Insert page numbers on worksheets

If you want numbers shown on pages when you print a Microsoft Excel worksheet, you can insert page numbers in the headers or footers of the worksheet pages. Page numbers that you insert are not displayed on the worksheet in Normal view— they are shown only in Page Layout view and on the printed pages.

Note: : The screen shots in this article were taken in Excel 2016. If you have a different version your view might be slightly different, but unless otherwise noted, the functionality is the same.

Add page numbers on a single worksheet

1. Click the worksheet for which you want to insert page numbers.

2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Header & Footer.

   

   Excel displays the worksheet in Page Layout view. You can also click Page Layout on the status bar to display this view.

3. On the worksheet, click Click to add header or Click to add footer.

   This displays the Header & Footer Tools, adding the Design tab.

4. To specify where in the header or footer you want the page number to appear, click inside the Left section, Center section, or Right section box of the header or footer.

5. On the Design tab, in the Header & Footer Elements group, click Page Number.

   

   The placeholder &[Page] appears in the selected section.

   If want to add the total number of pages, type a space after &[Page], type the word of followed by a space and then, in the Header & Footer Elements group, click Number of Pages.

   The placeholder &[Page] of &[Pages] appears in the selected section

6. Click anywhere outside the header or footer area to display the actual page numbers in Page Layout view.

7. After you have completed working in Page Layout view, on the View tab, in the Workbook Views group, click Normal.

   

   You can also click Normal on the status bar.

   You can insert page numbers for a worksheet in Page Layout view, where you can see them, or you can use the Page Setup dialog box if you want to insert page numbers for more than one worksheet at the same time. For other sheet types, such as chart sheets, you can insert page numbers only by using the Page Setup dialog box.

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Add page numbers in multiple worksheets

You can insert page numbers on multiple worksheets in your workbook by using the Page Setup dialog box. For example, if your workbook contains two worksheets that are both two pages long, the first worksheet will contain two pages numbered 1 and 2. The second worksheet will also contain two pages numbered 1 and 2.

Tip: To add page numbers to all worksheets in a workbook sequentially, you must change the number that each worksheet starts with. For more information, see Set a different number for the starting page.

1. Click the worksheets or chart sheets to which you want to add page numbers.

To select	Do this
A single sheet	Click the sheet tab. If you don't see the tab that you want, click the tab scrolling buttons to display the tab, and then click the tab.
Two or more adjacent sheets	Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down Shift while you click the tab for the last sheet that you want to select.
Two or more nonadjacent sheets	Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down Ctrl while you click the tabs of the other sheets that you want to select.
All sheets in a workbook	Right-click a sheet tab, and then click Select All Sheets on the shortcut menu.

Tip:  When multiple worksheets are selected, [Group] appears in the title bar at the top of the worksheet. To cancel a selection of multiple worksheets in a workbook, click any unselected worksheet. If no unselected sheet is visible, right-click the tab of a selected sheet, and then click Ungroup Sheets.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

   

2. In the Page Setup dialog box, on the Header/Footer tab, click Custom Header or Custom Footer.

3. To specify where in the header or footer you want the page number to appear, click inside the Left section, Center section, or Right section box.

4. To insert numbers, click the Insert Page Number button .

   The placeholder &[Page] appears in the selected section.

   Notes: 

   • If you want to add the total number of pages, type a space after &[Page], type the word of followed by a space, and then click the Insert Number of Pages button .

   • The placeholder &[Page] of &[Pages] appears in the selected section.

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Set a different number for the starting page

To number all of the worksheet pages in a workbook sequentially, first add page numbers to all worksheets in a workbook, and then use the following procedure to begin the page number for each worksheet with the appropriate number. For example, if your workbook contains two worksheets that with both be printed as two pages, you would use this procedure to begin the page numbering for the second worksheet with the number 3.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

   

2. On the Page tab, in the First page number box, type the number that you want to use for the first page.

   To use the default numbering system, type Auto in the First page number box.

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Change the order in which pages are numbered

By default, Excel numbers and prints pages from the top down and then left to right on the worksheet, but you can change the direction to number and print pages from left to right and then from the top down.

1. Click the worksheet for which you want to change the numbering order.

2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

   

3. On the Sheet tab, under Page order, click Down, then over or Over, then down.

   The direction of each option is displayed in the preview box.

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Delete page numbers

1. Click the worksheets or chart sheets for which you want to remove page numbers.

To select	Do this
A single sheet	Click the sheet tab. If you don't see the tab that you want, click the tab scrolling buttons to display the tab, and then click the tab.
Two or more adjacent sheets	Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down Shift while you click the tab for the last sheet that you want to select.
Two or more nonadjacent sheets	Click the tab for the first sheet. Then hold down Ctrl while you click the tabs of the other sheets that you want to select.
All sheets in a workbook	Right-click a sheet tab, and then click Select All Sheets on the shortcut menu.

Tip:  When multiple worksheets are selected, [Group] appears in the title bar at the top of the worksheet. To cancel a selection of multiple worksheets in a workbook, click any unselected worksheet. If no unselected sheet is visible, right-click the tab of a selected sheet, and then click Ungroup Sheets on the shortcut menu.

1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Page Setup.

   

2. On the Header/Footer tab, in the Header or Footer drop-down box, click (none).

   Note: You may have to scroll to the top of the list to click (none).

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Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community, get support in the Answers community, or suggest a new feature or improvement on Excel User Voice.