with colleagues. Many Excel files look fine on screen and print badly: columns cut off, a second page with only one column on it, no headings on page two. This lesson fixes those problems, covers sharing safely, and then gives you the keyboard shortcuts that make people think you are very good at Excel.

Print properly

1. Open File, Print, or press Ctrl+P, and look at the preview first.
2. Set the orientation. Choose Landscape for wide tables.
3. Choose Fit All Columns on One Page in the scaling options. This is the most useful print setting. If the text becomes tiny, reduce the columns, or allow two pages across.
4. Select the paper size, such as A4 or Letter, to match your printer and country.
5. Check the page margins, and use Custom Margins if needed.

For more control, go to Page Layout and open the Page Setup window with the small arrow in the corner.

• Print Area. Select a range, then Page Layout, Print Area, Set Print Area, so that only that part is printed.
• Print Titles. Under Sheet, set Rows to repeat at top to $1:$1 so the heading row appears on every page of a long list.
• Header and Footer. Add page numbers (Page 1 of 3), the file name, the date, or a company name.
• Gridlines and headings. Tick Print Gridlines if the data has no borders.
• Page Break Preview (View tab) shows the page boundaries as blue lines, which you can drag.

Before printing a long report, always look at the preview and check the last page. Printing 40 pages by mistake wastes paper and time.

Save as PDF

A PDF looks the same on every device and cannot be changed by accident. Choose File, Save As or Export and pick PDF. Options let you publish only the selected range, the active sheet or the whole workbook. Check the preview first, as for printing. Sending a PDF is better than an Excel file when the person only needs to read the result.

Share the file

• Email attachments. Make sure the file name is meaningful and includes a date or version, such as shop-sales-2024-06.xlsx. Avoid names like final-final2.
• Cloud sharing. In Microsoft 365, OneDrive or SharePoint, use Share to give a link, and choose who can view and who can edit. Several people can edit at once, and the file keeps a version history. Google Sheets works the same way.
• Check before you send. Use Inspect Document (lesson 13) to remove hidden data and personal information. Look for hidden sheets. Make sure no confidential data is in a sheet that you did not intend to share.
• Send the right version. If your workbook has formulas that link to other files, the receiver may see errors. Convert to values, or send a PDF.

Comments and notes

Right-click a cell and choose New Comment or New Note to leave a message for a colleague. Comments (threaded) let people reply, and notes are simple yellow sticky notes. Use them to explain unusual values or to ask a question, instead of putting text into the cell itself.

Version habits

• Save a new copy before a big change: file-v2.xlsx.
• Do not overwrite the only copy of raw data.
• Keep formulas visible and add a short Notes sheet saying where the data came from, what each sheet does and any assumptions. Your future self will thank you.

Keyboard shortcuts that save time

These work on Windows. On a Mac, use Cmd in place of Ctrl in most cases. Learn two or three each week, until your hands remember them.

Basics
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V     copy / cut / paste
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y              undo / redo
Ctrl+S                       save
Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H              find / replace
Ctrl+P                       print

Moving and selecting
Ctrl+Arrow                   jump to the edge of the data
Ctrl+Shift+Arrow             select to the edge of the data
Ctrl+Home                    go to A1
Ctrl+A                       select all (press twice inside a table)
Shift+Space / Ctrl+Space     select the row / the column

Editing
F2                           edit the cell
Ctrl+Enter                   fill the selected cells with what you typed
Ctrl+D / Ctrl+R              fill down / fill right
Alt+Enter                    new line inside a cell
Ctrl+; / Ctrl+Shift+;        today's date / current time
Ctrl+- / Ctrl+Shift++        delete / insert cells, rows or columns

Formulas
Alt+=                        AutoSum
F4                           toggle $ in a reference
Ctrl+`                       show formulas

Format and data
Ctrl+1                       Format Cells
Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+U     bold / italic / underline
Ctrl+T                       make a Table
Ctrl+Shift+L                 turn filters on and off
Alt, N, V                    insert a pivot table
Ctrl+PageUp / PageDown       previous / next sheet

Practising them for five minutes a day works better than trying to memorise the list at once. When a skills test measures speed, shortcuts really help.

Other time savers

• Paste Special (Ctrl+Alt+V): paste only values, formats, formulas, or transpose rows into columns.
• Format Painter (the paintbrush on the Home tab): copy a format to other cells. Double-click it to apply it several times.
• Quick Access Toolbar: add the buttons you use most.
• Name Box: type a range such as A1:G500 to select it quickly.
• Templates: save a workbook as a template (File, Save As, Excel Template) for invoices, attendance and the like.

Your task

1. Set up the Sales sheet to print on one landscape page with the heading row repeated on each page, page numbers in the footer and a header that says Shop sales, first week of June.
2. Export it as a PDF, and look at the result.
3. Use Inspect Document, and add a Notes sheet that says where the data came from.
4. Choose five shortcuts from the list that you do not already use, and use only those for a day.

How to check it worked

• The print preview shows a single page with all columns, a heading and a page number.
• The PDF opens and looks the same as the preview.
• You used at least five new shortcuts without the mouse.