Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Lori wants the right side of the footer for her worksheet to include the date the workbook was last saved. Every time she tries to create a formula to do this, Excel displays an error message that states the "string is too long" and that she needs to delete some characters. She's not sure she understands why this is happening or how she can get the date she wants in the footer.
There is no actual formula that can put the last-saved date in a footer. Excel has no way (unlike Word) to put this tidbit of information there. There is a way you can do it, but the solution requires the use of a macro. The reason is because you are accessing system information—information outside of Excel itself—and that information can only be retrieved using a programming language such as VBA.
One approach is to add some code that runs whenever a workbook is saved. The code would update the desired footer with the current date:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, _ Cancel As Boolean) ActiveWorksheet.PageSetup.RightFooter = _ "Last Saved: " & Format(Date, "mmmm d, yyyy") End Sub
This macro, which should be stored in the ThisWorkbook object for the workbook you want to affect, updates the footer for the currently active worksheet. If you want to affect all the worksheets in a workbook, then a small change to the macro is in order:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, _ Cancel As Boolean) Dim sht As Worksheet For Each sht In Sheets sht.PageSetup.RightFooter = _ "Last Saved: " & Format(Date, "mmmm d, yyyy") Next End Sub
If today is December 12, 2011, then after running the macro (which is done automatically when saving), the right footers will all be set to "Last Saved: December 12, 2011".
You can also rely upon the file save date stored in Excel's built-in properties. The way you put that date into the footer is as follows:
Sub RightFooterLastSaved() ActiveSheet.PageSetup.RightFooter = _ ActiveWorkbook.BuiltinDocumentProperties(12) End Sub
The drawback to this macro is that you need to remember to run it periodically, so it is not quite as automatic as the previous approaches. You could, however, place the single line at the heart of the macro into the Workbook_BeforePrint event handler.
There is another approach you can use. This one involves requesting from Windows the actual date and time a file was saved.
Private Sub Workbook_Open() Dim sTemp As String Dim sht As Worksheet sTemp = FileDateTime(ActiveWorkbook.FullName) sTemp = "Last Saved: " & sTemp For Each sht In Sheets sht.PageSetup.RightFooter = sTemp Next sht End Sub
This macro is designed to run whenever a workbook is first opened—it is saved as the Workbook_Open procedure of the ThisWorkbook object. The workhorse of the macro is the line that calls the FileDateTime function. This function can be used to determine the date and time any file was saved. It requires a full path name of a file, which is supplied by the FullName property of the ActiveWorkbook object. This date and time is then placed in the right footer of all the worksheets in the workbook.
Remember, as well, that the limit of what you can place into each section of the header or footer is approximately 250 characters. So if you adjust the macros to add more information to the right portion of the footer, make sure that it doesn't add up to that many characters, or you may have problems with the macro.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2190) 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: Last Saved Date in a Footer.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!
When creating headers and footers in an Excel worksheet, you can use special codes to add or format information. This tip ...
Discover MorePlace an ampersand into the text of a page header or footer, and you might be surprised to see it missing in your ...
Discover MoreWhen preparing your worksheet for printing, you may want to add a header that appears at the top of each page that you ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-05-25 13:22:20
Michael (Micky) Avidan
@Robert Fletcher,
Try to save the workbook type as: "Macro enabled" (XLSM File extension).
Michael (Micky) Avidan
“Microsoft® Answers" - Wiki author & Forums Moderator
“Microsoft®” MVP – Excel (2009-2015)
ISRAEL
2015-05-24 21:05:13
Robert Fletcher
I am trying to put the date my Excel for Max was last saved in the footer. I followed your example. I am not knowledgeable with macros. I was to get on the developer tab. I selected Editor and then selected the ThisWorkbook. I got a blank VBA input space and entered the following from your website:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, _
Cancel As Boolean)
ActiveWorksheet.PageSetup.RightFooter = _
"Last Saved: " & Format(Date, "mmmm d,yyyy")
End Sub
I then proceeded to save the workbook. An error message always appears "Visual Basic Macros will be removed if you save the file in this format." I am then directed to bug theVBA file.
What am I doing wrong? Why do I always get this error message even when I think I have removed the macro? Please help
Bob
2013-09-23 12:13:07
Andrea
Thanks so much! I've tried 3 codes now, and this is the only one that worked - perhaps because I wasn't told to open he "this workbook" section(using Excel 2010):
BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, _
Cancel As Boolean)
Dim sht As Worksheet
For Each sht In Sheets
sht.PageSetup.RightFooter = _
"Last Saved: " & Format(Date, "mmmm d, yyyy")
Next
End Sub
2013-05-03 13:14:22
awyatt
Not really. (Although you can click the link at the end of the article to see this tip on the site for later versions of Excel.)
I suspect you aren't putting the macros in the ThisWorkbook area as you must. Any macro that begins with "Workbook_" must be placed in the ThisWorkbook area. In the VBA Editor, use the Project Explorer to double-click the ThisWorkbook object for the workbook in which you are working. This action (double-clicking) displays a code window. It is within this code window that those macros beginning with "Workbook_" must be placed.
-Allen
2013-05-03 12:50:01
Michael Mercier
I am running Excel 2007. I copy pasted this program as described. the first program for active worksheet and also tried the seceond program for all sheets.
Neither one puts anything into the footer.
Is excel 2007 different?
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments