For example, if your document uses a 12-point font, "Shrink to Fit" might reduce all of your text to 11- or 10-point, just enough to make your document one page shorter. Clicking it will immediately make your document one page shorter by reducing the font size of every piece of text throughout your document, without removing any of your text. Microsoft Word techniques that I do not recommend Word has a special "Shrink to Fit" function in older versions it's part of Print Preview, in newer versions it takes a few step to reveal it. Delete or Hide rows or columns that are unnecessary or redundant.Word-wrap: For cells containing text, try the "Wrap text" cell formatting option.Autofit your columns and rows: This function lets you minimize whitespace by "shrink-wrapping" each column's width and row's height to its current contents.Reduce vertical and horizontal whitespace: Adjust row widths and columns heights if you use empty rows or columns as separators then try reducing them, or use cell borders (lines) instead.If your Workbook (your Excel document) contains multiple Worksheets (each spreadsheet layer within your document), note that Page Setup only applies to the current Worksheet, unless you select multiple Worksheets first.Page Setup: Use the "Fit to 1 page wide by 99 pages tall" option, which makes Excel calculate the overall scale percentage to fit all columns onto one horizontal page (not just once, but on an ongoing basis as you make changes to your Worksheet), and gives you more flexibility than choosing "1 page wide by 1 page tall.".Techniques unique to Excel In Microsoft Excel: This is a common problem, especially in Word documents that have been edited over a long period of time. Delete any blank lines or paragraphs that might have accumulated at the end of your document.Reduce vertical whitespace: Remove blank lines or empty paragraphs, reduce paragraph spacing (the space before, space after, or spacing between lines), or use alternate methods like indenting or bullets or numbering or paragraph borders or other ways to visually separate sections of your text.Techniques unique to Word In Microsoft Word: To monitor whether you're making any progress, save paper by using Print Preview. Don't confuse that with the on-screen "Zoom" option, which enlarges or reduces the size of the document on-screen but has no effect on how it prints.Last resort: Reduce the Page Setup "Scale" percentage (if permitted) from 100% to a lower number, which will reduce how the document prints.Move some of your information into a separate, "Part 2" document as appropriate.Smaller images: Make any embedded photos and pictures smaller while preserving their aspect ratios.Consider hyphenating longer words to better fit the space. Start with any paragraph whose final line has only one or two words. Review and edit your content: Rephrase, use fewer or simpler words.Note that this may in turn require you to adjust paragraph "tab stops" in Word, especially right-aligned tabs that you intended to be at or near the right margin. Page Setup: Change the orientation from Portrait (tall) to Landscape (wide).However, if you're going to share this document with someone else electronically, be considerate and don't use margins smaller than 0.75 inches (1 inch is even better) in order to avoid causing printer problems on their end. someone else's: If you're keeping this document to yourself, you can make the margins as small as your own printer permits. could all fit into one area then combine them, which will enable you to make the margin for the now-empty top or bottom area smaller. Combine the header and footer: If your title, page numbers, date, etc.Smaller top and bottom margins will help a little, but be sure to leave room for any header and footer text. Reduce the margins: Smaller left and right margins will make the most difference by making more horizontal room for your text.Techniques that work in both Word and Excel There are many things you can do in any program: Make a backup copy of your document first in case something goes wrong.Bear in mind that this is more of an art than a science.Read on for my advice on how you might be able to fit your information onto a single page. Or, your Excel spreadsheet has a few rows that cross over to a second page below or a few columns that print on a page to the right, or both.
Word & Excel: How to Fit Your Document onto One Page The problem Has this ever happened to you? You've got a Microsoft Word document that you'd really like to fit into one page, but your text spills over onto a second page. Practical Computer Advice from Martin Kadansky