Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Print Specific Pages and Sections in Microsoft Word

By

Today’s tutorial shows how to print specific pages, page ranges, sections, and pages within sections in Microsoft Word.

Plus, don’t miss the troubleshooting tip at the end for printing specific pages within sections.

Table of Contents:

Important Note: The option to print specific pages within sections only works in documents that have page numbers that restart for each section.

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

Explore more than 300 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images shown below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. These steps don’t apply to Word for the web or Word for mobile.

How to Print Specific Pages and Sections

  1. Select the File tab in the ribbon.
File tab in Word 365
Figure 1. File tab
  1. Select Print in the Backstage view.
Pro Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + P to go directly to the Print screen in the Backstage view.
  1. Ensure you are connected to the correct printer.
  2. Enter the pages or page ranges you want to print into the Pages text box.
    • Separate individual pages with commas: 3,6,7
    • Use hyphens to create page ranges: 5-15
    • Use the letter “p” and the letter “s” to print specific pages within sections: p4s2
    • Use commas to combine individual pages with page ranges: p5s1,p3s2-p6s2
  1. Enter the number of copies you want to print into the Copies text box.
  2. Select the Print button.
Print screen in the Backstage view of Word 365
Figure 3. Print screen options

Troubleshooting: Selected Pages within Sections won’t Print

If the document doesn’t print after selecting specific pages within a section, ensure that the page numbers are restarting for each section.

If the page numbers don’t restart for each section or you accidentally entered nonexistent pages, the print job won’t be sent to your printer’s queue. However, Word won’t send you an error message explaining the issue.

Rather than waiting to see if the print job is just delayed, you can check to see if it has been sent to your printer’s queue:

  1. Select the Windows button.
  2. Select the Settings button.
Windows Settings button
Figure 3. Windows Settings button
  1. Select Bluetooth & devices from the Settings dialog box.
  2. Select Printer & scanners.
Printer and scanners option in the Windows Settings dialog box
Figure 4. Printers & scanners option
  1. Select your printer from the list of available devices.
Windows Settings dialog box available printers and scanners
Figure 5. Available devices
  1. Select Open print queue.
Open Print Queue option in the Windows Settings dialog box
Figure 6. Open print queue option

If the Print Queue dialog box says, “No print jobs,” return to Word to check for potential page numbering errors in your original print request.

Related Resources

How to Print an Envelope in Microsoft Word (Basic Method)

How to Print Files with or without Comments and Track Changes in Microsoft Word

How to Create Printable Address Labels with Images in Microsoft Word