How to Hide Page Numbers in Excel Before Printing

To hide page numbers that will print from an Excel worksheet, open Page Layout > Page Setup using the small dialog launcher, choose the Header/Footer tab, and set the header or footer containing the number to (none). If you only see a large Page 1 label over the worksheet, switch to View > Normal instead; that label is a page-break preview overlay, not a printed page number. The steps below cover both cases in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows.

What You’ll Need

An Excel workbook you can edit and, ideally, a printer or a way to open Print Preview.
The desktop version of Excel for the full header and footer controls described here. If you use Excel for the web and cannot access those controls, open the workbook in the desktop app.

You do not need to change the worksheet data or delete rows to remove page numbering. Save a copy first if the workbook has carefully formatted print settings, so you can restore them easily if needed.

Step-by-Step

Decide which kind of page number you are seeing. If a number appears at the top or bottom of a printed page or in Print Preview, it is probably in a header or footer. If the worksheet itself has a large, faint Page 1 or Page 2 label across the grid, Excel is showing Page Break Preview. That label is only a screen guide and does not print. Identifying the right case avoids changing print settings unnecessarily.
Open the Page Setup controls. In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select the Page Layout tab. In the Page Setup group, click the small diagonal-arrow dialog launcher at the group’s lower-right corner. In the dialog, open the Header/Footer tab. This tab controls the repeating header and footer content used on printed pages.
Remove the header or footer that contains the number. Check the Header and Footer drop-down menus. If one is set to a built-in option such as Page 1 of ?, choose (none). If both are set to (none), the number may be in a custom header or footer; open the relevant drop-down and choose Custom Header or Custom Footer to inspect its sections. The number may be represented by the code &[Page], while the total page count may use &[Pages]. Remove the page-number code from the section where it appears, then confirm the custom dialog and Page Setup dialog with OK. If other text or a logo is in the same header or footer, use the custom editor to remove only the number code rather than choosing (none), which removes the whole header or footer.
Check the worksheet in Print Preview. Choose File > Print to open the preview. Move through several pages using the page navigation controls, since the number might be present only on certain pages or in a different header/footer section. Confirm that the page number has disappeared and that any title, date, or other header/footer content you intended to keep remains. Exit the print screen with the back arrow when you are finished checking.
Use Page Layout view if you want to edit the number directly. Select View > Page Layout. Excel displays the printable pages and their header and footer areas. Click the header or footer section containing the number, select the page-number field or its code, and press Delete or Backspace. Take care to remove only the field if there is other content in that section. Click in the worksheet when done, then return to Print Preview to check the result. This approach is useful when you want to retain a custom header or footer while removing only its numbering.
Hide a Page 1 overlay without changing print settings. If the large page label is visible over the worksheet grid, choose View > Normal. You can also use the Normal view button near the lower-right of the Excel window. The label will disappear, but existing headers, footers, and printed page numbers will remain unchanged. To verify what will actually print, use File > Print.
Save the workbook after verifying the change. Press Ctrl+S on Windows. On Mac, press Command+S. Print settings are saved with the workbook, so saving preserves the change for the next time you or someone else opens it.

Mac and web note: On Excel for Mac, the ribbon labels and dialog placement can vary slightly by release. Look for Page Layout, open Page Setup, and use its Header/Footer controls; Page Layout view is also available for editing header and footer areas. In Excel for the web, printing and page setup options are more limited and may not expose the same custom header/footer editor. If you cannot find the controls, choose the option to open the workbook in the desktop Excel app and make the change there.

Common Mistakes

Confusing the preview label with a printed number: The large, pale Page 1 text is an editing aid in Page Break Preview. It is not a header or footer. Switching to Normal view hides it without affecting the printed output.

Removing too much header or footer content: Choosing (none) clears the entire selected header or footer, not just the page number. If the same area contains a company name, worksheet title, or logo, edit the custom section and delete only the page field. Check all three sections—left, center, and right—because the number may not be in the center.

Checking only the first printed page: A workbook can use different settings for the first page, odd and even pages, or individual worksheets. A number that is absent on page one may still appear later. Preview multiple pages and inspect the relevant options in Page Setup.

Assuming the setting applies to every worksheet: Page setup is often stored separately for each sheet. If a workbook has several tabs, removing the number from one sheet does not necessarily remove it from the others. Select and check each worksheet that you plan to print.

Tips

Keep other print details: When you need to preserve a footer or header, use the custom editor and remove only &[Page]. If the footer says Page 1 of 4, also remove the separator and &[Pages] if you want all numbering text gone.
Check different page sections: In Page Setup, look for options such as Different first page and Different odd and even pages. When enabled, separate header/footer content can be set for those page types. Inspect each one that applies.
Apply a change to several sheets carefully: You can group worksheets by selecting their sheet tabs, then adjust Page Setup. Grouping makes changes apply across the selected sheets, but it can also change other page settings. Ungroup afterward by selecting a sheet that is not part of the group, or right-click a grouped tab and choose Ungroup Sheets.
Use preview as the final check: The worksheet grid does not always show what will print. Print Preview is the practical way to confirm that headers, footers, scaling, and page breaks look right before printing or sharing a PDF.
Know the difference between hiding and deleting: Setting a header or footer to (none) removes its content from the sheet’s print layout, but it does not delete cells or change the data. You can restore a built-in header or footer later through Page Setup.

Troubleshooting

The number is still visible in Print Preview. Return to Page Layout > Page Setup > Header/Footer and check both the header and footer. A page number can sit in the left, center, or right section of a custom header or footer. Also check whether Different first page or Different odd and even pages is enabled, then inspect the corresponding content. Reopen Print Preview after applying the change.

The number disappears from one page but not another. The sheet may have separate first-page or odd/even settings, or the printed pages may come from different worksheet tabs. Inspect each page type and each sheet you intend to print. If you grouped sheets while editing, confirm that all intended sheets were selected and that they are now ungrouped.

The page number is not in Header/Footer settings. Check the other control. For example, if the Header menu shows (none), inspect the Footer menu and its custom sections. Also confirm whether you are looking at a large Page 1 overlay in Page Break Preview; use View > Normal to hide that screen label. If the number is actually a value typed into a worksheet cell, it is cell content rather than an automatic print page number. Find the cell in the worksheet and edit or clear that content only if it is safe to do so.

You cannot find the Page Setup dialog launcher. Maximize the Excel window or widen the ribbon, since a narrow window can collapse ribbon groups. You can also open the Page Layout tab and look for the Page Setup group. On Mac, use the Page Layout and Page Setup controls available in your Excel release. In the browser version, open the workbook in desktop Excel if the header/footer editing controls are unavailable.

The change does not appear to save. Confirm that you have permission to edit the workbook and that you saved the correct file. If several copies are open, check the file name and location in the title bar. Make the change, save, close and reopen the workbook if needed, then check Print Preview again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will hiding page numbers change the worksheet or its data?
No. Removing a header or footer page-number field changes the print layout, not cell values, formulas, or the worksheet’s data. Switching from Page Break Preview to Normal changes only the on-screen view.

How do I remove page numbers but keep the total page count?
Open the custom header or footer and remove the page-number field, usually shown as &[Page]. Leave &[Pages] in place if you want the total number of pages to remain. Check Print Preview to confirm the remaining text reads as intended.

Can I hide the number on only the first page?
Yes. In Page Setup, open Header/Footer and enable Different first page. Then leave the first-page header or footer empty while keeping numbering in the regular header or footer. Preview the first and following pages to confirm the distinction.

Why does the page number return when I print another worksheet?
Each worksheet can have its own header and footer settings. Removing the number on one tab may not change the other tabs. Select each sheet you plan to print and inspect its Page Setup options, or apply settings to a carefully selected group of sheets.

Does choosing Normal view remove page numbers from a PDF?
No. Normal view only hides the large page labels shown in Page Break Preview. To remove page numbers from a PDF or printout, edit the worksheet’s header/footer settings and verify the result in Print Preview before exporting or printing.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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