How to Fit Everything on One Page in Excel

Patric Welch

How to Fit Text on One Page Using Autofit Excel

You worked hard all day on your Excel spreadsheet and you're finally ready to print a hard copy to share with your co-workers. There's only one problem—the last two rows of your spreadsheet are printing on a second page.

Sure, you could spend even more time adjusting row heights and font sizes, but you already have your spreadsheet just the way you want it. What you need is to be able to press a magic "Autofit Excel" button to fit everything on one page.

Excel Fit to Page

Lucky for you, there is an Excel fit to page magic button! Better yet, the autofit Excel magic button exists in a couple different places. Next time you want to autofit your Excel data to one page, use one of the following methods.

1. Page Setup from the Page Layout tab. Click the Page Layout tab and look for the Page Setup section. Click the small icon in the bottom right of the Page Setup section to launch the Page Setup dialog.

Autofit Excel - Excel fit to page

When the Page Setup dialog appears, look for the Fit to option under Scaling. Adjust the numbers such that the option displays 1 page(s) wide by 1 tall. Click the OK button to dismiss the Page Setup dialog. Proceed to print your document.

Autofit Excel - Excel fit to page

2. Print Preview screen. From the Print Preview screen, look for the scaling option under Settings. It is likely labeled No Scaling since that is the default. Click the arrow to the right of the option and select Fit Sheet on One Page. Proceed to print your document.

Autofit Excel - Excel fit to page

Autofit Excel Width or Height Only

What if you have a three page spreadsheet where only the right-most column is spilling over to a new page, thus doubling your three-page spreadsheet to six pages? In this case, you want all the columns to fit on one page but do not mind if the rows span multiple pages. You can still use the autofit Excel feature to accomplish this.

If you are using the Page Setup method above, set the first number to "1" and leave the second number blank such that the Fit to option displays 1 page(s) wide 1 by [blank] tall.

If you are using the Print preview option above, select Fit All Columns on One Page from the scaling option.

For wider spreadsheets, you can reverse the autofit Excel process by leaving the first option blank in the Fit to option in the Page Setup dialog or by selecting Fit All Rows on One Page from the Print preview scaling option.

Check out our Excel Lesson Videos to learn how to easily do more document formatting like this in Excel.

Patric Welch founded Noobie (noobie.com) in 2006 to help others effectively choose and use technologies to enhance their work and lives. Welch, often referred to as Mr. Noobie®, is in reality an experienced and professional techie. Unlike most techies, Welch evaluates emerging technologies from a noobie's perspective and provides technology education for all skill levels in a friendly, non-threatening way.

View all posts