Ms Excel Print preview not available

Long-term Excel users will recall that Excel has historically provided a separate Print Preview window that made it easy to zoom in and adjust settings. Excel 2010 introduced a new "Backstage View" where print preview became embedded into the File menu. Excel 2013 continues this new tradition, but you can get your "old-school" print preview functionality back with a few quick steps.

To accomplish this, we're going to add an icon to Excel's Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). As shown in Figure 1, the QAT typically resides at the top of your Excel screen and serves as a custom toolbar of your making. To begin:

• Right-click on the QAT and then choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
• When the Excel Options dialog box appears, choose Commands Not in the Ribbon.
• Scroll down the list until you find Print Preview Full Screen. Alternatively, you can click once on one of the first commands on the list, and then press P to jump down the list close to where Print Preview Full Screen resides.
• Double-click on Print Preview Full Screen to add it to your Quick Access Toolbar. You can also click once on it and choose Add, but double-clicking saves a step. Note that it's important to choose Print Preview Full Screen as opposed to Print Preview and Print. The latter simply provides easier access to the Backstage View on the File menu.
• Optionally, move Print Preview Full Screen further up the list. Each icon on the QAT is given a numeric keyboard shortcut. As shown in Figure 1, Print Preview Full Screen is the fourth icon on the list. This means on my computer I can press Alt-4 to display the classic Print Preview screen.
• Click OK once you're satisfied with the positioning of the new icon on your QAT.

Figure 1: Adding a hidden command restores classic Print Preview in Excel 2010 and later.

You can now either click on the icon or press Alt-4 (or the corresponding number based on its position). If you forget the numeric shortcut, simply press the Alt key once in Excel to reveal the shortcuts. As shown in Figure 2, Excel 2007 users have an easier time:

• Click the arrow at the end of the QAT.
• Choose Print Preview.

Figure 2: Excel 2007 users can add Print Preview to the QAT with two mouse clicks.

If at some point in the future you want to remove Print Preview or other icons from your QAT in Excel 2007 or later, simply right-click on the icon within the QAT and choose Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.

Before I close, I do have a tip for Word 2010 and 2013 users. You can restore classic print preview functionality there as well, but the steps are just slightly different:

• Right-click on the QAT and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
• Choose All Commands (instead of Commands Not in the Ribbon as you did in Excel).
• Double-click Print Preview Edit Mode (instead of Print Preview Full Screen). You may see a Print Preview Full Screen command, but in Word that command doesn't work in the same fashion as Excel.

Some users are experiencing issues with Microsoft Excel. When they try to print from Excel, nothing happens. Whereas, some users have reported that a small window appears and disappears immediately after giving the print command to Excel. If you cannot print from Excel, the suggestions provided in this post may help you fix printing problems in Microsoft Excel.

Fix Excel printing problems of Windows 11/10

If you cannot print from Excel but Word can or maybe you see a Not enough memory error message then here are some suggestions to help you fix Excel printing problems. Before you proceed, make sure that you are using the latest version of Microsoft Office. You can also try to update Office manually and see if it fixes the problem. If the problem persists, try the solutions provided below.

1. Try to print via Microsoft XPS Document writer
2. Update your printer driver
3. Edit permissions in the Registry Editor
4. Troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode
5. Remove and add your printer again
6. Repair Office

Let’s see all these solutions in detail.

1] Try to print via Microsoft XPS Document Writer

Before printing a spreadsheet, Excel shows us an option to select the printer. If you are unable to print from Excel via your default printer, try to print via Microsoft XPS Document Writer. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Launch Microsoft Excel and open your spreadsheet.
2. Go to “File > Print.”
3. Click on the Printer drop-down and select Microsoft XPS Document Writer.
4. This will save your Excel spreadsheet in the XPS format.

Now, open the saved file. You should be able to print it.

2] Update your printer driver

You might be experiencing printing issues with Excel due to the corrupted or outdated printer driver. We suggest you update your printer driver and see what happens.

You have the following choices when it comes to updating the printer driver.

1. Open the Windows Optional Update page and update your printer driver from there (if any update is available).
2. Visit the official website of your printer manufacturer and download the latest version of your Printer driver. Now, double-click on the installer file to install the printer driver manually.

3] Edit permissions in the Registry Editor

Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores the Windows settings and configurations. Any mistake while modifying the Windows Registry can lead to serious damage to the system. Therefore, before you proceed, we recommend you create a System Restore Point and backup Windows Registry.

Follow the instructions carefully.

Press the Win + R keys. This will open the Run command box. Type regedit and click OK. Click Yes in the UAC prompt.

