Excel headers make the template easy to digest. Like any other editing software, you can easily add a header in Excel. This tutorial will guide you in different ways that you can achieve that.
1. Using Insert Tab
1. Open Microsoft Excel and select the sheet you wish to add a header
2. Click on the insert Tab in Excel Ribbon or Menu
3. Now click on the Text dropdown arrow and select Header & Footer
Once you click on Header & Footer, the Excel view will change, allowing you to edit a header.
The header section will be divided into three. The left part, middle part, and the right path
Now you need to divide your content according to the headers.
If you wish to customize the header with data such as the current date, file name, page numbers, current time, picture, or file path, just click on the design and click on the relevant icon.
That’s how to insert important information as a header. Note that it will appear above every page.
You can click on print to preview how your page will look in case you decide to print. Also, the header will be visible in case you need to convert Excel to other formats, such as PDF.
2. Using the Page setup method to create an Excel header
You can also add an Excel header using the page setup method. Here are the steps
1. Click on the page layout tab on your menu
2. Now click on the page set up dropdown arrow.
This will launch a dialogue box such as the one below
3. Now click on the Header and Footer tab on the dialogue box
4. You can click on the Header dropdown to select what you want to appear as your main header.
5. In case you don’t find a relevant option, you can choose a custom header and add any information you need to use as the header.
Once done, you can click print preview to see how your file will appear when you print it.
6. You can now click ok, and the header will be inserted automatically above your spreadsheet.
7. Finally, click on layout view to see the header that you have just added
3. Create a manual Header
The problem with Excel headers is that they normally apply to the whole page. Therefore, it’s difficult to use them to properly arrange your data. The easiest way to get around this is by creating your headers by formatting the cells.
1. Write your heading in a cell
2. If the heading is too long, you need to enlarge the column. You can do this by placing your cursor on the border of the column letter. Place your cursor until it creates a plus sign
3. Now click and drag the sign to the right side. As you drag, you will realize the column gets bigger. Use your intuition to determine the adequate size, then stop dragging the sign.
4. Click on the home tab and customize the header using the features under the font section.
For example, you can make the header bigger by increasing the font size.
5. Add background color to the header to differentiate it from the rest of the cells
That’s how to create an Excel header manually. You can now add your data in the cells below the headers.
How to Create a Header for an Excel Table
Adding a header for a table is a bit different compared to general headers. Here is how to do it
Using Shortcut
1. First, highlight the data for your table
2. Press the ctrl button, then click the T key
3. This will launch a dialogue box to create a table
4. Tick the option that says my table has headers
5. Press Ok, and Excel will create a header automatically for your data
You can now change the header style by clicking on the design, which is located below the table tools. Select the table style of your choice, and the table header will change too.
How to insert a header in multiple sheets at once
The above process shows how to insert an Excel header into a single spreadsheet. But what if you wish to add a header in multiple sheets at once? Don’t worry; you can easily do this using the following trick.
1. You need to select the Excel sheets by holding down the control and then clicking on each sheet tab using the mouse.
2. Now click on the Insert tab
3. Navigate to the Text Dropdown and click on Header & Footer
4. Excel will insert headers automatically to all the spreadsheets that you have selected.
5. You can now customize your data by adding relevant information
How to split an Excel Header diagonally
If you have just created an Excel header manually, then sometimes you may need to split a header. As you can see from the image below, I may need to split the cell to indicate the header for both year and month.
Here are the steps
1. First, select the header cell that you wish to split
2. Open the format cells window by using the shortcut ctrl+1. Besides, you can open this window by right-clicking on the cell and then selecting format cells
3. On the format cells window, navigate to the border tab and select the option that divides a cell diagonally.
4. Now press ok. Your cell will appear like in the image below
5. Now type the header for the column
6. Hold down the alt key and press enter button to start a new line. Now type the header for the row
7. Place your cursor before the first line and use the space bar to move it to the right side
3. Now press the enter key. Finally, your header cell will be split and will appear like in the image shown below.
