Page breaks are essential for any document you want to print. If it was not for page breaks, your printer would not know where one page ends and the next begins – yes, technology is not that smart… yet!
In this tutorial, I will show you how to add a page break in Google Sheets.
This can be done using the Custom Page Breaks option in your Google sheets document.
Page breaks will allow your spreadsheet to maintain its formatting when you send it for printing. It is actually surprising that Google Sheets was missing this crucial feature for a long time!
However, Google finally remedied that misstep some time back. So, now, you can print out your Google Spreadsheet without worrying about any formatting issues.
So, without further ado, let us give you a step-by-step guide on how to add a Google Sheets page break horizontally or vertically.
Table of Contents
What Is a Page Break and Why Is It Important in Google Sheets?
A page break is something that tells Google Sheets to break the page and print and the remaining part in the next sheet.
For example, suppose I have a dataset as shown below, and I want to print this data.
Google Sheets doesn’t show page lines by default. Since there are 13 columns in this dataset that occupies some space when I try and print this data, Google Sheets will print only the first 11 columns in a page and the rest two will be pushed to the next page.
I can edit the page breaks setting so that all the columns are printed as one single page.
Or, I can decide to only print half the columns on one page and the rest half are printed on the second page.
With the page breaks settings, you can easily do this.
Now, let us take you through how to insert page break in a Google spreadsheet.
Inserting a Google Sheets Page Break
Here are the steps that will allow you to insert a custom page break in your Google Sheets document:
- Go to the File option in the menu
- Click on the Print option, or simply use the print shortcut (Ctrl+P). This will open the ‘Print Setting’ options.
- Once you have the print settings open in front of you, look for the blue text on the right side of your screen that says “SET CUSTOM PAGE BREAKS.”
- Once you click on that option, Google Sheets will show you a preview of what it thinks your page breaks should look like – it will do so in the form of blue, spotted lines on the entire page.
- Next, hover your mouse cursor over the default breaks. The spotted line you choose will jump alive and take the shape of a thick and dark line.
- Click on that line and drag it to where you want your page break. After deciding on the place, simply release the line. You can place it anywhere on your page!
- Finally, Google Sheets will show you the option, “CONFIRM BREAKS”. Once you are done placing your page breaks, simply click on that blue button.
That is it!
Your new, custom page break has been set.
This feature allows you to set multiple page breaks in your document on Google Sheets by dragging and dropping the default breaks.
Now that you have learned how to add a page break in your document on Google Sheets, it is time for you to learn how to edit or reset the added page break.
Related Content: How to Hide Gridlines in Google Sheets
How to View, Edit, Reset and Remove Custom Page Breaks
In case you’ve modified the page breaks and then are not happy with the current setup, you can easily edit or reset the page breaks.
Here’s how to view page breaks in Google Sheets and edit, or delete them:
- Go to the File menu option
- Click on the Print option, or simply use the print shortcut (Ctrl+P). This will open the ‘Print Setting’ options.
- In the pane on the right, click on the Edit option (which is to the right of ‘Custom page breaks’ option).
- To reset them, click on the RESET option to reset all of the Page Breaks you had previously added to your file.
Another way to reset the line breaks is to go to hover the cursor over the blue line
Have you ever wondered about the significance of adding page breaks to your Google Sheet? Well, let us tell you why Google spreadsheet pages are so crucial.
Can You Insert Page Breaks in Google Sheets?
Yes, here’s how to set page breaks in Google Sheets. When you’re in the print menu, click on SET CUSTOM PAGE BREAKS. Then, move the blue lines to where you want the page breaks to be and click CONFIRM BREAKS. You may also want to consider using Print to one page instead.
When Should You Use Page Breaks?
It’s a good idea to set page breaks to print a certain range of cells before a new data set, so they don’t get divided in the middle of a page.
How Users Used to Add Page Breaks in Google Sheets
Let’s say you had a fixed point in your sheet where you wanted a page break. There was only one way for you to have achieved that in the old days. You would have to insert a few empty rows to move the data that was typed in below that mark to the subsequent page.
It would work alright in terms of printing; however, it had a lot of risks when it came to data structuring and resultant formula errors.
However, now, you do not need to take this route anymore. Google has provided you a method of how to see page breaks in Google Sheets and change them easily.
That is it! We hope this simple guide has taught you how to insert a Google Sheet page break.
You may also like the following Google Sheets Tutorials:
6 thoughts on “Google Sheets Page Break Guide [How to Add, Remove & More]”
If you have data in a column but don’t want it included in what you print. How do you get google sheets adjust the print area. How do you do this without having to “hide” the column?
Thank you!!
how can I view the page breaks while working on my document?
Doesn’t work if you are only printing a selection. I needed 3 pages from a HUGE database.
You should be able to select the range of cells you want to print, then go to “File” in the menu, choose “Print,” and select “Selected cells.”
Thank you, I knew there had to be a way! 🙂