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: Setting Print Titles.

Setting Print Titles

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 2, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Often it is helpful to repeat a certain number of rows at the top of the your worksheet printout, or a certain number of columns at the left of the printout. This is particularly useful if you are using the rows or columns as titles for the information in your worksheet. To set print titles, follow these steps:

  1. Select the worksheet whose titles you want to set.
  2. Choose Page Setup from the File menu. Excel displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Sheet tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  5. In the Rows to Repeat at Top field specify the rows you want to repeat (if any).
  6. In the Columns to Repeat at Left field specify the columns you want to repeat (if any).
  7. Click on OK.

When specifying rows or columns in steps 4 and 5, you only need to provide the row or column names (such as $1:$3 or $A:$B); actual cell coordinates are not acceptable. You can also use the mouse to specify the columns or rows to be used. First click your mouse in the field you want to set and then select the rows or columns you want repeated.

You should note that titles are not started until they are actually encountered when printing. Thus, if you select titles that would appear on page 3 of your printout, they will not begin repeating until page 4 is printed.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2847) 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: Setting Print Titles.

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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