Header and Footer Data Codes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 29, 2026)

Excel includes a number of codes which you can include in your header and footer. These codes are designed to make including predefined information a bit easier. Some of the codes are available on the Header or Footer dialog boxes (when you click on Custom Header or Custom Footer in the Header/Footer tab of the Page Setup dialog box) by clicking on a button. Others you must enter directly.

Command codes are indicated in Excel headers and footers by typing an ampersand character (&) followed by the command. The following are the data codes you can use:

Code Meaning
&D Current date
&T Current time
&F Workbook name
&A Worksheet name (from the worksheet tab)
&P Current page number
&P+x Current page number plus x
&P-x Current page number minus x
&N Total pages in the workbook
&& Ampersand character

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2056) 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. ...

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