When the Registry Editor appears on your screen, go to the following path. Simply copy the path given below and paste it into the address bar of the Registry Editor. After that, press Enter.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

Right-click on the Windows key and select Permissions. The Permissions dialog box will appear. Now, click on the Allow checkbox next to the Full Control option. Click Apply and then click OK.

4] Troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode

If the problem still persists, there might be a problematic add-in. To confirm this, launch Excel in Safe Mode and print your spreadsheet. If you are able to print your spreadsheet in the Safe Mode, an add-in is causing the problem.

Now, close Excel and open it again in the normal mode. Start disabling all the COM add-ins one by one and print your spreadsheet every time you disable an add-in. This will let you know which add-in is causing the problem. According to the feedback of affected users, the Acrobat PDFMaker Office Com add-in was causing the problem. If you have installed such an add-in, disable it and then see if you can print the spreadsheet. If yes, remove that add-in.

The following steps will help you disable COM Add-ins in Excel:

1. Open your spreadsheet in Excel.
2. Go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.”
3. Select COM Add-ins in the drop-down at the bottom and click GO.
4. The COM Add-ins dialog box will appear. Now, simply uncheck the checkbox to disable a particular add-in.
5. Click OK.

Read: Fix Excel keeps flickering on Windows 11/10.

5] Remove and add your printer again

Sometimes, removing and adding the printer again fixes the printer-related issues. Completely remove or uninstall your printer and then add it again. Check if this helps. You can completely remove a printer from your Windows 11/10 machine via:

• Settings
• The Control Panel
• Print Server Properties
• The Command Prompt
• The Registry Editor

6] Repair Office

If nothing helps you, repair Microsoft Office. Sometimes, the problem occurs due to corrupted Office files. If this is the case with you, repairing Microsoft Office will fix the problem. First, run a Quick Repair. If this does not fix the problem, run an Online Office Repair.

Read: Microsoft Excel displays High CPU usage.

Fix Excel printing problems in Windows 11/10

Above, we have seen the solutions to fix the problem when Excel does not print on receiving the print command from the user. Now, let’s see some common printing problems that you may experience in Microsoft Excel. Sometimes, when we print a spreadsheet from Excel, we do not get the desired printout. Some of you might have experienced such a problem. Such types of problems occur when the print settings are incorrectly configured before printing a spreadsheet.

Here are some tweaks that you can do to avoid some common printing problems in Microsoft Excel.

1. Fit your spreadsheet on one page
2. Set the print area in Excel
3. Configure print settings before printing the spreadsheet

1] Fit your spreadsheet on one page

Some of you might have experienced that despite configuring the correct page settings, Excel prints a spreadsheet on more than one page. This problem can be fixed by changing the scaling in Excel. If you want to print all the rows or columns on one page in Excel, you have to change the No Scaling option in Excel to Fit all rows on one page and Fit all columns on one page option respectively.

2] Set the print area in Excel

If you want to print selected cells in your spreadsheet, you can set the print area for the same. The steps to set the print area are as follows:

1. Open Excel.
2. Open your worksheet in Excel.
3. Select the range of cells that you want to print.
4. Go to “Print Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area.”

Now, when you give the print command to Excel, it will print only the selected cells on a page. You can extend the print area by adding more cells to it. If the cells that you want to add are adjacent to the existing print area, Excel will print them on the same page (if space is available). If the selected cells that you want to add are not adjacent to the existing print area, Excel will print them on another page, no matter whether the space is available on the existing print area or not.

To add cells to the existing print area, follow the steps below:

1. Select the range of cells that you want to add to the existing print area.
2. Go to “Page Layout > Print Area > Add to Print Area.”

To clear the print area, go to “Page Layout > Print Area > Clear Print Area.”

3] Configure print settings before printing the spreadsheet

You can configure the print settings before printing your spreadsheet. To do so, go to “File > Print” or simply press the Ctrl + P keys. There you will see different print settings. You can change the page orientation (landscape or portrait), select your paper size such as Letter, Legal, A4, A3, etc., change page margins, etc. Every time you make a change to the print settings, Excel will show you the print preview in the preview window.

Why can I print from Word but not from Excel?

If you are able to print from Word but not from Excel, there might be a problematic add-in in Excel. You can confirm this by opening Excel in the Safe Mode. If you will be able to print in the Safe Mode, one of the add-ins is the culprit. Now, disable add-ins installed in Excel one by one. Print your spreadsheet every time you disable an add-in. This will help you identify the problematic add-in.

