Previewing Before You Print

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 22, 2022)

Word has a very useful function that allows you to see what your printed output will look like before you actually print. This is called print previewing, and it is done in the following manner:

Place the insertion point on the page you wish to preview.
Choose Print Preview from the File menu or click on the Print Preview tool on the toolbar.

You can move around while in Print Preview mode by using the PgUp and PgDn keys. Print Preview mode differs from the other viewing modes of Word in that it shows an exact representation of what your printed output will look like. The other viewing modes only provide different levels of approximation.

When you are done viewing your document in Print Preview mode, and you decide you don't want to print it, you can exit Print Preview by either of these methods:

Press Esc.
Click on the Close button on the Print Preview toolbar.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1383) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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