Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Turning Headers On and Off.

Turning Headers On and Off

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 2, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You already know that the headers in a worksheet come in handy. This is the gray area, at the left and top of a worksheet, which indicates the row and column label used by Excel. You click in the header area if you want to select either a row or header. You also know that you can adjust the height or width or rows or columns by using the row and column header area.

Even though this area is very useful, there may be times when you do not want it displayed. For instance, if you are using Excel to create an on-screen form, then the header areas may be distracting to the intended users of the form.

To control whether headers are turned on or off, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu.
  2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Row & Column Headers check box is selected. If cleared, then the header area is not displayed.
  5. Click on OK.

Notice that Excel does not allow you to control the display of row and column headers individually—they are either both on or both off.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2074) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Turning Headers On and Off.

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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