Microsoft Office

Printing Your Work 10
Understanding header and footer element codes
When a header or footer section is activated, you can type whatever text you like into the section. Or, to
insert variable information, you can insert any of several element codes by clicking a button in the Header
& Footer Tools ➪ Design ➪ Header & Footer Elements group.
For example, to insert the current date, click the Current Date button. Each of these buttons inserts a code
into the selected section. Table 10.1 lists the buttons and their functions.
TABLE 10.1
Header & Footer Buttons and Their Functions
Button Code Function
Page Number &[Page] Displays the page number
Number of Pages &[Pages] Displays the total number of pages to be printed
Current Date &[Date] Displays the current date
Current Time &[Time] Displays the current time
File Path &[Path]&[File] Displays the workbook’s complete path and filename
File Name &[File] Displays the workbook name
Sheet Name &[Tab] Displays the sheet’s name
Picture Not applicable Enables you to add a picture
Format Picture Not applicable Enables you to change the picture’s settings
You can combine text and codes and insert as many codes as you like into each section.
If the text that you enter uses an ampersand (&), you must enter the ampersand twice
(because Excel uses an ampersand to signal a code). For example, to enter the text Research &
Development into a section of a header or footer, enter Research && Development.
NOTE
You also can use different fonts and sizes in your headers and footers. Just select the text that you want to
change and then use the formatting tools in the Home ➪ Font group. Or use the controls on the Mini toolbar,
which appears automatically when you select the text. If you don’t change the font, Excel uses the font
defined for the Normal style.
TIP
You can use as many lines as you like. Press Enter to force a line break for multiline headers or
footers. If you use multiline headers or footers, you may need to adjust the top or bottom margin
so the text won’t overlap with the worksheet data. See “Adjusting the page margins,” earlier in this
chapter.
Unfortunately, you can’t print the contents of a specific cell in a header or footer. For example, you may
want Excel to use the contents of cell A1 as part of a header. To do so, you need to enter the cell’s contents
manually — or write a macro to perform this operation.
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