Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Printing a Short Selection.

Printing a Short Selection

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 23, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


There are times when you don't want to print an entire document, but only a specific portion of the document. You can do this in Word—just start by selecting the portion you want printed.

How you proceed from this point depends on the version of Word you are using. In Word 2007 press Ctrl+P or click on the Office button and then on Print. To print just the selected portion of the document, choose Selection in the Page Range box, and click on OK.

If you are using Word 2010 or a later version, you can still press Ctrl+P, but Word simply displays the File tab of the ribbon with the printing options visible. Click the first button under the Settings heading, and then choose Print Selection. You can then click the Print button at the top of the screen.

You should note that when you print a portion of your document in this manner, headers and footers are not printed—only the text you selected.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10764) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing a Short Selection.

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. ...

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