FAQ: How do print ranges and scaling modes work together in

OOo Calc?
Recently I had a colleague that wanted to define multiple print ranges on a sheet, and have each separate
range print out and fit one to page.

I’ve put together a tutorial for this below, and please note the behaviour of the scaling with the print ranges
under Step 4.

Step 1 – Define the first range

Click and highlight the range that you want to include in your printing. The select Format >> Print Ranges >>
Define.

Print Ranges & Print Formatting OpenOffice.org Tutorials for Calc www.discoveringooo.com
Step 2 – Add the Second Range (and any other ranges that you wish to include in your printing)
Now go to the second range and highlight it (click and drag).

Select Format >> Print Ranges >> Add

So in the above, my first range was cells A1:I31, and my second range was cells A46 to I 79.

Print Ranges & Print Formatting OpenOffice.org Tutorials for Calc www.discoveringooo.com
Step 3 – Format Page
From the Format Menu, select “Page…”

Step 4 – Scaling
Navigate to the “Sheet” tab, and then select your scaling mode. It is important to understand how the scaling
mode works.

OpenOffice.org looks at each range as a separate ‘page’.

Print Ranges & Print Formatting OpenOffice.org Tutorials for Calc www.discoveringooo.com
For example, in this example I have highlighted 2 ranges. For these 2 ranges, I need to decide how I want them
to appear – I could ask OOo to fit it to 1 page wide by 1 page high and it will fit each range on a single page –
regardless of the size of the individual ranges. What I will end up with is 2 pages. Using this scaling mode, if I
highlight 7 ranges, I will get 7 pages.

Print Ranges & Print Formatting OpenOffice.org Tutorials for Calc www.discoveringooo.com