How to Add the Workbook Path to the Footer

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. The following macro adds the current path and file name to the left footer of the active worksheet. The workbook must be saved before you can add any path information to the footer.

Sub UpdateFooter()
   ActiveSheet.PageSetup.LeftFooter = ActiveWorkbook.FullName
End Sub
				

To insert a Visual Basic module into a workbook in Microsoft Excel versions 5.0 and 7.0, click the Insert menu, point to Macro, and click Module. In Excel 97 for Windows, press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor; then, click Module on the Insert menu.

Before you run the macro, switch to the workbook and the sheet for which you want to display the path in the footer. After you run the macro, the footer should contain the complete path and file name of the workbook.

Alternative Method for Excel 97

You can also use the BeforePrint workbook event to run a Sub procedure that adds the current path and file name to the left footer of the active worksheet before the workbook is printed. The workbook must be saved before you can add any path information to the footer. To create the Sub procedure in the active workbook, follow these steps:

1. Press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the Project Explorer window of the Visual Basic Editor, double-click ThisWorkbook in the current project.
   
   This opens a module for code that is associated with the workbook.
   
   NOTE: If the Project Explorer window is not visible, click Project Explorer on the View menu.
3. In the Object list for this module, click Workbook.
4. In the Procedure list for this module, click BeforePrint.
5. Enter the code so that the Workbook_BeforePrint procedure resembles the following:

   Private Sub Workbook_BeforePrint(Cancel As Boolean)
       ActiveSheet.PageSetup.LeftFooter = ThisWorkbook.FullName
   End Sub
   					

6. On the File menu, click Close and Return to Microsoft Excel.

When you print the workbook, the footer is automatically updated before the workbook is printed.

NOTE: Before printing, make sure to save the workbook or the entire path and file name will not appear.

Using Ampersand (&) in the File Name

In Excel 7.0 and later, if the file name contains an ampersand (&), it may not display correctly. This is because Excel treats the ampersand as a special character in the header and footer. To display an ampersand in the header and footer, repeat the ampersand twice (&&). To do this in the macro, use the Replace function in Visual Basic for Applications:

Sub UpdateFooter()
    ActiveSheet.PageSetup.LeftFooter = Replace(ActiveWorkbook.FullName, "&", "&&")
End Sub