Left/Right-Aligned Header/Footer Text Ignores Margins

When you print your worksheet, headers and footers that you have applied to the worksheet may print outside of the margins that you have set for the worksheet.

In Microsoft Excel, the header and footer on your worksheet always use a left and right margin of 0.75 inch. Because of this, left-aligned text in the header or footer always begins 0.75 inches from the left edge of the page, regardless of the left margin setting. Similarly, right-aligned text will always print 0.75 inches from the right side of the page.

Although you cannot change these margins, you can create wider margins by adding extra spaces to the header or footer ("padding").

To pad the left header or footer, you can add spaces before the text. However, because the right header or footer ignores trailing spaces, you must use a nonbreaking space to allow the spaces to be maintained when you add them to the end of your footer.

To pad the right header or footer with spaces, use the appropriate following method.

Microsoft Excel Version 7.0, Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows and Microsoft Excel 2000

1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
2. Click the Header/Footer tab, and then click Custom Header or Custom Footer.
3. Type in the text or control codes that you want to appear in the header or footer followed by space characters to pad the text on the right. (Note that the spaces will not appear at the end of the text.)
4. To enter a nonbreaking space, press and hold down the ALT key and type 0160 on the numeric keypad. Note that NUM LOCK must be turned on in order for this procedure to work.

Typing 0160 will insert a nonbreaking space at the end of the right header or footer.

The spaces at the end of the text string should now appear and will be applied to the printed output.

Microsoft Excel 5.0 for Windows

1. On the File menu, click Page Setup, click the Header/Footer tab, and click the Customize button.
2. Click the Right Section.
3. Type in the text or control codes that you want to appear in the header, followed by space characters to pad the text on the right. Note that the spaces will not appear at the end of the text.
4. To enter a nonbreaking space, press and hold down the ALT key and type 0160 On the numeric keypad. Note that NUM LOCK must be turned on in order for this procedure to work.

Typing 0160 will insert a nonbreaking space at the end of the right header or footer.

The spaces at the end of the text string appear and are applied to the printed output.

Microsoft Excel 4.0 for Windows

1. From the File menu, choose Page Setup.
2. Click the Header or Footer button.
3. Select the Right Section.
4. Type in the text or control codes that you want to appear in the header or footer.
5. To enter a nonbreaking space, press and hold down the ALT key and type 0160 on the numeric keypad. Note that NUM LOCK must be turned on in order for this procedure to work.

The spaces at the end of the text string appear on the printout.

Microsoft Excel 5.0 for the Macintosh

1. On the File menu, click Page Setup, click the Header/Footer tab, and then click Custom Header or Custom Footer.
2. Select the Right Section.
3. Type the text or control codes that you want to appear in the header.
4. Press OPTION+SHIFT+SPACEBAR to enter nonbreaking spaces (press this key combination as many times as necessary to insert the number of spaces you want).

The spaces at the end of the text string are applied to the printed output.

Note that when you print to legal size paper, left-aligned text in the header or footer prints approximately one inch from the left side of the page. This is to allow for the limitations of the LaserWriter when printing to legal size paper.

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 5.0, page 243

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 4.0, page 535