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

Columns within Text Boxes

When creating a layout for your document, you might use text boxes to position text in specific places. If you want those ...

Discover More

Adding Table Columns to Columns with Merged Cells

Word's table editor allows you to modify the structure of tables in a wide variety of ways. If you want to add columns to ...

Discover More

Making Spell Check Ignore Characters

The rules of professional editing often require that editorial changes in a quote be noted with brackets. These brackets, ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Selective Headers and Footers

Want to print different headers or footers on different parts of your worksheet? Excel has no inherent way to do this, ...

Discover More

Using Color in Headers and Footers

Applying color to the text in your headers and footers is a bit of a dream in some versions of Excel. Here's an overview ...

Discover More

Specifying Date Formats in Headers

Don't like the default date format used by Excel when you place the date in a header or footer? You can use a macro to ...

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.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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 six minus 1?

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.