Custom Page Numbers on Printouts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 16, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Wendy wants to include page numbers in the header of her worksheet printout, but with a twist—Page 21A on page 1, Page 21B on page 2, Page 21C on page 3, etc. She wonders how to go about creating such a page numbering scheme.

There are a few ways you can go about tackling this problem, all of them involving the use of macros. If you actually want to print all the worksheets in the current workbook and none of those worksheets is over a single page in length (when printed), then the following macro will set the center section of the header as requested:

Sub PageNums1()
    Dim sheet As Worksheet
    Dim J As Integer

    J = 1
    On Error Resume Next
    For Each sheet In Worksheets
        Sheets(J).PageSetup.CenterHeader = "Page 21" & Chr(64 + J)
        J = J + 1
    Next
End Sub

Note that the macro doesn't actually print anything; all it does is to change the header information. If you really only want to print out the current worksheet and that worksheet will require multiple pages on the printout, then the following should work just fine:

Sub PageNums2()
    Dim X As Integer
    Dim Y As Integer
    Dim Z As Integer

    Z = 1
    For X = 1 To ActiveSheet.HPageBreaks.Count + 1
        For Y = 1 To ActiveSheet.VPageBreaks.Count + 1
            ActiveSheet.PageSetup.CenterHeader = _
              "Page 21" & Chr(64 + Z)
            Worksheets.PrintOut Z, Z
            Z = Z + 1
        Next Y
    Next X
End Sub

This macro calculates pages based on the position of the horizontal (HPageBreaks) and vertical (VPageBreaks) page breaks on the printout. You could also try just working with the Pages collection, in this manner:

Sub PageNums3()
    Dim J As Integer

    For J = 1 To ActiveSheet.PageSetup.Pages.Count
        ActiveSheet.PageSetup.CenterHeader = "Page 21" & Chr(64 + J)
        Worksheets.PrintOut J, J
    Next J
End Sub

You should note that regardless of the approach you select, you'll run into problems if the printout requires more than 26 pages.

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 (12548) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

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

Drawing a Curve

Ever wonder how to add a curved line to your document? With a little practice, adding curves is simple. Here's how.

Discover More

Selecting a Range of Cells Relative to the Current Cell

When processing information in a macro, you often need to select different cells relative to the currently selected ...

Discover More

Hiding Rows Based on Two Values

It's easy to use filtering to hide rows based on the value in a cell, but how do you hide rows based on the values in two ...

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)

Printing a Draft of a Worksheet

Want to print out the fastest possible copy of your worksheet? You do so by printing a draft, discussed in this tip.

Discover More

Using Duplex Printing

Need to print on both sides of a piece of paper? If your printer can handle it, you can duplex your output from within ...

Discover More

Top Margin Ignored when Printing

When you press the Print button in Excel, you want your worksheet to go to your printer and produce output as you expect. ...

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 two more than 6?

2024-03-16 10:35:33

J. Woolley

To avoid "problems if the printout requires more than 26 pages," substitute the following instead of Chr(64 + J):
    Split(Columns(J).Address(False, False), ":")(0)
This converts relative column addresses like A:A, B:B, ..., AA:AA, AB:AB, ... into A, B, ..., AA, AB, ....


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.