How to Insert Headers and Footers in Excel via Java

Headers and footers are commonly used in Excel documents to display supplementary information such as dates, company names, logos, or author details. This article demonstrates how to programmatically add headers and footers to Excel files using Java, covering uniform layouts, distinct odd/even pages, and unique first-page setups

Prerequisites

Before running the code, you need to add the required JAR library to your IDE. You can either download the Free Spire.XLS for Java package from the official website, extract it, and manually import Spire.Xls.jar from the lib folder; or (recommended) install it directly via a Maven repository. For Maven projects, simply add the following configuration to your pom.xml file and click "Import Changes":

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
        <url>http://repo.e-iceblue.cn/repository/maven-public/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
        <artifactId>spire.xls.free</artifactId>
        <version>2.2.0</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Adding Text and Image Headers/Footers

Free Spire.XLS for Java supports adding both text and images to headers and footers. You can precisely control the alignment (left, center, right) as well as the text font, size, and color.

Note: Excel headers and footers are invisible in the Normal view mode. They only appear in Page Layout mode or Print Preview mode.

import com.spire.xls.*;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.*;

public class HeaderFooter {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Load the sample Excel document
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
        workbook.loadFromFile("Test.xlsx");

        // Get the first worksheet
        Worksheet worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Add text to header/footer and configure font, size, color, and alignment
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setRightHeader("&\"Microsoft YaHei\"&14 Tech Corp Ltd.");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setRightFooter("&\"Microsoft YaHei\"&12&B&KFF0000 Note: Internal Staff Only");
        
        // Load the image
        BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(new File("Image.png"));

        // Add the image to the header and set alignment
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setLeftHeaderImage(image);
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setLeftHeader("&G"); // &G triggers the image rendering
        
        // Add the image to the footer (Optional)
        // worksheet.getPageSetup().setCenterFooterImage(image);
        // worksheet.getPageSetup().setCenterFooter("&G");

        // Set the view mode to Page Layout to make headers/footers visible
        worksheet.setViewMode(ViewMode.Layout);

        // Save the document
        workbook.saveToFile("output/HeaderFooter.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2010);
    }
}

Different Headers/Footers for Odd and Even Pages

Free Spire.XLS for Java provides the setDifferentOddEven method to apply separate headers and footers for odd and even pages. Text formatting like font, size, and color can also be customized simultaneously.

import com.spire.xls.*;

public class DifferentHeaderFooter {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Load the sample Excel document
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
        workbook.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Test1\\Desktop\\Test.xlsx");
      
        // Get the first worksheet
        Worksheet worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Set up content across multiple pages for demonstration
        worksheet.getCellRange("A1").setText("Page 1");
        worksheet.getCellRange("M1").setText("Page 2");

        // Set setDifferentOddEven to 1, enabling separate headers/footers for odd and even pages
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setDifferentOddEven((byte)1);

        // Configure headers, footers, styles, and colors for odd and even pages
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setOddHeaderString("&\"Arial\"&20&B&K191970 Odd_Header");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setOddFooterString("&\"Arial\"&20&B&K191970 Odd_Footer");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setEvenHeaderString("&\"Arial\"&20&B&KFF0000 Even_Header");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setEvenFooterString("&\"Arial\"&20&B&KFF0000 Even_Footer");

        // Set the view mode
        worksheet.setViewMode(ViewMode.Layout);

        // Save the document
        workbook.saveToFile("output/DifferentHeaderFooter.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2010);
    }
}

Different Headers/Footers for the First Page and Subsequent Pages

If you want to apply a unique style to the cover or first page while keeping a consistent style for the rest of the document, use the setDifferentFirst method.

import com.spire.xls.*;

public class DifferentHeaderFooterOnFirstPage {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Load the sample Excel document
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
        workbook.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Test1\\Desktop\\Test.xlsx");
        
        // Get the first worksheet
        Worksheet worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Set up content across multiple pages
        worksheet.getCellRange("A1").setText("Page 1");
        worksheet.getCellRange("M1").setText("Page 2");

        // Set setDifferentFirst to 1, allowing separate configuration for the first page
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setDifferentFirst((byte)1);

        // Configure header, footer, styles, and colors for the first page
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setFirstHeaderString("&\"Arial\"&B&20&KFF0000 FirstPage_Header");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setFirstFooterString("&\"Arial\"&B&20&KFF0000 FirstPage_Footer");

        // Configure header, footer, styles, and colors for subsequent pages
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setCenterHeader("&\"Arial\"&B&20&K191970 OtherPages_Header");
        worksheet.getPageSetup().setCenterFooter("&\"Arial\"&B&20&K191970 OtherPages_Footer");

        // Save the document
        workbook.saveToFile("output/DifferentHeaderFooterOnFirstPage.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);
    }
}

Conclusion

With the above code examples, you can easily integrate custom headers and footers into your Excel workbooks. Additionally, for more tailored document requirements, the API seamlessly supports variations like odd/even page differentiation, unique first-page templates, and advanced text formatting (fonts, sizes, colors, etc.).