Remove Header and Footer from Excel in n8n

Remove Header/Footer is a PDF4me Excel operation in n8n that clears the left, center, and right sections of Excel headers and footers independently, on one worksheet or the whole workbook. Use it to strip old branding before a rebrand, clean up templates for reuse, or sanitize internal markings before sending a workbook to a client.

What this node does

PDF4me Excel: Remove Header/Footer clears Excel page headers and footers section by section. Six independent toggles cover the left, center, and right positions of both the header and the footer, so you can strip a logo from one corner while leaving a page number in another untouched. Target Worksheet Name applies the removal to a single sheet, or to every sheet when left blank.

Authenticating Your API Request

Every PDF4me node in n8n requires a valid Credential to connect with. Create or select one holding your PDF4me API key so the workflow can authenticate cleanup requests securely.

Get your API Key

Important Facts You Should Not Miss

Six toggles, all independent and off by default

Remove Header Left, Center, Right and Remove Footer Left, Center, Right each default to false. Nothing is removed unless you explicitly switch a section on.

Empty Target Worksheet Name means every sheet

Leaving Target Worksheet Name blank applies the removal workbook-wide and the response reports applyToAllWorksheets true. Naming a sheet restricts it to that one worksheet.

Different sheets need separate node runs

Target Worksheet Name takes one sheet or all sheets, not a mixed list. Chain a second Remove Header/Footer node when different worksheets need different sections removed.

PDF4me Excel node in n8n set to Operation Remove Header/Footer, Excel File Input Method From Previous Node (Binary Data), Binary Data Property Name data, Remove Header Left Center Right and Remove Footer Left Center Right toggles all off, Output File Name excel_without_header_footer.xlsx, Source Document Name myExcelFile.xlsx, Output Binary Data Name data, Target Worksheet Name field — PDF4me Excel Remove Header/Footer parameters panel in n8n

What Parameters Does Remove Header/Footer Need?

Required: Operation, Excel File Input Method, the input field matching that method, and Output File Name. All six section-removal toggles default to false, and Target Worksheet Name, Culture Name, Source Document Name, and Output Binary Data Name are optional.

Parameter	Required	What it does	Example
Operation	Required	Selects the PDF4me Excel action to run. Choose Remove Header/Footer.	`Remove Header/Footer`
Excel File Input Method	Required	How the workbook reaches the node. From Previous Node (Binary Data) reads it from an upstream item; the dropdown also offers base64 and file URL alternatives.	`From Previous Node (Binary Data)`
Binary Data Property Name	Conditional	Name of the binary property on the incoming n8n item holding the .xlsx workbook. Applies when the input method is binary data. Defaults to data.	`data`
Remove Header Left	Optional	Clears the left section of the page header. Default false.	`true`
Remove Header Center	Optional	Clears the center section of the page header. Default false.	`true`
Remove Header Right	Optional	Clears the right section of the page header. Default false.	`false`
Remove Footer Left	Optional	Clears the left section of the page footer. Default false.	`true`
Remove Footer Center	Optional	Clears the center section of the page footer. Default false.	`true`
Remove Footer Right	Optional	Clears the right section of the page footer. Default false.	`false`
Output File Name	Required	Filename for the cleaned workbook the node returns. Include the .xlsx extension.	`excel_without_header_footer.xlsx`
Source Document Name	Optional	Reference label for the incoming workbook. Echoed back as originalFileName for tracking; it does not change the output.	`myExcelFile.xlsx`
Output Binary Data Name	Optional	Name of the binary property the output item exposes. Defaults to data.	`data`
Target Worksheet Name	Optional	Name of the single worksheet to process. Leave blank to apply the removal to every worksheet.	`Sheet1`
Culture Name	Optional	Locale used while processing the workbook, relevant when header or footer text includes locale-sensitive placeholders.	`en-US`

Output Fields

A successful run returns one n8n item carrying JSON metadata plus the cleaned workbook as binary data.

Field	Type	What it contains
`success`	Boolean	True when the removal ran successfully. Use it to route error-handling branches.
`fileName`	String	Filename of the cleaned workbook, matching Output File Name.
`fileSize`	Number	Size of the returned workbook in bytes.
`originalFileName`	String	The value supplied in Source Document Name, echoed back for tracking.
`removeHeaderLeft`	Boolean	Whether the left header section was removed.
`removeHeaderCenter`	Boolean	Whether the center header section was removed.
`removeHeaderRight`	Boolean	Whether the right header section was removed.
`removeFooterLeft`	Boolean	Whether the left footer section was removed.
`removeFooterCenter`	Boolean	Whether the center footer section was removed.
`removeFooterRight`	Boolean	Whether the right footer section was removed.
`worksheetName`	String	The worksheet the removal targeted, matching Target Worksheet Name.
`applyToAllWorksheets`	Boolean	True when the removal applied to every worksheet, false when only the named worksheet was processed.
`message`	String	Human-readable result message for the operation.
`Binary (data)`	Binary	The cleaned .xlsx under Output Binary Data Name (default data). Pass into Write Binary File, Email, or a cloud-storage upload.