Other solutions that you can try are removing and adding the printer again, updating your printer driver, etc.

Why won’t Excel print all the columns?

To print all the columns on one page in Excel, you have to configure the page settings before printing your spreadsheet. The steps for the same are as follows:

1. Open your spreadsheet in Excel.
2. Go to “File > Print.”
3. By default, the page setup is set to No Scaling. You have to change this option. Click on it and select Fit all columns on one page.

After that, you will be able to print all the columns on one page in Excel.

Print preview is not available because Microsoft Excel could not connect to the selected printer

If you see the “Print preview is not available because Microsoft Excel could not connect to the selected printer” error message while printing a spreadsheet from Excel, make sure that your computer is running on the latest version of the Windows operating system. Open Windows 11/10 Settings and check for updates. If updates are available, download and install them.

We also suggest you update Microsoft Office manually and see if it helps. If the problem persists, repair Microsoft Office.

Cannot print from Excel, Not enough memory

Some of you might have seen the “Not enough memory” error message while printing a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. The error message is self-explanatory. When the printer from which you are printing the jobs does not have enough memory, you will see this error. However, there are other causes too that trigger this error. To fix this issue, you can try the following fixes.

1. Copy the data from your spreadsheet to a new spreadsheet
2. Change your default printer
3. Update your printer driver
4. Print in Draft Mode
5. Save your Excel file in ODS format
6. Reset your printer memory
7. Clear print spooler
8. Repair Office

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Copy the data from your spreadsheet to a new spreadsheet

This method has fixed the issue of some users. You can also try this. Copy the data from your spreadsheet to a new spreadsheet and see if it helps.

2] Change your default printer

If the problem still persists, change your default printer. You can set any virtual printer as a default printer, such as Microsoft Print to PDF, Microsoft XPS Document Writer, etc.

3] Update your printer driver

Sometimes the problem persists due to the outdated or malfunctioned printer driver. If this is the case with you, updating the printer driver will solve your problem. To do so, follow the steps written below:

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the Print queues node.
3. Right-click on your printer driver and select Update driver.
4. Select the “Search automatically for drivers” option. Let Windows install the latest version of your printer driver.

If this does not work, visit the official website of your printer manufacturer and download the latest version of your printer driver from there. Now, run the installer file to install the latest version of your printer driver manually.

4] Print in Draft Mode

For some users, printing the spreadsheet in the Draft mode fixed their problem. You can also try this and see if it helps. To do so, you have to change the Fast mode to Draft mode. By default, the print quality is set to Fast mode. Open your print quality settings and change the Fast mode to Draft mode.

5] Save your Excel file in ODS format

Another effective solution to fix this problem is to save the Excel spreadsheet in ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) format. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Launch Microsoft Excel and open your spreadsheet.
2. Go to “File > Save As.”
3. Click on the Save as type drop-down menu and select OpenDocument Spreadsheet.
4. Click Save.

Now, open the ODS file and print it. The problem should not appear this time.

6] Reset your printer memory

If your printer is running low on memory, resetting its memory will help fix the issue. Resetting the printer memory will clear the print jobs in the queue. To do so, follow the steps given below:

1. Disconnect your printer from your computer.
2. Turn off your printer.
3. Disconnect the power cable of your printer and wait for a few minutes.
4. Connect the power cables again and turn on your printer.
5. Connect your printer to your computer.

If the above method did not help, cold reset your printer. The method to cold reset printers is different for the printers of different brands. Therefore, you have to refer to the user manual of your printer to know the correct way to cold reset your printer.

7] Clear the Print Spooler

In Windows, Print Spooler is a service that stores the printing jobs temporarily. If Excel is showing the “Not enough memory” message while printing a spreadsheet, clearing the Print Spooler may fix the problem. The steps to clear the Print Spooler are as follows:

1. Press the Win + R keys to launch the Run command box.
2. Type services.msc and click OK. This will launch the Services Management window.
3. Scroll down and locate the Print Spooler service.
4. Once you find it, right-click on it and select Stop.
5. Open the File Explorer and go to the “C:\Windows\System32\spool” path. Simply copy this path and paste it into the address bar of the File Explorer. After that, hit Enter.
6. Open the PRINTERS folder and delete all the files inside it. Do not delete the PRINTERS folder.
7. Return to the Services Management window and right-click on the Print Spooler service.
8. Select Start.

8] Repair Office

Check if you are getting the same error message in other Office apps, like Word. If not, some of the Excel files may be corrupted. To fix this problem, run an online repair for Microsoft Office.

Hope this helps.

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