Page Numbers In Excel

In Excel, there are two methods to insert page numbers in Excel. However, both ways can only insert the page number as a header or footer. Furthermore, the page number (header/footer) is not visible in the normal mode.

• Page numbers in Excel helps in identifying data easily. Excel offers two ways to add page numbers to a document, but they can only be inserted as headers or footers. It's important to note that the page numbers won't be visible in normal mode.
• To insert page numbers in Excel, use headers or footers. They will only be visible in the "Page Layout" or print view, not in the "Normal" view. If you have multiple sheets in a workbook, insert page numbers for each sheet separately.
• We can customize the page number format and starting number in the "Page Setup" option.

There are different formats to insert the page numbers in Excel, such as:

Page 1

Page 1 of?   (Page # of #total-pages)

Page 1, Sheet 1

Page 1, Worksheet-name.xlsx

Prepared by Name, Page 1.

You can choose which direction to display the header or footer (page number) left, right, or center. In method 1, you can directly specify where we want to display the page number. In method 2, you can follow the following steps:

• In the "Page Layout" tab, select a dialog box launcher given next to the "Page Setup" menu. Then, go to the "Header & Footer" tab.
• Go to "Custom Header" or "Custom Footer." First, let us select the "Custom Footer."

• Suppose you want to add a title on the left side of the footer and a page number in the center. Also, you do not wish to display “Page” and only want the page number. So, in the "Left section," add the title you want to show, and in the "Center section," add "&" (or select the box containing #) to display the page number.

• Select "OK."

• If you want to add the format: “Page 1 of #pages”, you can use the syntax as “Page & of &.“

• Select "OK."

If there is only one page, it will show “Page 1 of 1”. If there are a total of two pages, it will display “Page 1 of 2”.

We can insert page numbers in Excel with two different methods. Let us learn how to insert page numbers with examples.

Example #1

#1 - First, enter the Excel worksheet where you want to insert page numbers.

#2 - Go to the "Insert" tab and select "Header & Footer," given in the "Text" group.

The worksheet display will automatically change to the page layout view after clicking “Header & Footer.”

#3 - You can now click “Add header” or “Add footer” on the worksheet.

#4 - Upon clicking, it will add a "Design" tab. In addition, it will also display the "Header & Footer" tools in the "Design" tab.

#5 - To add a footer, click on the "Footer." To add the footer on the left side, click on the "Left section" box. To add the footer on the right side, click on the "Right section" box. To add the center footer, click the "Center section" box. You can also do the same to specify the position in the header.

#6 - Click on "Page Number" to insert the page number in the (above) specified section of the header/footer. But, first, let us select the left area in the footer.

#7 - You will notice that & will appear in the selected section. You can skip clicking "Page Number" and add “&” to the area where you want the page number to appear on the page.

#8 - The page number will appear when you click outside of this selected box.

#9 - You can now go back to the normal mode of display. To do this, go to the "View" tab, and click on “Normal” given in the "Workbook Views" group.

Example #2

Let us now see another example of inserting page numbers in Excel.

• Step 1: First, add the "Header & Footer" to the worksheet, then go to the "Page Layout" tab. In the "Page Setup" menu, click the dialogue box launcher given next to the "Page Setup" menu.

You will notice that a "Page Setup" dialog box will appear.

• Step 2: Go to the "Header/Footer" tab in this pop-up window.

• Step 3: To insert the page number in the Excel worksheet, select “Page 1” in the “Header“ if you want to add a page number as a header, or select “Page 1” in the “Footer“ if you want to add a page number as a footer. This selection can be made by scrolling down the menu. First, let us select “Page 1”. There will be a preview that will show how the page number will appear.

• Step 4: Then, click on the "OK." You will notice that the page number has been added.

This type of method (Method 2) is used to insert page numbers when you want to insert page numbers in multiple sheets. For example, suppose you have two worksheets in which you want to add the page numbers. Firstly, select both worksheets. Then, follow the steps discussed above.

Note: When you select more than one sheet, "Group" will be displayed along with the worksheet's name as “” at the top.

If you want to start page numbering with a different number, e.g., 101, you can do it in Excel.

• In the "Layout" tab, select "Header & Footer" and go to the "Page" tab in the "Page Setup" dialog box.

• In the "First page number" option, change “Auto” to 101. The page numbers will be automatically updated. The auto option starts numbering pages from 1 (for the first page of the print job) or the sequential number of the print job.

• Alternatively, in the "Page Setup" dialog box, go to the "Header/Footer" tab and select the "Custom Header" (or Footer) in the dialog box. Then you can use the syntax:

Page &+100

Or in the format “Page 101 of #pages” use the syntax as:

Page &+100 of +100

• And select, "OK." The format will appear in the preview section of the footer.

You can also reset the number of rows and columns displayed on a single page. In this case, we have the students' names and the marks they obtained in five different subjects. You may wish to have all these marks and student names displayed on a single page. You can select the "Fit to" "1" page-wide option.

Change the Order in which Pages are Numbered

To change the order in which pages are numbered, go to the "Layout" tab and open the Page Setup in the Excel dialog box. Then, change the "First page number" on the "Page" tab in the dialogue box. It is default set to “Auto,” which is 1.

• The page numbers in Excel can be inserted as headers and footers.
• The page numbers are displayed in the "Page Layout" mode or printed ones. They are not shown in the "Normal" way.
• Different sheets in an Excel worksheet are required to insert page numbers separately.
• We can customize the format of the page number.
• We can customize the start number in the "Page Setup" option.

This article is a guide to Page Numbers in Excel. We discuss inserting page numbers in Excel with examples and downloadable Excel templates. You may also look at these useful functions in Excel: -

• Insert a Page Break in Excel
• Generate Random Numbers in VBA
• Print Excel Comments
• Barcode in Excel