How to Remove Header and Footer in Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide

Headers and footers in Excel add page numbers, dates, file names, or titles to printed pages. They usually appear only in Page Layout view, Print Preview, and on printed output—not in Normal view. If you need a clean printout or want to stop repeating old titles across pages, clear the header and footer for the worksheet.

This guide covers Microsoft Excel (desktop), WPS Spreadsheet, and Google Sheets print settings. If you also need to add headers later, see how to add a header and footer in Excel.

How to Remove Header and Footer in Microsoft Excel

Use any of the methods below. Method 1 is usually the fastest when you just want them gone. Method 2 is best when you want to see and edit the header boxes on the page. These steps apply to modern Excel for Windows (including Microsoft 365); menu labels may vary slightly by version.

Method 1: Clear Header/Footer in Page Setup

1. Open the workbook and select the worksheet you want to clean up.

2. Go to the Page Layout tab.

3. In the Page Setup group, click the small dialog launcher arrow in the bottom-right corner (not a ribbon button labeled “Header/Footer”).

   

4. Open the Header/Footer tab.

5. Set Header to (none) and Footer to (none).

6. Click OK.

Method 2: Delete Header and Footer in Page Layout View

1. Go to the View tab and choose Page Layout (or use the Page Layout icon on the status bar).

2. Click inside the left, center, or right header box at the top of the page, select the text or codes (such as &[Page]), and press Delete or Backspace.

3. Scroll to the footer area and clear the left, center, and right boxes the same way.

4. Click any cell to leave the header/footer area, then switch back to Normal view if you prefer.

Method 3: Use Insert > Header & Footer

1. Go to Insert > Header & Footer. Excel switches to Page Layout view.

2. Select each header or footer text box and delete the content.

3. Return to View > Normal when finished.

Remove Headers and Footers from Multiple Sheets

1. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) and click the sheet tabs you want to update, or right-click a tab and choose Select All Sheets.

2. Open Page Layout > Page Setup dialog launcher > Header/Footer.

3. Set Header and Footer to (none), then click OK.

4. Right-click a sheet tab and choose Ungroup Sheets so later edits do not apply to every selected sheet.

How to Remove Header and Footer in WPS Spreadsheet

If you open the same .xlsx file in WPS Spreadsheet, you can clear print headers and footers with steps similar to Excel:

1. Open your workbook in WPS Spreadsheet.

2. Click the Page Layout tab.

3. Open Page Setup.

4. Select the Header/Footer tab.

5. Clear or disable the Header and Footer options (set them to none / uncheck as shown in your version).

6. Click OK and check Print Preview to confirm the pages are clean.

WPS Spreadsheet keeps a familiar ribbon layout, so Excel users can usually finish this task without relearning the whole interface.

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How to Clear Print Headers and Footers in Google Sheets

Google Sheets does not use Excel-style worksheet header/footer fields in the same way. What most people need is clearing print headers and footers:

1. Open the file in Google Sheets (upload the Excel file if needed).

2. Go to File > Print.

3. Open Headers & footers.

4. Turn off options such as page numbers, workbook title, sheet name, and current date/time, or choose custom fields and delete the text.

5. Confirm the preview, then print or save as PDF.

Note: clearing Google Sheets print headers does not change Excel header/footer fields stored inside a native Excel workbook until you reopen and save that workbook in Excel or WPS Spreadsheet.

FAQs

Why can’t I see the header or footer in Excel?

Headers and footers are hidden in Normal view. Switch to Page Layout view or open Print Preview to see them.

Does removing a header delete my spreadsheet data?

No. Header and footer content sits in the page layout area. Clearing it does not delete cell values, formulas, or charts.

How do I remove only the first-page header?

In Page Setup > Header/Footer, enable Different first page, then clear the first-page header/footer boxes while leaving other pages unchanged—or set everything to (none) if you want a fully clean printout.

Conclusion

To remove a header and footer in Excel, clear them in Page Setup, delete the boxes in Page Layout view, or use Insert > Header & Footer. For the same workbook in WPS Spreadsheet, use Page Layout > Page Setup > Header/Footer. For Google Sheets, adjust print headers and footers under File > Print.

If you want a free spreadsheet app with Excel-like menus for everyday editing and printing, try WPS Spreadsheet.