Preview your page range and paper use
Check which pages a range selects before you print. This helper runs in your browser; you do not need to upload a document.
How this preview works: it counts repeated or overlapping pages once and sorts pages from lowest to highest. Your app may handle repeats, order or page labels differently. Always check its print preview.
The sheet estimate places selected pages consecutively, one per side, with each copy starting on a fresh sheet. It excludes booklet layouts, multiple pages per side, separator sheets and reprints. Apps that preserve blank sides or original sheet positions can use more paper. The odd/even filter is not a manual-duplex reloading guide.
Check front/back orientation with the duplex test page, or use the ream calculator for a whole document.
The basic format
Where an app lets you type pages, the pattern in its own help is the same: a hyphen for a range and a comma between items. Microsoft’s and Adobe’s examples put a space after each comma.
| You type | What prints |
|---|---|
| 3 | Page 3 only |
| 1-3 | Pages 1, 2 and 3 |
| 3, 4-6 | Page 3, then pages 4 to 6 |
| 6, 10-31, 42 | Page 6, pages 10 to 31, and page 42 |
Not every dialog has a box like this. The Mac print dialog uses two From and To boxes instead (see below).
Microsoft Word
- Windows: choose File, then Print. Under Settings, open Print All Pages and choose Custom Print, then type the pages in the Pages box, for example 1-3 or 3, 4-6. Print Current Page prints only the page you are on.
- Odd or even pages: the same menu has Only Print Odd Pages and Only Print Even Pages. Microsoft uses these for printing on both sides by hand: print the odd pages, reload the stack, then print the even pages.
- Mac: in the print dialog, choose Current Page, a From and To range, or Page Range, where you type pages such as 3, 4-6. Odd or even pages are under Copies & Pages, then Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Edge
In the print dialog, open Pages and choose All, Odd pages only, Even pages only, or Custom. In Custom, type a range such as 1-5, or single pages such as 3, 6, 8.
Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader
- Under Pages to Print, choose All, Current page, or Pages, and type the pages, for example 1, 6-18, 33.
- Under More options, choose odd or even pages only, or Reverse pages to print the range from the last page to the first.
- In Acrobat, if Use logical page numbers is on, type the page labels printed in the document (such as iii) instead of the position in the file.
Mac print dialog and Preview
- Print dialog: next to Pages, choose all pages or a range in the two boxes. For a single page, type the same number in both, such as 3 and 3.
- Pages that are not next to each other: select their thumbnails in the dialog’s sidebar. Only the selected pages print.
- Odd or even pages: under Paper Handling, choose only odd or only even pages, in normal or reverse order.
- Preview: choose View, then Thumbnails, Command-click the pages you want, choose File, then Print, and pick Selection.
Chrome and Google Docs
Google’s own help for printing from Chrome and from Google Docs explains how to open the print window, but does not describe a page range format. If your print window has a Pages option, try the same hyphen and comma format, then check the page count in the preview before printing.
Check before you print
Look at the page count or preview in the print dialog before you press Print. Page numbers printed in a document, such as a cover or roman-numeral pages, do not always match the page’s position in the file, which is why Acrobat has the logical page number setting. If you are printing several copies of a range, see what collate means to keep each set in order, and our guide to two-sided printing if you are printing odd and even pages by hand.
Folding the result into a booklet? A page range chooses which document pages to print; booklet layout places them in a different order across each sheet. Use the booklet page-order preview to see the front and back pairs and any added blank positions.
Printing blank pages at the end of a document? See blank pages.
Sources checked: Microsoft print a document in Word, duplex printing in Word, Word for Mac and print in Edge; Adobe Acrobat print settings and print PDFs in Reader; Apple print settings on Mac and print from Preview; Google print from Chrome and print from Google Docs.