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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Which version are you using?

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• Which version are you using?
• Newer versions
• Excel for Mac 2011

Add page numbers

1. On the Insert tab, click Header & Footer.

   Excel automatically changes to Page Layout view.

2. On Header & Footer tab, click either the Header or Footer, and then select the page number format you want.

   Header page numbers appear at the top of the printed page, and footer page numbers appear at the bottom.

3. When you're done, you can either stay in Page Layout view, or you can switch to Normal view by clicking Normal on the View tab.

Set a different number for the starting page

You can make the first printed sheet start with a page number other than 1. This is helpful if there are other printed pages that will come before the sheet. For example, you might print a 2-page Word document that will account for pages 1 and 2, and your Excel sheet would then start on page 3.

1. On the Page Layout tab, click Page Setup.

2. On the Page tab, in the First page number box, type the number you want for the first page number. For example, if you wanted the first page number to be 3, you'd type the number 3.

3. Click OK.

If you are using a page number format that counts the total pages, for example: Page 3 of 7, you'll need to make an adjustment to the second number. This adjustment ensures you don't end up with something like this: Page 10 of 7.

1. In Page Setup, click the Header/Footer tab, and then click either Custom Header or Custom Footer.

2. After Page &[Page] of &[Pages], type the plus sign (+), and then type the number of pages that come before your first page number.

   For example, if 3 is your first page number, you need to include 2 pages in the total page count. So you'd type a +2 at the end: Page &[Page] of &[Pages]+2 and then click OK.

3. Click OK again.

Change the order that pages are numbered

1. On the Page Layout tab, click Page Setup, and then click Sheet.

2. Under Page order, select the page numbering order that you want.

Remove page numbers

1. On the Page Layout tab, click Page Setup, and then click Header/Footer.

2. Under Header or Footer, select (none).

   You might have to scroll to find (none) at the top of the list.

Add page numbers

1. On the Layout tab, under Page Setup, click Header & Footer.

2. On pop-up menu under Header or Footer, select the page number format that you want to add.

   Header formats appear at the top of the printed page, and footer formats appear at the bottom.

   Tips: 

   • You can see how your page numbers will appear by viewing your sheet in preview mode. On the Layout tab, under Print, click Preview.

   • To add page numbers to multiple sheets in your workbook at the same time, select the sheets you want before clicking Header & Footer. The page number format you choose will be applied to all selected sheets.

   • You can create a completely custom header or footer with page numbers by clicking Customize Header or Customize Footer, and following the instructions given.

Set a different number for the starting page

1. On the Layout tab, under Page Setup, click Header & Footer.

2. Add page numbers in the format that you want.

3. Click Customize Header or Customize Footer, depending on where the page numbers appear.

4. Look for the page number code &[Page], and click immediately after it to move the insertion point to this location.

5. Type a plus sign (+), and then type the number of pages by which you want to advance the starting page. For example, to start on page 4, you are increasing the starting page number by three pages, so you type +3. The code now appears as &[Page]+3.

6. Click OK.

   In the Header or Footer box, the new first page header or footer is shown.

   Note: If you want to use a page number format that includes the total number of pages, such as Page 4 of 7, make sure that you also add the plus sign (+) and page number increase to the total pages code, &[Pages].

Change the order that pages are numbered

1. On the Layout tab, under Page Setup, click Header & Footer.

2. On the Sheet tab, under Page order, select the page numbering order that you want.

Remove page numbers

1. On the Layout tab, under Page Setup, click Header & Footer.

2. On pop-up menu under Header or Footer, select (none).

Need more help?

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