Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Turning Headers On and Off.

Turning Headers On and Off

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 18, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


You already know that the headers in a worksheet come in handy. This is the gray area, at the left and top of a worksheet, which indicates the row and column label used by Excel. You click in the header area if you want to select either a row or header. You also know that you can adjust the height or width or rows or columns by using the row and column header area.

Even though this area is very useful, there may be times when you do not want it displayed. For instance, if you are using Excel to create an on-screen form, then the header areas may be distracting to the intended users of the form.

To control whether headers are turned on or off, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left of the dialog box click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the available options until you see the Display Options for this Worksheet section. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Show Row and Column Headers check box is selected. If cleared, then the header area is not displayed.
  6. Click on OK.

As with other tasks in Excel, there are additional methods that accomplish the same result as shown above. These methods use various tabs of the ribbon. One method is to display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon, then clear the View checkbox under Headings in the Sheet Options group. Another method is to display the View tab of the ribbon and clear the Headings checkbox in the Show group.

Notice that Excel does not allow you to control the display of row and column headers individually—they are either both on or both off.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6255) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Turning Headers On and Off.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Formatting Footers in Documents with Many Sections

Need to adjust all the footers or headers in a document that uses lots of them? It's easy to do if you understand how the ...

Discover More

Changing the Color of a Cell Border

Excel provides a variety of tools you can use to make your data look more presentable on the screen and on a printout. ...

Discover More

Unresponsive Excel when Double-Clicking a Workbook

There are two ways you can load a workbook in Excel, and each approach should result in the workbook being loaded ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Different Cell Movement in a Single Worksheet

You can configure Excel to specify what happens when you press Enter in a cell. This is normally done on a global basis, ...

Discover More

Saving Excel Configuration Settings

Excel lets you change lots of settings that affect the configuration of your system. At some point you may want to save ...

Discover More

Setting the AutoRecover Directory

Excel, by default, periodically writes information to AutoRecover files that can help protect your data in case Excel is ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.