By default, when you print a web page in Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge, a header containing the page title and the page number and total number of pages and a footer containing the URL of the page and the date is added to the printed web page.

Header and footer in IE print preview

Table of Contents

    Turn Off Headers/Footers in IE

    The header and footer can be easily customized or removed completely. To do this select Print | Page Setup from the gear menu in the upper, right corner of the Internet Explorer window.

    Selecting Page Setup from the Tools menu

    The Page Setup dialog box displays. In the Headers and Footers box, there are three drop-down lists under Header and three more under Footer. The first drop-down list under each heading specifies the text that displays on the left side of the printed web page. The second drop-down list specifies the text that displays in the middle and the third drop-down list specifies the text that displays on the right side of the page.

    You can select to display the title of the web page, the URL of the web page, the page number, the total number of pages, and the date and time. To display custom text in any part of the header or footer, select Custom from the appropriate drop-down list.

    Selecting Custom left item in Header

    The Custom dialog box displays. Enter the text you want to display on the header or footer in the edit box and click OK.

    Entering custom text

    Click OK on the Page Setup dialog box to accept your changes and close the dialog box.

    Closing the Page Setup dialog box

    To view your changed headers and footers, select Print | Print preview from the gear menu in the upper, right corner of the Internet Explorer window.

    Selecting Print Preview from the Tools menu

    The custom text you entered displays on the page in the Print Preview window.

    Print Preview with custom text on left side of header

    On the Print Preview window, you can disable all the headers and footers easily with one click. Click the Turn headers and footers on or off button on the toolbar. You can also press Alt + E to do this.

    Turning off all headers and footers

    If you change your mind and want to change the headers and footers again, you can easily access the Page Setup dialog box from the Print Preview window. Simply, click the Page Setup button or press Alt + U.

    Opening Page Setup from Print Preview window

    To close the Print Preview window, click the X button in the upper, right corner of the window.

    Closing Print Preview

    There is also a Font button below the Header drop-down menus on the Page Setup dialog box that allows you to change the font used in the headers and footers.

    Turn Off Headers/Footers in Edge

    If you are using Microsoft Edge, you can turn off headers and footers, but it’s a slightly different process. First, click on the settings icons at the far right and then click on Print.

    Change or Remove Headers and Footers When Printing in Internet Explorer or Edge image 11

    On the following print dialog, you should see an option all the way at the bottom called Headers and Footers. Choose Off from the drop-down list.

    Change or Remove Headers and Footers When Printing in Internet Explorer or Edge image 12

    There aren’t any other options as you with Internet Explorer. In IE, you can add custom text and a lot of other preset data to the header and footer, but in Edge, it’s either On or Off. Enjoy!