This article explains how to add footer when printing a Microsoft Excel sheet. Within the footer of a print it is possible to insert useful additional information, such as the date, the page number, the file name and even small images, for example the company logo.
Steps
Step 1. Open the Excel file you want to edit
You can perform this step by double clicking on the corresponding icon.
Step 2. Click on the worksheet you want to add the footer to
The name of each sheet that makes up the current workbook is listed in the lower left of the Excel window.
- If you want the footer to be visible on the printout of all sheets in the workbook, right click on the sheet labels and choose the option Select all sheets from the context menu that will appear.
- To select more than one sheet, but not all of them, hold down Ctrl (on PC) or ⌘ Command (on Mac) while clicking on the names of the individual sheets to include in the selection.
Step 3. Click on the Page Layout tab
It is displayed in the upper left of the Excel window.
Step 4. Open the Page Setup dialog box
If you are using a Mac, click on the icon Set page displayed in the toolbar located at the top of the screen. If you are using the version of Excel for Windows, click on the small icon characterized by a square and an arrow located in the lower right corner of the "Page Setup" group of the program ribbon.
Step 5. Click on the Header / Footer tab
It is located at the top of the "Page Setup" dialog box.
Step 6. Select what to display within the footer using the "Footer" drop-down menu
A list of options will be displayed for most of the information that is commonly used within the footer. If you need to use other information or customize the footer appearance, read on.
Step 7. Click the Customize Footer button to create a custom footer
If you have chosen to use an Excel default footer, skip this step. A dialog box will be displayed consisting of three boxes named "To the left:", "To the center:" and "To the right:" which correspond to the homonymous area of the footer of each page of the document. Follow these instructions to enter the information you need:
- Enter the text you want to appear in the footer using one or all of the available boxes. Click on the icon TO to change the formatting of the text by choosing the font size, appearance and style.
- To add the page number, click inside the box where you want to enter this information, then click on the icon next to the previous one (it is characterized by a stylized sheet with the symbol " #"). If you want the total number of pages of the document to be displayed, click on the third icon (characterized by a stack of sheets and the" #").
- To add the date and time, click in the desired box, then click on the icon depicting a calendar (to insert the date) or a clock (to insert the time).
- To insert the file name in the footer, click on the icon depicting a yellow folder (in this case the complete path will be displayed) or the icon depicting a stylized Excel sheet with a green and white "X" inside (to display the file name only) or the icon depicting a spreadsheet with two tabs on the lower left (to display the name of the sheet).
- To insert an image, click on the corresponding icon, the second starting from the right, depicting a stylized photo, then follow the instructions that will appear on the screen to choose the image to use. If you need to change the chosen image, click on the icon depicting a can of paint and a brush.
- Click on the button OK when you have finished customizing the footer to return to the "Page Setup" window.
Step 8. Click the Print Preview button to preview how the footer will actually look when printed on paper
Step 9. Click the button to go back to the "Page Setup" window
If the appearance of the footer does not suit you, you can choose another format among the predefined ones or you can click on the button Customize footer … to edit the custom one you created.
You can change the footer at any time by clicking on the button Header and footer visible in the tab insert on the Excel ribbon.
Step 10. Change the page numbering settings (optional)
If you wish, you can have a different footer appear on odd and even pages, or you can choose to use a custom footer for the first page only. Follow these instructions:
- Select the "Different for odd and even pages" checkbox to create a second footer that will alternate with the first based on the page number. Select the "Different for first page" checkbox to display a different footer for the first page only.
- Click on the button Customize footer. At this point you will notice the presence of multiple tabs each relating to the footer you have chosen to use (Even, Shots And First page).
- Click on the tab for the footer you want to view, then customize its appearance and information by referring to the tips in step 6. Repeat the process to customize the footer of all other pages.
- Click on the button OK to return to the "Page Setup" window.
Step 11. Click the OK button
At this point the footer you created will be inserted into your document and will appear at the bottom of each page that will be printed.
