If you want page 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 screenshots 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
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Select the worksheet that you want to insert page numbers into.
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On the Insert tab, in the Text group, select Header & Footer.
Excel displays the worksheet in Page Layout view. You can also click Page Layout
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To specify where in the header or footer you want the page number to appear, click inside the left, center, or right section box of the header or footer. The center section box for the header is labeled Add header and the center section box for the footer is labeled Add footer. This displays the Header & Footer tab.
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On the Header & Footer tab, in the Header & Footer Elements group, select 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
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Select anywhere outside the header or footer area to display the actual page numbers in Page Layout view.
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After you have completed working in Page Layout view, on the View tab, in the Workbook Views group, select Normal.
You can also select Normal
You can insert page numbers for a worksheet in Page Layout view, where you can see them, or you can use the Page Layout > Page Setup dialog 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 Layout > Page Setup dialog. 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.
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Select the worksheets or chart sheets that you want to add page numbers to.
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To select |
Do this |
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A single sheet |
Select 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.
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Two or more adjacent sheets |
Select the tab for the first sheet. Then, hold down Shift while you click the tab for the last sheet that you want to select. |
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Two or more nonadjacent sheets |
Select the tab for the first sheet. Then, hold down Ctrl while you click the tabs of the other sheets that you want to select. |
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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, select any unselected worksheet. If no unselected sheet is visible, right-click the tab of a selected sheet, and then select Ungroup Sheets.
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On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, select the dialog box launcher
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In the Page Setup dialog, on the Header/Footer tab, select Custom Header or Custom Footer.
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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.
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To insert numbers, select the Insert Page Number button
The placeholder &[Page] appears in the selected section.
Notes:
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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 select the Insert Number of Pages button
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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 will both be printed as two pages, you would use this procedure to begin the page numbering for the second worksheet with the number 3.
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On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, select the dialog box launcher
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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.
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Select the worksheet that you want to change the numbering order for.
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On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, select the dialog box launcher
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On the Sheet tab, under Page order, select Down, then over or Over, then down.
The direction of each option is displayed in the preview box.
Delete page numbers
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Select the worksheets or chart sheets that you want to remove page numbers from.
|
To select |
Do this |
|---|---|
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A single sheet |
Select 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.
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|
Two or more adjacent sheets |
Select the tab for the first sheet. Then, hold down Shift while you click the tab for the last sheet that you want to select. |
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Two or more nonadjacent sheets |
Select the tab for the first sheet. Then, hold down Ctrl while you click the tabs of the other sheets that you want to select. |
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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, select any unselected worksheet. If no unselected sheet is visible, right-click the tab of a selected sheet, and then select Ungroup Sheets on the shortcut menu.
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On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, select the dialog box launcher
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On the Header/Footer tab, in the Header or Footer dropdown, select (none).
Note: You might have to scroll to the top of the list to select (none).
Add page numbers
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On the Insert tab, select Header & Footer.
Excel automatically changes to Page Layout view.
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On the Header & Footer tab, select 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.
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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.
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On the Page Layout tab, select Page Setup.
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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.
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Select 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.
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In Page Setup, select the Header/Footer tab, and then select either Custom Header or Custom Footer.
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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 select OK.
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Select OK again.
Change the order that pages are numbered
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On the Page Layout tab, click Page Setup, and then select Sheet.
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Under Page order, select the page numbering order that you want.
Remove page numbers
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On the Page Layout tab, select Page Setup, and then select Header/Footer.
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Under Header or Footer, select (none).
You might have to scroll to find (none) at the top of the list.
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