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Why does Excel make a hash of my formatting when I am previewing it?

One of the reasons I use Excel's Print Preview is to be sure that I have all my formatting straightened out. However, Excel's Print Preview image usually doesn't match my formatting. Even though it prints fine, borders are shown thicker, thinner or absent altogether. These errors change when I zoom in on the image, usually for the better but not always. Sometimes a line that was correct is now too thin or thick. Is this an Excel bug (and is there a fix or a patch I can download and update my software with) or is this a problem with my computers settings and capabilities?

1 Answer

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  • Gary E
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    The problem could very well be with your computer settings if you are using a low screen resolution and/or looking at preview that is much smaller than it would be printed. Or your monitor could just be too small to support the screen size and resolution needed for good previews.

    When your preview is created the computer tries to make it look exactly like it would look printed assuming a specific print resolution that can be expressed as number of pixels wide and high. If the preview needs more pixels wide and high to display the print image than are available in the preview window, because of its size or your display settings, then some (or many) of the pixels must be removed.

    There are different processes for accomplishing the removal while minimizing the negative effects on the image. The most noticeable changes that result from the removal of the pixels are variations in the thickness of lines and borders.

    You should be able to improve the situation by changing your screen resolution to higher values and by increasing the size of the preview window (which could involve getting a larger monitor). These is some chance that a better graphics card could help, but probably not enough of a chance to spend the money one would cost.

    Or you could live with the problem for now and add it to your list of reasons to get a bigger, better monitor and computer.

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