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: Creating Long Page Footers.

Creating Long Page Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 24, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Carolyn wonders if it is possible to create a footer that is more than 255 characters and goes from left to right across the entire page, similar to what can be done in Word.

The short answer is that there is no way to do this. In practice, getting the footer to go all the way across the page is not that difficult; what is difficult is getting it to contain more than 255 characters. This limit seems hard-coded into Excel. There are a few things you can try to work around the limitation, however.

First, you could simply "fake" a footer by putting what you want into cells that you then copy to the bottom of each page. This isn't terribly user-friendly, as moving and inserting rows can play havoc with where those "footer cells" are actually printed.

Another idea is to create your footer content using any cells in your worksheet, copy the cells to the Clipboard, and then paste them into your favorite image editing program as a picture. There you can size the picture to your liking and make any other changes necessary. Make sure you save the picture as a JPG file. Back in Excel you can create your custom footer by inserting that saved picture into any part of the footer.

Finally, you can use the old "two pass" technique with your printer. Create your footer in Word, as desired. Print a bunch of pages that consist of only the footer, place those pages back into your printer's paper tray, and then print your Excel worksheet. All you need to do is make sure that the bottom margin is set properly in Excel so that there is enough space left for the footer you printed from Word.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6688) 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: Creating Long Page 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

Bypassing the Startup Macro

Word allows you to create a macro that is run automatically whenever the program is started. If you want to bypass the ...

Discover More

Using Older Spelling and Grammar Checking

If you prefer the older spelling and grammar checking process used in Word, then you will find this tip helpful. It only ...

Discover More

Changing the Mouse Pointer

Windows is rather configurable, especially when it comes to the user interface. Here's how you can modify the way that ...

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)

Default Headers and Footers

Changing the look of default headers and footers for your Excel workbooks.

Discover More

First and Last Names in a Page Header

When you have a worksheet that includes a long list of names, you may want the first and last names on each page to ...

Discover More

Full Path Names in Headers or Footers

Using a macro to add the full path name into a header or footer in an Excel worksheet.

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 seven more than 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.