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: Roman Numerals for Page Numbers.

Roman Numerals for Page Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 24, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Excel includes a worksheet function (ROMAN) that allows you to convert Arabic numbers into Roman numerals. You may wonder if there is any such function that allows you to print Roman numerals as page numbers on a printout.

There is no built-in feature that allows you to do that, but you can create a macro that will do the trick. Consider the following macro:

Sub RomanPageNums()
    Dim iPages As Integer
    Dim J As Integer

    ' Get count of pages in active sheet
    iPages = ExecuteExcel4Macro("Get.Document(50)")

    ' Print worksheet, page by page
    With ActiveSheet
        For J = 1 To iPages
            ' Set page letter
            .PageSetup.CenterFooter = Application.Roman(J)
            ' Print page J
            .PrintOut From:=J, To:=J
        Next J
    End With
End Sub

This macro first figures out how many pages are in your printout and assigns the value to the iPages variable. It then steps through each page, changing the page number in the center portion of the footer prior to printing each page. The page number is set by converting the current page number (J) to a Roman numeral using the ROMAN worksheet function.

If you want the Roman numerals to appear in other parts of the footer, you can replace the .CenterFooter property with either .LeftFooter or .RightFooter. You can also use .LeftHeader, .CenterHeader, or .RightHeader, if desired.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9362) 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: Roman Numerals for Page Numbers.

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. ...

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