Skip to main content
Workforce LibreTexts

4.10: Inserting Headers and Footers

  • Page ID
    14315
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    In Excel, headers and footers are lines of data that print at the top (header) and bottom (footer) of each page in a worksheet to help identify printouts. Headers and footers can contain descriptive text, graphics, and/or fields, such as titles, dates, or page numbers. Header and footer information does not display in Normal view, so to edit a header or footer, click Insert > Header & Footer to open the sheet in Page Layout view, and activate the Header & Footer Tools contextual tab on the ribbon. There are left, center and right sections for both the header and footer areas.

    Users have the option to use one or more of the many built-in headers and footers, or they can click any of the buttons in the Header & Footer Elements group on the Header & Footer Tools Design toolbar to create custom fields.

    Header and Footer toolbar
    Header and Footer toolbar

    Command buttons in the Header & Footer Elements group include:

        • Page Number: Click this button to insert the &[Page] code that puts in the current page number.
        • Number of Pages: Click this button to insert the &[Pages] code that puts in the total number of pages.
        • Current Date: Click this button to insert the &[Date] code that puts in the current date.
        • Current Time: Click this button to insert the &[Time] code that puts in the current time.
        • File Path: Click this button to insert the &[Path]&[File] codes that put in the directory path along with the name of the workbook file.
        • File Name: Click this button to insert the &[File] code that puts in the name of the workbook file.
        • Sheet Name: Click this button to insert the &[Tab] code that puts in the name of the worksheet as shown on the sheet tab.
        • Picture: Click this button to insert the &[Picture] code that inserts the image that you select from the Insert Picture dialog box that enables you to select a local image (using the From File option) or download one from an online source using a Bing Image Search.
        • Format Picture: Click this button to apply the formatting that you choose from the Format Picture dialog box to the &[Picture] code that you enter with the Insert Picture button without adding any code of its own.

    The following screenshot illustrates fields in each section of the header. The Page Number and Number of Pages fields are in the left section. Manually entered text is in the center section, and finally, the Current Time and Current Date fields are being inserted into the right section.

    Sample Excel Header
    Sample Excel Header

    To create a custom header or custom footer, click the Launcher icon in the Page Setup group of the Page Layout ribbon to open the Page Setup window. Next, click the Header/Footer tab, and then choose to open either the Custom Header… or Custom Footer… buttons.

    Header Footer dialog windows
    Header Footer dialog windows

    Four checkboxes appear at the bottom of the “Header/Footer” tab, and in the Options group of the Design tab of the ribbon. To remove headers and footers from the first printed page, select the Different First Page check box. To specify that the headers and footers on odd-numbered pages should differ from those on even-numbered pages, select the Different Odd & Even Pages check box. These options are similar to those in Microsoft Word. The other two options are unique to Excel. To specify whether the headers and footers should use the same font size and scaling as the worksheet, select the Scale with Document check box. To make sure the header or footer margin is aligned with the left and right margins of the worksheet, select the Align with Page Margins check box.


    This page titled 4.10: Inserting Headers and Footers is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Marcus Lacher (Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.