1.1.5: Headers, Footers, and Page Layout
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- 56173
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Adding Headers and Footers
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.
Command buttons in the Header & Footer Elements group include:
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- 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.
- Page Number: Click this button to insert the
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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.
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.
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.
Adjusting Page Layout and Preparing to Print
The size of Excel workbooks tend to grow the more each worksheet is manipulated, typically by adding more columns and rows, and sometimes, more sheets. This added complexity makes physical output of Excel data somewhat challenging. Too many columns will result in the sheet not being able to be printed on one sheet of paper, and too many rows make make it difficult to interpret data on pages beyond the first page. Fortunately, the Page Layout tab can help fit the data on fewer sheets of paper and make each page easier to understand.
While themes can help modify the appearance of a spreadsheet’s colors and fonts, the other groups in the Page Layout tab can impact the arrangement of data, and streamline the readability of the output. Starting with the Page Setup group, Excel allows tremendous flexibility with the margins of each worksheet. For example, Narrow margins allow more data to fit on one page by reducing the amount of white space on the edges of the sheet. A quick and easy way to allow more columns to print on one sheet, is to change the orientation from the default Portrait, to Landscape, which allows more columns and fewer rows to print on one sheet. The effects of these Setup decisions can be more easily illustrated by switching from the default Normal workbook view to the Page Layout. The View tab also allows users to to enable/disable the Ruler, Formula Bar, and on-screen gridlines and headings.
If changing the margins and/or orientation is not resolving the issue of getting extra columns to print on the same page, an alternative could be changing the paper size. The default printer determines the paper sizes available from the Size drop-down list. To check the range of paper sizes that a printer can print on, consult the printer manual, or view the paper sizes that are currently set for the printer in the Print Setup dialog box. Some users have the option of printing to Legal (8.5″ x 14″) or even 11″ x 17″ (tabloid) printers, especially if commonly printing large worksheets.
A final, more drastic option to keep data from overlapping into multiple sheets, is to utilize the scaling feature. Using the Scale to Fit group from the Layout tab, a printed worksheet can be scaled by to modify the font size of printed output by either shrinking or enlarging the output. The options exist to scale the output to fit to 1 page wide (width) by 1 page tall (height). It might make sense to only modify the width, or by choosing a Scale percentage, which adjusts the overall sheet height and width proportionately. Keep in mind the needs of your audience. Too small of font might make the spreadsheet unreadable, and for certain audiences, the output might need to be scaled to a larger font than the editing view.
The Sheet Options group of the Layout tab provides two significant print features for basic Excel printing. These include the options to have gridlines and/or headings appear in printed output. By default, the options appear in the Viewing screen, but do not appear when printed. Without Headings, the output would be very difficult to explain to others, and gridlines, much like banded rows, make it easier for the eye to line up the intersections of rows and columns.
More advanced options exist for enhancing page layout and printing options by clicking the launcher button in each group. Additionally, several print settings can be adjusted in the Print Preview window. The sheet in the screenshot below is modified to print in landscape orientation with Narrow Margins and it is scaled to Fit on One Page. It also has headings included in the print output.
