Positioning Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 13, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Besides allowing you to control what appears in a header or footer, Excel allows you to also control the distance at which they appear relative to the top or bottom of the paper on which you print your spreadsheet. To position the header or footer, follow these steps:

  1. Select Page Setup from the File menu. This displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Margins tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Margins tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  3. Use the Header and Footer controls to specify the distance from the edge of the paper at which the header or footer should appear.
  4. Click on OK.

Make sure that when you specify a position for the header or footer that the value is smaller than what you have set for top or bottom margins. If the Header or Footer values are larger than the margins, your header or footer could overlap with data printed on the page.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2636) 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

Closing Documents after a Hyperlink

When you click a hyperlink that takes you to another document, Word dutifully opens the new document in its own window. ...

Discover More

A Fast Find-Next

Want a quick, easy way to "search again" for the next occurrence of what you need? Use the technique in this tip and ...

Discover More

Sharing Headings with Others

Headings form the outline of your document and hopefully give it an easy-to-follow organization. If you want to share ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Header and Footer Data Codes

When creating headers and footers in an Excel worksheet, you can use special codes to add or format information. This tip ...

Discover More

Using a Different Footer on Secondary Pages

When printing a worksheet, you may want to have the footer different on the first page of your document than it is on ...

Discover More

Putting Cell Contents in Footers

Referencing information between cells in a worksheet is a piece of cake using some elemental formulas. You cannot, ...

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 three more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.