Changing the Starting Page Number

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 5, 2021)

2

If you are using page numbers with your spreadsheet, you can adjust the number used as the first page number in your spreadsheet. To change the starting page number, follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Page Setup option from the File menu. You will see the Page Setup dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Page tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Page tab from the Page Setup dialog box.

  3. In the First Page Number box at the bottom of the dialog box, enter the page number you want Excel to use first.
  4. Click on OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2666) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages

Do you want your table rows to be split between pages? Word allows you to format the table so that rows stay together and ...

Discover More

Entering or Importing Times without Colons

Enter a time into a cell and you normally include a colon between the hours and minutes. If you want to skip that pesky ...

Discover More

Adding Information after the Endnotes

Endnotes appear at the end of the document, right? Not always, as Word provides a way that you can actually add as much ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Adding Page Numbers

Printing more than a single page? You may want to add page numbers to your printout, as discussed in this tip.

Discover More

Sequential Page Numbers Across Worksheets

How do you want your page numbers to appear on your printed worksheets? Chances are good that you want them to be ...

Discover More

Page Numbers in VBA

When you print a larger worksheet, Excel breaks the printout across several pages. You may want to know, before you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 7?

2022-09-13 16:32:16

Colby

Sure. Easy. But why doesn't it adjust the number of total pages? I am starting at page 5, and now the end is displaying as page 15 of 10, rather than 15 of 15.

2021-11-10 06:14:53

Andy Bear

HinnIn excel when in the Page Setup area, I'm wanting to change the 'First Page Number'. Do you know if there is a limit to what number I can put in? I get the error message 'Integer is not Valid'. It seems to occur when the value is ~31,000

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.