How to Easily Insert Footers in Excel Like a Pro

Adding footers in Excel can level up your spreadsheets and reports, making them look polished and professional. Whether you need page numbers, disclaimers, branding, or formatting – footers are a great way to organize and stylize your Excel files.

But inserting footers isn’t always straightforward in Excel. The steps can be a bit buried compared to Word. Luckily, I’m here to walk through the various methods to insert footers seamlessly in Excel.

After reading this guide, you’ll be inserting footers like a pro in no time!

Why Use Footers in Excel?

Before jumping into the how-to let’s go over some of the main reasons you may want to use footers in your Excel spreadsheets

• Page numbers – Numbering your pages consecutively makes printed reports more organized and professional, Page numbers help the reader know where they are in a multi-page document,

• Copyright notices – You can insert copyright statements, disclaimers, or confidentiality notices in the footer. This protects your intellectual property.

• Branding – Inserting your company name, logo, or slogan in the footer is an easy way to reinforce branding.

• Formatting – Footers give you more control over page formatting. You can align margins or customize spacing.

• Custom information – Add timestamps, filenames, author details or other metadata in the footer.

5 Quick Ways to Insert Footers in Excel

Now let’s get into the various methods you can use to insert footers in Excel:

1. Use the Page Layout View

The Page Layout view unlocks footer capabilities in Excel. Here’s how to access it:

1. Go to the worksheet you want to add a footer to.
2. Click the View tab > Page Layout button.
3. You’ll now see “Add header” and “Add footer” placeholders.
4. Click the footer area and type your footer text.
5. Hit View > Normal to return to the regular spreadsheet view.

2. Use the Header & Footer Command

You can also add footers through the Insert tab:

1. Go to Insert > Header & Footer.
2. Click the “Add footer” placeholder text at the bottom.
3. Type your footer text in the available boxes.
4. Click back in the spreadsheet to exit.

3. Use the Page Setup Dialog Box

The Page Setup dialog box has a dedicated Header/Footer tab:

1. Go to Page Layout > Page Setup Dialog Box Launcher.
2. Click the Header/Footer tab.
3. Select a preset footer or click Custom Footer.
4. Add text, symbols, page numbers, etc.
5. Click OK to apply.

4. Insert a Footer for Chart Sheets

To add footers specifically to chart sheets:

1. Go to Insert > Header & Footer.
2. Edit the footer in the dialog box.
3. Click Print Preview to see the footer on chart pages.

5. Use Excel VBA to Automate Footer Insertion

For frequent footer users, VBA macros can automate insertion:

Sub AddFooter()     'Setup footer text   ActiveSheet.PageSetup.CenterFooter = "Page: " & .PageNumber      'Format footer   With ActiveSheet.PageSetup     .RightFooter = .CenterFooter     .CenterFooter = ""   End With   End Sub

This macro inserts a page number in the center footer. You can customize it to add text, formatting, images, etc.

Customizing Your Excel Footers

Once you’ve inserted a basic footer, you can customize and format it to perfection:

• Add images – Insert company logos, icons, or graphics.
• Format text – Change font, size, color, and alignment.
• Insert codes – Add page numbers, page count, date, time, file info.
• Position – Put footer content in left, center, or right section.
• Set margins – Align footer margins with spreadsheet or independent margins.

Helpful Excel Footer Tips

Here are some additional professional tips when working with footers in Excel:

• Add the &[Tab] code to shift footer content between sections.
• Use &[Picture] to display an image you’ve inserted.
• Turn on Scale with document to automatically resize footer contents.
• Check Different first page to remove footer from title page.
• Click Custom Footer to build your own footer from scratch.

Troubleshooting Excel Footer Problems

Of course, footers don’t always cooperate! Here are some quick fixes for common footer issues:

• Footers not showing in Print Preview – Check if you’re in Page Layout view.
• Footer prints on every page – Uncheck “Different first page” in Page Setup.
• Can’t insert footer – Enable Page Layout view or Header & Footer command first.
• Font won’t change – Make sure “Scale with document” is disabled.
• Pictures distorted in footer – Select a lower DPI image instead of high resolution.

And there you have it – everything you need to know to start inserting footers in Excel with confidence! Whether you’re a spreadsheet newbie or a power-user, these tips will help you add polished, professional footers to level-up your Excel skills.

So next time you need to organize a printed report, reinforce branding, or add design flair to an Excel sheet, try using a customized footer. Your documents will look like they were prepared by a pro!