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I set the Excel page to 8.5 by 11 inches and set the margin to be 0.25 inch on each side, and try to fill the printed page with cells.

  1. When I set column width to be 4 inches. In page layout view mode, 2 columns can't fit into one page. (4+4+0.25+0.25=8.5)

  2. When I set column width to be 8 inches, one column can actually fit into one page.

  3. When I set the row height to be 5.25 inches, 2 columns and margin are supposed to fill the whole page because 5.25+5.25+0.25+0.25=11. However an extra row of about 0.2 inch fits into the page.

I know the problem sounds trivial, but I really just want to figure out what is wrong.

Notes

  • I'm currently using the 2013 version of the excel.

  • I don't think the border matters since the result doesn't change when I adjust the border thickness.

  • The problem exists in a new blank excel with no other presetting such as scaling.

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  • Excel is a spreadsheet program optimised for data management and calculations, not for printing there are several known issues how it processes content for printing, if that really matters for you, then you should choose another tool. (Word, Publisher. ..) Aug 6, 2016 at 7:05
  • Have you tried, Print Settings while printing: Scale to one page for example, or Print Selection? You can also set printing area in the Tab (Page Layout), by selecting the area you wish to print and then setting it. Also before you actually print, you can preview the page. Your calculations may add up, but the printer also has it's own calibrations so don't rely just on math.
    – ejbytes
    Aug 7, 2016 at 4:47

1 Answer 1

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It's seems to be something odd happening within Excel, perhaps a bug. From what I can tell there's a 2 pixel margin of error here. If I set either column to 3.98" or 382 pixels it will fit them both on the page. Oddly, if I set both to 3.99" it doesn't seem to make enough difference and only one fits. When I set eight columns each for 1", (96 pixels,) all eight fit no problem. With four 2", (192 pixel,) columns the last one gets pushed to the other page as well.

My guess is it's an issue with the way it's translating pixels/inches from screen to print sizes. It's possible this is just a result of how it's doing rounding being that moving the same pixel difference from column A to B changes the behavior. Also, I tested with Excel 2016 so your results may vary.

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