How To Make An Excel SpreadSheet Not Printable

Excel spreadsheets are an incredibly useful tool for organizing and analyzing data. However, there may be certain situations where you do not want others to print your spreadsheet. Maybe you have sensitive information that you don’t want to be printed or maybe you just want to prevent unnecessary paper waste. Whatever the reason, it is possible to make an Excel spreadsheet not printable. In this article, we will discuss several methods you can use to prevent others from printing your Excel spreadsheet.

1. Set Print Area & Protect Workbook.

1. One method of making your Excel spreadsheet not printable is to set a print area and then protect your workbook.
2. Set print area means that you define a specific range of cells that can be printed, and any cells outside of this range will not be printed.
3. Protect workbook can limit what users can do with the file, so that other user can not reset the print area to print the data they want.

1.1 Set Print Area.

1. To set a print area in Excel, follow these steps:
2. Step 1: Select the cells that you want to include in the print area.
3. Step 2: Click on the “Page Layout” tab in the Excel ribbon.
4. Step 3: Click on “Print Area” in the Page Setup group and then select “Set Print Area“.
5. This will restrict the printing of your spreadsheet to only the cells that you have selected.

1.2 Protect Workbook.

1. To protect a workbook in Excel, follow these steps:
2. Step 1: Click on the “File” tab in the Excel ribbon.
3. Step 2: Select “Info” from the left-hand menu.
4. Step 3: Click on “Protect Workbook” and then select “Mark as Final“.
5. This will make your workbook read-only, meaning that others cannot edit or save changes to the file.
6. Additionally, it will prevent others from changing the print area that you specified.

3. Hide Worksheets.

1. If your Excel spreadsheet contains multiple worksheets, you can prevent specific worksheets from being printed by hiding them.
2. To hide a worksheet in Excel, follow these steps:
3. Step 1: Right-click on the worksheet that you want to hide.
4. Step 2: Select “Hide” from the drop-down menu.
5. This will prevent the hidden worksheet from being printed.
6. If you want to unhide the worksheet, simply right-click on any visible worksheet tab and select “Unhide“.
7. This will allow you to choose which worksheet you want to unhide from the pop up Unhide sheet dialog.

4. Use a Macro.

1. Another way to make your Excel spreadsheet not printable is to use a macro.
2. A macro is a set of instructions that can be executed automatically by Excel.
3. By using a macro, you can disable the Print option in the File tab, preventing others from printing the file.
4. To use a macro, follow these steps:
5. Step 1: Press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor in Excel.
6. Step 2: In the editor, click the ThisWorkbook module from the left panel VBAProject —> Microsoft Excel Objects folder to open it on the right side.
7. Step 3: Type or paste the following code into the module:

   Private Sub Workbook_BeforePrint(Cancel As Boolean)
       Cancel = True
   End Sub

8. Step 4: Save the macro and close the Visual Basic Editor.
9. This macro will run automatically before the workbook is printed, and it will cancel the print request, preventing the file from being printed.
10. Please note, the macro code should be placed in the ThisWorkbook module, otherwise, it will not process the Workbook_BeforePrint event, and the macro code will not execute.

5. Use PDF Conversion.

1. Finally, if you have concerns about the digital security of your Excel spreadsheet, you can convert it to a PDF format.
2. PDF files are generally more secure than Excel files because they cannot be edited as easily.
3. Additionally, most PDF viewers have built-in security features that allow you to restrict printing or copying of the file.
4. To convert your Excel spreadsheet to a PDF, follow these below steps:
5. Step 1: Click on the “File” tab in the Excel ribbon.
6. Step 2: Select “Save As” from the left-hand menu.
7. Step 3: Choose the location where you want to save the file, select “PDF” from the drop-down menu in the “Save as type” field, and then click on “Save“.
8. This will convert your Excel spreadsheet to a PDF file, which can be shared with others without worrying about them printing the file.

6. Conclusion.

1. In conclusion, there are several methods that you can use to make an Excel spreadsheet not printable.
2. These include protecting the workbook, setting a print area, hiding worksheets, using a macro, or converting the file to PDF format.
3. By using these techniques, you can ensure that your sensitive information is secure and prevent unnecessary paper waste.