Print Gridlines by Default in LibreOffice Calc

By default, LibreOffice Calc displays cell gridlines on your screen while editing but hides them when printing or exporting to PDF. You can enable print gridlines for a single document through the page style settings, or save the configuration into a custom default template so every new spreadsheet automatically prints with visible gridlines.

Enable Print Gridlines for the Current Document

To turn on gridlines for printing in your active spreadsheet:

1. Open your spreadsheet in LibreOffice Calc.
2. Go to the top menu and select Format > Page Style (or right-click the sheet tab at the bottom and select Page Style).
3. In the Page Style dialog box, click on the Sheet tab.
4. Locate the Print section.
5. Check the box next to Grid.
6. Click OK to apply the changes.

You can verify the change by going to File > Print Preview (or pressing Ctrl + Shift + O), where the gridlines will now be visible on the output pages.

Set Print Gridlines as the Default for All New Documents

LibreOffice Calc applies print settings on a template level. To ensure all future spreadsheets print gridlines by default, create and set a default template:

1. Open a new, blank spreadsheet.
2. Navigate to Format > Page Style.
3. Select the Sheet tab, check the Grid box under the Print section, and click OK.
4. Go to File > Templates > Save As Template (or press Shift + F11).
5. Enter a name for your template (such as Default with Gridlines).
6. Select a template category (such as My Templates).
7. Check the box labeled Set as default template.
8. Click Save.

From this point forward, every new spreadsheet created via File > New > Spreadsheet will inherit this setting and include visible cell gridlines when printing.