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: Adding Ampersands in Headers and Footers.

Adding Ampersands in Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


2

The ampersand character (&) is commonly used in company names (such as Burns & Foster, Inc.) or in standard business phrases (such as Mergers & Acquisitions). If you are creating a report in Excel, you may notice that the ampersand characters don't show up properly if you add them to headers or footers for your worksheet.

The reason ampersands don't show up is because the character is used as a "marker" that indicates a special formatting code is to follow. If you want to actually use an ampersand, then you need to double it—use two ampersands, such as "Burns && Foster, Inc." Even though you enter two ampersands in the header or footer, Excel only displays one ampersand in the resulting header or footer.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2988) 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: Adding Ampersands in Headers and Footers.

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

Modifying Error Alerts Received

Excel helpfully lets you know when the data or formulas you've entered in a cell don't make sense. It does this by ...

Discover More

ISO Week Numbers in Excel

Work in an industry that uses ISO standards when it comes to working with dates? You'll love the formula in this tip ...

Discover More

Compiling a List of Students in a Course

Need to pull just a limited amount of information from a large list? Here are a few approaches you might be able to use ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

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

Header and Footer Formatting Codes

When creating headers and footers in an Excel worksheet, you can use special codes to add or format information. This tip ...

Discover More

Putting Headers and Footers On Multiple Worksheets

You can easily create headers and footers for multiple worksheets by working with a selection set of the worksheets you ...

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 6 + 8?

2022-01-30 21:18:29

Satheesh

Thanks.


2017-06-16 08:50:53

Dennis

How very strange however thank you


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.