Using Color in Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 13, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When creating headers and footers for your worksheets, you can modify many attributes used by Excel. When you design a custom header or footer you can click the A tool in the Header or Footer dialog box to select a font or to change other attributes of the font (size, style, etc.).

If you are using Excel 97 through Excel 2003, one thing you cannot change is the color used for the text. Early versions of Excel allowed you to modify header and footer colors, but the capability was removed beginning in Excel 4.0.

If you can't change the color, the only thing you can do is try a workaround. If you are using Excel 97 or Excel 2000, you can simply create your "header" in the first row of your worksheet, and then repeat that row at the top of each printed page. (There is no way to repeat a row at the bottom of a page, so you'd be out of luck for color footers.)

If you are using Excel 2002 or Excel 2003, you can create a color graphic, and then place that graphic into the header or footer. This is often done when you need color in logos and other graphic elements, and you need them to repeat on multiple pages.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3251) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Creating Thin Spaces

Thin spaces are a typographic device that allows you add a bit of space between elements of a document. There are no thin ...

Discover More

Filtering Columns for Unique Values

Given a long list of names, part numbers, or what-have-you, you may need to determine the unique values within the list. ...

Discover More

Adding Automatic Time Stamps

Your computer knows the current date and time, and Word provides ways you can get that date and time into your document. ...

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)

Adding Ampersands in Headers and Footers

Place an ampersand into the text of a page header or footer, and you might be surprised to see it missing in your ...

Discover More

Inserting the Saved Date In a Header or Footer

When preparing a worksheet for printing, you may want to include in the header or footer the last date the workbook was ...

Discover More

Copying Headers and Footers

Need to copy headers and footers from one worksheet to another? How about from one workbook to another? Here are some ...

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 four less than 6?

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.