As you build a spreadsheet, you might want to include a footer at the bottom. This is especially useful if you plan to print out your sheets. Let’s learn how to add a footer in Microsoft Excel.
How to Add a Custom Footer in Excel
Excel offers you two quick ways to add footers: with custom text, and with preset options. Let’s look at custom text first. Begin by working in any spreadsheet. Footers help you add labels that appear on printouts, and in Excel’s Page Layout view.
Find the Insert tab on Excel’s ribbon. Over on the right side, you’ll see a Text button with a dropdown arrow. Click on it, then choose Header & Footer.
You’re now working in Page Layout view. Scroll down to the bottom of the worksheet page, and you’ll see text reading Add Footer. Click on this to select it, then type in your own words for a custom footer.
Notice that initially, your text will appear off-center. To align it properly, simply click into any cell on the worksheet. You’ll see the text center at the base of the footer.
How to Add a Footer in Excel (With Preset Options)
We just looked at how to add custom text. But imagine that instead, you want basic data like a page number, or the current date. Of course, you could type this in manually, but for a multi-page worksheet, this could get time-consuming. Fortunately, Excel has several preset options to help you add this type of data quickly.
Repeat the earlier step of clicking on the Add Footer text. But this time, instead of typing in your own words, click on the Header & Footer menu on Excel’s ribbon. On the left, you’ll see several options. These include:
- Page Number
- Number of Pages
- Current Date
- Current Time
- File Path
- File Name
Click any of those options, and that particular data point will be inserted as your footer.
Repeat throughout your workbook as necessary. As you can see, Excel makes adding footers as easy as 1-2-3.
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