N8N Action Response

JSON
Schema
Binary

JSON Response Format

[
  {
    "fileName": "excel_without_header_footer.xlsx",
    "fileSize": 212810,
    "success": true,
    "originalFileName": "myExcelFile.xlsx",
    "removeHeaderLeft": false,
    "removeHeaderCenter": false,
    "removeHeaderRight": false,
    "removeFooterLeft": false,
    "removeFooterCenter": false,
    "removeFooterRight": false,
    "worksheetName": "Sheet1",
    "applyToAllWorksheets": false,
    "message": "Header and footer removed from Excel file successfully"
  }
]

Schema View

1 item
fileName: T excel_without_header_footer.xlsx
fileSize: # 212810
success: true
originalFileName: T myExcelFile.xlsx
removeHeaderLeft: false
removeHeaderCenter: false
removeHeaderRight: false
removeFooterLeft: false
removeFooterCenter: false
removeFooterRight: false
worksheetName: T Sheet1
applyToAllWorksheets: false
message: T Header and footer removed from Excel file successfully

Type Indicators: T = String, # = Number.

Binary Data View

data
File Name: excel_without_header_footer.xlsx
File Extension: xlsx
Mime Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
File Size: 212.8 kB

Binary Data Access: reach the workbook at $binary.data.data, ready for download, email, or storage.

How Do I Set Up Remove Header/Footer in n8n?

Add the PDF4me Excel node to your workflow and set Operation to Remove Header/Footer.
In Credential to connect with, select your PDF4me API credential or create one with your API key.
Set Excel File Input Method to From Previous Node (Binary Data) and set Binary Data Property Name to the property holding the workbook, normally data.
Switch on the section toggles you need: Remove Header Left, Center, Right and Remove Footer Left, Center, Right.
Set Target Worksheet Name to a specific sheet, or leave it blank for the whole workbook.
Optionally set Culture Name for locale-sensitive header or footer text.
Set Output File Name ending in .xlsx, execute the node, and route the cleaned workbook onward.

Typical Setups

Workflow ExamplesCommon n8n workflow patterns using Remove Header/Footer for Excel.

Strip old branding before a rebrand

A batch job pulls legacy report templates from a shared drive.
Remove Header/Footer runs with Remove Header Center and Remove Footer Center on to clear the old logo text.
PDF4me Excel Add Text Header Footer applies the new branding afterward.

Sanitize internal notes before client delivery

A webhook fires when a report is marked ready for external delivery.
Remove Header/Footer clears Remove Header Left, where internal reviewer initials were placed.
The sanitized workbook is emailed to the client.

Reset a template for reuse

A completed project workbook is copied to a templates folder.
All six section toggles run true, wiping every header and footer section.
The blank-header template is stored for the next project.

Clean only the summary sheet

A multi-sheet workbook carries raw data tabs plus a summary sheet.
Target Worksheet Name is set to Summary so raw data tabs keep their headers.
The cleaned summary sheet is exported to PDF for distribution.

Practical Tips

Only toggle what needs clearing

All six removal flags default to false. Turning on Remove Header Center alone leaves the left and right header sections, and the entire footer, untouched.

Blank Target Worksheet Name means every sheet

There is no separate all-worksheets toggle. Leaving the field empty is what triggers workbook-wide removal.

One worksheet per run

To apply different section removals to different sheets, add a second Remove Header/Footer node rather than trying to list multiple sheet names in one field.

Check applyToAllWorksheets in the response

The output field confirms whether the removal actually ran workbook-wide or was scoped to one sheet, useful for logging in larger workflows.

Output File Name needs the .xlsx extension

Omitting it can leave downstream nodes unable to detect the format when writing or emailing the file.

Source Document Name is reference-only

It is echoed back as originalFileName for tracking and does not affect which sections are removed.

Cheat Sheet

Field	Value
Operation	`Remove Header/Footer`
Excel File Input Method	`From Previous Node (Binary Data)`
Binary Data Property Name	`data`
Remove Header Left / Center / Right	`true / true / false (example)`
Remove Footer Left / Center / Right	`true / true / false (example)`
Target Worksheet Name	`(blank for all worksheets)`
Culture Name	`en-US`
Output File Name	`excel_without_header_footer.xlsx`
Source Document Name	`myExcelFile.xlsx`
Output Binary Data Name	`data`
Credentials	`PDF4me API credential`

Common Questions

Do I have to remove every header and footer section at once?+

No. Remove Header Left, Center, Right and Remove Footer Left, Center, Right are six independent toggles. Turn on only the sections that need clearing, for example just Remove Header Center to drop a company name while leaving page numbers in the footer untouched.

What happens if I leave Target Worksheet Name empty?+

The operation applies the selected removals to every worksheet in the workbook, and the response reports applyToAllWorksheets true. Entering a specific sheet name restricts the operation to that single worksheet, and the response echoes it back as worksheetName.

Can I remove headers from one sheet and footers from another in a single run?+

Not in one execution, since Target Worksheet Name accepts a single sheet or all sheets. Chain two Remove Header/Footer nodes in the workflow, each with a different Target Worksheet Name and a different set of section toggles, to apply distinct removals per sheet.

Does removing a header section delete the whole header row?+

No. Excel headers and footers are split into three independent sections, left, center, and right, that print in fixed positions on the page. Clearing one section leaves the other two intact, so a page number in the right footer can survive while a left footer note is removed.

What is Culture Name used for here?+

Culture Name sets the locale applied while the workbook is processed, useful when header or footer text includes locale-sensitive placeholders such as dates. Leaving it empty uses the default culture.

Add Text Header/Footer

The natural follow-up after clearing old sections, adding fresh header or footer text.

Add Image Header/Footer

Places a logo image into a header or footer section, often used right after old text is removed.

Add Text Watermark to Excel

A different way to mark a cleaned workbook, stamping text across the sheet body instead of the page margins.