Add Headers and Footers to Notes and Handout Pages in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac

Unlike slides which are primarily presented through a display device such as a monitor, TV screen, webinar, or a projector, Notes and Handout pages in PowerPoint are essentially intended for printing. Alternatively, they are shared as eco-friendly PDFs. These printed pages or PDFs often accompany a delivered presentation, or in some cases, they comprise the presentation. In this tutorial, we will explore how you can add Headers and Footers to make your Notes and Handout pages more professional-looking, relevant, and useful.

The terms Header and Footer typically come from word processing programs. They denote repeated elements that show at the top and bottom of every page. Headers and Footers work similarly on PowerPoint Notes and Handout pages. Explore Figure 1, below, where all Header and Footer elements that you can place in Notes (left side) and Handouts (right side) are shown.

Figure 1: Header and Footer elements in Notes and Handouts

Typically, the term Header and Footer denotes four placeholders:

A. Date

Date, marked in blue within Figure 1, above.

B. Footer

Footer, marked in orange within Figure 1. You can add a message, a company name, or anything you want to be visible on all slides here.

C. Page number

Page number, marked in green within Figure 1.

D. Header

Header, marked in red within Figure 1. You can add a message, a company name, or anything you want to be visible on all slides here.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make these Header and Footer elements visible on your slides in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac:

1. Open the presentation where you want to add any Header or Footer elements. Choose the Insert tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.
2. 
   Figure 2: Insert tab of the Ribbon
2. Within the Insert tab, click the Header & Footer button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.
3. 
   Figure 3: Header & Footer button

Alternate Options

You can also click the Date & Time or Slide Number buttons, to summon the same Header and Footer dialog box.
3. Doing so brings up the Header and Footer dialog box, as shown in Figure 4, below. Make sure you select the Notes and Handouts tab, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 4.
4. 
   Figure 4: Notes and Handouts tab within Header and Footer dialog box
5. Note that the options you select or deselect within this tab will affect the Notes and Handout pages you see onscreen or print. All these options are explained below, as marked in Figure 4, above:

A. Date and time

6. Select this check-box to make the date appear on your Handout and Notes pages. Then, choose whether you want the Date and time to Update Automatically, or set them to Fixed, to achieve any of the results explained below:

Update Automatically

7. Select this radio button and then open the drop-down list, as shown in Figure 5, below, to choose a date (or date and time) format.
8. 
   Figure 5: Date (or date and time) format drop-down list

Fixed

9. Select this radio button and enter a date in the box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6, below. By default, this uses the current date. Also, the date remains the same no matter when or where you edit or deliver your presentation.
10. 
    Figure 6: Fixed radio button selected

'Fixed' Can be Anything

If you choose the Fixed option, you can actually add anything else, even if it is not a date! Type whatever you want to appear within the Date placeholder.

B. Page number

11. Select this check-box to enable the page number to be visible on your Notes and Handout pages.

C. Header

12. Select this check-box, highlighted in blue within Figure 6, shown previously on this page. Doing so will make the Header visible on the Notes and Handout page in your presentation. Additionally, when this check-box is selected, the box below gets activated, and you can enter the text content of the header. Typically, users like to type in stuff like the company name in this area.

D. Footer

13. This check-box is highlighted in green within Figure 6, shown previously on this page. When selected, this option makes the Footer visible on Notes and Handout pages in your presentation. Additionally, when this check-box is selected, the box below gets activated, and you can enter the text content of the footer. Typically, users like to type in stuff like Confidential, Draft, etc. in this area, or even copyright notices.
14. You can similarly add and edit Headers and Footers in your slides. Look at our Add Headers and Footers to Slides in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac tutorial to learn more.
4. Now, click the Apply to All button to apply the Header or Footer to Notes and Handout pages in your presentation.
5. Save your presentation often.