Get an Ampersand into an Excel Header

Q. The name of my firm is Jones & Jones. But when I try to put it in an Excel header, it comes out Jones Jones—no ampersand. How can I add the ampersand?

A. I know it sounds like a silly omission on the part of Microsoft. Actually, it has something to do with the fact that Excel uses the ampersand in its command code. But there is a way to get around the problem. If you put two ampersands, one after the other with no space between them, you can fool Excel to print just one.

For those who don’t know how to set up a header in Excel, follow these steps. After creating the spreadsheet, go to File, Page Setup, Header/Footer tab and then click on Custom Header and in the right, center or left box type Jones && Jones.

You can format the name as you wish with the format A button right above the three sections. When done, click on OK .

To check that you did it correctly, go to File, Print Preview . Jones & Jones should be at the top of the spreadsheet.