How to print only certain/specific worksheets in Excel?
Printing the active worksheet in Excel is typically a straightforward process. However, there are scenarios when you need to print several, but not all, worksheets in a workbook at the same time—such as sharing selected reports, records, or dashboards with colleagues or clients. Efficiently printing only specific sheets can save both time and resources, especially for workbooks loaded with data or periodic reports. In this article, you'll discover various practical methods for printing only the worksheets you need, along with tips, pros and cons of each solution, and useful troubleshooting advice.
Print only certain worksheets in Excel
Print only certain worksheets in active/multiple workbook(s) with Kutools for Excel
VBA macro: automatically print specific worksheets by name or criteria
Print only certain worksheets in Excel
This approach is most suitable when you’re working within a single workbook and want to manually select which sheets to print. You can follow these steps to print only the specific worksheets you need in Excel. This method is commonly used in situations where the number of worksheets to print is limited, and selections can be quickly made using the mouse or keyboard.
1. Make sure your workbook is open. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click the worksheet tabs you wish to print one by one. Each worksheet tab you click while holding Ctrl will be added to your selection. This allows you to select several non-adjacent worksheets as shown below:
Tip: If you want to print a group of consecutive worksheets, you may also hold the Shift key. Click the first sheet, then Shift-click the last sheet; all sheets in between will be selected.
2. Once your desired worksheets are selected, go to the File tab, click Print. In the Print pane make sure the settings reflect "Print Active Sheets". Then click the Print button to print all selected sheets in a single print operation:
Note: For workbooks with a large number of worksheets, manually selecting tabs can be tedious and time-consuming. Also, accidental clicks can result in missed selections, leading to incomplete prints. For repetitive printing of the same set of worksheets, consider using automated solutions such as Kutools for Excel or VBA macros, described below.
Print only certain worksheets in active/multiple workbooks with Kutools for Excel
If you frequently need to print certain worksheets across one or more workbooks, or if you work with workbooks containing dozens or hundreds of sheets, using a dedicated tool like Kutools for Excel can greatly streamline the process. The Print Multiple Workbooks Wizard allows you to select specific worksheets from multiple files and print them at once, reducing manual effort and eliminating selection errors.
Applicable for batch printing across folders and workbooks, and for situations where manual selection isn’t practical. It also supports filtering by folder and workbook, making it ideal for standardized reporting across teams.
1. On the Excel Ribbon, click Kutools Plus > Printing > Print Multiple Workbooks Wizard to open the wizard window.
2. In the Print Multiple Workbooks Wizard – Step 1 of 4 dialog box, under Files to be printed, choose the option that matches where your files are stored. For most users, selecting All of the files to be printed are in the same directory is convenient. Click Next to continue.
3. In the Print Multiple Workbooks Wizard – Step 2 of 4 dialog box:
4. In the next dialog, you will see all selected workbooks listed. Choose Specify sheets to open the sheet picker box. Select only those worksheets you need from each workbook. This can save extensive time if your reporting or archive standards require only select data to be distributed. Once finished, click Finish.
All chosen worksheets from the selected workbooks will be printed in one streamlined operation, allowing you to quickly prepare tailored reports or documentation, even across multiple files. If you need to adjust sheet selections in future print jobs, simply re-run the wizard and update your choices.
Practical tip: Save time by using worksheet or workbook naming conventions that make it easier to find the sheets you want to print in the dialog. Double-check your selections if sheet orders vary between workbooks.
Precautions: Before starting the wizard, make sure all workbooks you want to print are closed to avoid file access conflicts.
If you experience any issues with printing, such as missing sheets or print errors, confirm that all workbooks are properly saved and that your Excel print area settings for each worksheet are set to include the required data.
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VBA macro: automatically print specific worksheets by name or criteria
For users who frequently need to print specific worksheets based on their names, contents, or other criteria—and want to automate this process—using a custom VBA macro is a highly practical solution. This approach is ideal in environments where certain sheets need to be printed repeatedly or distributed according to standard operating procedures, but manual selection is either inefficient or error-prone.
Advantages of this solution include improved efficiency, elimination of manual errors, and the ability to quickly adapt criteria or sheet lists without reopening workbooks or running wizard tools. However, it requires basic familiarity with Excel's Developer Tools and macro capabilities.
If your requirements change, you can easily modify the list of sheet names or criteria within the macro code. This approach works well for both one-off jobs and recurring batch operations.
Instructions:
1. Open your workbook(s) in Excel. Click the Developer tab on the Ribbon. If you don't see "Developer," enable it by customizing the Ribbon in Excel Options.
2. Click Visual Basic to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
3. In the VBA editor, click Insert > Module. Copy and paste the following macro code into the new module:
Sub PrintSpecificSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim SheetList As Variant
Dim i As Integer
' Change the sheet names below to the ones you want to print
SheetList = Array("Sheet2", "Summary", "QuarterlyReport")
On Error Resume Next
xTitleId = "KutoolsforExcel"
For i = LBound(SheetList) To UBound(SheetList)
Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets(SheetList(i))
If Not ws Is Nothing Then
ws.PrintOut
End If
Set ws = Nothing
Next i
End Sub4. After entering the code, you can run the macro by clicking the 
Run button in the VBA editor, or by pressing F5 while the cursor is inside the macro.
This will automatically print only the worksheets specified in the SheetList array. If you wish to print other sheets, simply update the sheet names within the SheetList = Array("...") line to match the names of your target worksheets—be sure the spelling matches your worksheet tabs exactly.
Tips: You can adapt the macro to use other criteria, such as worksheet properties or cell values, by extending the VBA code. This offers flexibility for more advanced printing needs.
Troubleshooting: If the macro does not print any sheets, double-check that the sheet names in the SheetList array exactly match your workbook's worksheet tabs. Also, ensure your default printer is connected and correctly configured in your system settings.
Precautions: Always save your work before running macros that perform bulk operations, and be mindful of printer settings and availability before launching the print jobs.
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- How to print sheet name or a list of sheet names in Excel?
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