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How to find and replace in header or footer in Excel?

Author Sun Last modified

Finding a specific value and replacing it with another is a common task in Excel, but the standard Find and Replace function works only within selections, sheets, and workbooks, not in headers and footers. In this article, I'll introduce a macro code to find and replace values in headers and footers.

Find and replace in header or footer with VBA

arrow blue right bubble Find and replace in header or footer with VBA

1. Activate the sheet where you want to find and replace text in the header and footer, press Alt + F11 keys to open Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

2. Click Insert > Module, and paste below VBA code to the Module. See screenshot:

VBA: Find and replace in header and footer

Sub FnR_HF()
'UpdateByExtendoffice20160623
    Dim xStr As String, xRep As String
    'Const csTITLE As String = "Find and Replace"
    On Error Resume Next
    xStr = Application.InputBox("Replace what", "Kutools for Excel", , , , , 2)
    If xStr = "" Then Exit Sub
    xRep = Application.InputBox("With what", , "Kutools for Excel", , , , , 2)
    With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
        ' Substitute Header/Footer values
        .LeftHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.LeftHeader, xStr, xRep)
        .CenterHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.CenterHeader, xStr, xRep)
        .RightHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.RightHeader, xStr, xRep)
        .LeftFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.LeftFooter, xStr, xRep)
        .CenterFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.CenterFooter, xStr, xRep)
        .RightFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.RightFooter, xStr, xRep)
    End With
End Sub

A screenshot of the VBA code editor

3. Then press F5 key to run the code, then a dialog pops out for you to enter the text you want to find. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the dialog box for entering text to find in the Excel header/footer

4. Click OK, and another dialog pops out to enter the text you want to replace with. See screenshot:
A screenshot of the dialog box for entering text to replace in the Excel header/footer

5. Click OK. Now the values “KTE” have been replaced with “Kutools for Excel” in header and footer.
A screenshot showing the replaced text in the Excel header/footer

Tip: If you want to apply this to the entire workbook, you can use the macro code below.

Sub FnR_HF()
'UpdateByExtendoffice20171122
    Dim I As Long
    Dim xStr As String, xRep As String
    'Const csTITLE As String = "Find and Replace"
    On Error Resume Next
    xStr = Application.InputBox("Replace what", "Kutools for Excel", , , , , 2)
    If xStr = "" Then Exit Sub
    xRep = Application.InputBox("With what", , "Kutools for Excel", , , , , 2)
    For I = 1 To ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Count
        With Sheets(I).PageSetup
            ' Substitute Header/Footer values
            .LeftHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.LeftHeader, xStr, xRep)
            .CenterHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.CenterHeader, xStr, xRep)
            .RightHeader = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.RightHeader, xStr, xRep)
            .LeftFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.LeftFooter, xStr, xRep)
            .CenterFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.CenterFooter, xStr, xRep)
            .RightFooter = Application.WorksheetFunction.Substitute(.RightFooter, xStr, xRep)
        End With
    Next
End Sub

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