Header and Footer Formatting Codes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 2, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


In the previous tip you learned about the different command codes you can use to insert data in your headers and footers. There are also a number of formatting command codes you can use. These codes, again, begin with an ampersand:

Code Meaning
&L Start left alignment
&C Start center alignment
&R Start right alignment
&"fontname" Change to designated font (quotes are necessary)
&nn Two-digit font size to use, in points
&B Bold (toggle on or off)
&I Italics (toggle on or off)
&U Underline (toggle on or off)
&E Double underline (toggle on or off)
&S Strikethrough (toggle on or off)
&X Superscript (toggle on or off)
&Y Subscript (toggle on or off)

Command codes can be joined together on a line to achieve the desired result. For instance, if you wanted your footer to be a left-aligned, bold, and underlined current date, you would enter &L&B&U&D. You should note that it doesn't matter where you insert this information; the codes override where you enter it. Thus, if these codes were entered in the Center portion of the header or footer, the command codes would still place the date in the left portion, as you directed.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2057) 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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