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: Putting Headers and Footers on Multiple Worksheets.

Putting Headers and Footers On Multiple Worksheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 3, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


One of the typical last touches to a worksheet before printing is to place headers or footers. This is very easy to do if you have only a worksheet or two in which to place the headers and footers. What if you have quite a few worksheets in the same workbook, and you want them all to have the same header and footer.

Actually this isn't too hard to do, either. All you need to do is work with a group of worksheets as a single unit. Just follow these general steps:

  1. Decide which worksheets you want to have the same headers or footers.
  2. Select the first worksheet in the series (click the tab for that worksheet).
  3. Hold down the Shift key as you click on the tab for the last worksheet in the series. A range of worksheets should now be selected. Excel also adds the word [Group] to the title bar to indicate you have a group of worksheets selected.
  4. Set your header or footer as you normally would (as outlined in other issues of ExcelTips). Your changes are automatically made on all the sheet in the selected range.
  5. When done, select a single worksheet by clicking on its tab. (Click on the tab of a worksheet other than the first in the range.)

That's it; you've now set the headers or footers of all the sheets to be identical.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2600) 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: Putting Headers and Footers on Multiple Worksheets.

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

Using ASCII and ANSI Characters

Word natively supports several types of character sets. The most common characters sets are known as ASCII and ANSI ...

Discover More

Clearing All Tab Stops

Tab stops allow you to modify the horizontal position at which text is positioned on a line. If you want to get rid of ...

Discover More

Calculating the First Business Day of the Month

Want to know which day of the month is the first business day? The easiest way to determine the date is to use the ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Ampersands in Headers and Footers

Add an ampersand to the text in a header or footer and you may be surprised that the ampersand disappears on your ...

Discover More

Putting a Different Date in a Header

Today's date is easy to add to a header, but what if you want to add a date that is adjusted in some manner? Adding ...

Discover More

Leading Zeros in Page Numbers

Page numbers in Excel printouts are typically simple counters, without much chance for embellishment. If you want to add ...

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.

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 2 + 2?

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.