Headers and footers in microsoft word

Is this article up to date?

Sometimes you’ve got to make longer documents—such as business reports, school papers, and book-length materials. Microsoft Word headers, footers, and page numbers organize the document and make it easier for your readers to navigate. 

Here are a few good reasons to use Microsoft Word headers, footers, and page numbers:

• Find a page in the document. Imagine trying to find a specific passage in a 250-page document without page numbers! Microsoft Word page numbers update automatically as you add or delete pages. Plus, they’re easy to work with. You’ve got no excuse for not using this useful feature.
• Identify what you’re reading. Headers and footers also help the reader situate themselves in the document. For example, a glance at the footer can remind them that they’re reading Chapter 16 of The Greatest Novel Ever Written.
• Brand the document. Branding is another reason to use headers and footers. Add your organization’s name and logo. And, if you export your Word Doc into a PDF, you can even make the headers and footers clickable (or hyperlinked) to your website.

Insert Microsoft Word headers, footers, and page numbers in your document or start with a Microsoft Word template that includes pre-formatted headers, footers, and page numbers. Envato Elements and GraphicRiver are great sources of templates for Microsoft Word.

In this article, you’ll learn how to work with headers, footers, and page numbers in Microsoft Word. So, you and your readers can reap all their benefits. Let’s get started!

Note: I’m on Microsoft Word for Mac version 16.33. The steps may differ slightly depending on what version of Microsoft Word you’re using.

Your Quick Start Guide to Add Headers, Footers and Page Numbers (Video)

Are you ready to learn more about using headers, footers, and page numbers in Microsoft Word? Watch this quick screencast to learn all about Word headers and footers.

Or, study the complete written tutorial below.

Work With Headers and Footers in MS Word

Adding a Microsoft Word header or footer is quite intuitive. Follow these steps:

1. How to Insert Headers and Footers

To add a header, go to Insert > Header. 

Choose the built-in format you want to use from the menu that appears. You’ve got the option of a blank header, a blank header with three columns, or other built-in styles.

Choose the style you wish to use.

Follow the same steps to add a Microsoft Word footer, but click Insert > Footer instead to get started.

2. How to Insert Text in a Header or Footer

Double-click into the header or footer to open it. Replace the placeholder text, if there’s one, with your own. Otherwise, type your text.

Then, format header or footer text to make it look the way you want. Select the text, then click on the Home tab. From there, change the font, font size, color, and other settings.

To close the header or footer, under the Header & Footer tab, click the Close Header and Footer button. Or, double-click outside the header or footer.

Note: When the header or footer is closed, it’s locked and can’t be edited. Double-click on the header or footer section to open the Header & Footer view.

3. How to Insert the Date or Time in a Header or Footer

To add a date or time in a header or footer, click Insert > Date & Time. 

The Date and Time dialog opens.

Choose the format you wish you use. Check Update automatically, if you want the date and time to update each time you modify the document.

4. How to Insert a Logo in a Header or Footer

Aside from text, you can also insert images in a Microsoft Word header or footer. This is a good opportunity for you to brand your document by including your logo.

To insert a logo, open the header or footer. Double-click at the top (for header) or bottom (for footer) of the document. In this example, I’m adding a logo in the footer.

Click Insert > Pictures > Photo Browser.

Locate the logo on your computer, select the file, then click Insert.

The logo is now in the footer.

Double-click outside the footer or click on the Close Header and Footer button in the ribbon to close it.

Work With Microsoft Word Page Numbers

Page numbers are a common element to include in either the header or footer of your document. To learn how to number pages in Microsoft Word, follow these instructions:

1. How to Insert Page Numbers to a Header or Footer in Word

With the header or footer open, click Insert > Page Numbers …. 

The Page Numbers dialog opens:

Select the settings you want to use. Decide on the page number’s position and alignment.

There’s also a radio button to Show number on first page. By default, this button is unchecked. This means the first page of your document can be its cover, and the page number won’t be displayed on it. If you want the page number to appear on the first page, check this button.

From here, you can also change the format of the page numbers. With the Header & Footer tab open, click Page Number > Format Page Numbers …. 

This opens the page numbering format box, where you can make other settings: 

• Number format allows you to choose from Roman numerals or Arabic numerals or letters
• Include chapter number, if you’ve set up chapters in your document and want to include them in the page numbering, then check this button.
• Page numbering
• Continue from previous section continues the page count from the previous page.
• Start at ___ lets you restart the page count at any number.

After making your settings, click OK to apply.

2. How to Make Page Numbering Not Appear on the First Page 

If you want the first page of your document or section to be the cover page, then you wouldn’t want it to have a page number. To hide the page number from the first page of a document or section, do the following:

Click Insert > Page Numbers ….

The Page Numbers dialog opens. Uncheck the Show number on first page radio button.

Click OK.

3. How to Number Odd and Even Pages Differently

By default, headers and footers appear the same way on odd and even pages, like this:

But sometimes, you may want odd and even pages to appear differently. An example is in the case of books or magazines, where you want the page number to be on the outer edge of the spread when the (printed) document is open.

This is possible in Microsoft Word, where you can format headers, footers, and page numbers differently on odd and even pages.

To do this, double-click inside the header or footer.  This opens the Header & Footer ribbon. Check the button for Different Odd & Even Pages.

Edit your odd and even headers/footers separately. When you’re done, double-click outside the header/footer to close.

Now, the positions of the logo and page numbers are different for odd and even pages on my document:

4. How to Add Different Numbers and Formats to Different Sections

You can also use different page numbers and formats for different sections of your document. For example, in my document I want the page numbers in the Introduction section to be Roman numerals.

First, make sure you’ve broken your document into sections. 

To define a new section, place the cursor where you want a new section to begin. Then, click Insert > Break > Section Break. Choose whether you want the section to begin on the next page, continue on the same page as the previous section, or begin on either an odd or even page.

In this example, I inserted section breaks before and after the Introduction to make it a separate section from the rest of my document.

To double check if you’ve inserted section breaks where you want them, click on the Show/Hide Paragraph button on the ribbon. This displays how your document into paragraphs as well as sections.

Now, you’re ready to format the page numbers in a specific section.

Double-click in the footer part of the page to open the Header & Footer view. Click inside the footer you want to format.

On the Header & Footer ribbon, click Page Number > Format Page Numbers. 

Change the format to the settings you wish to use.

Click OK.

5. How to Control Page Numbers Using Fields

So far, we’ve been using Microsoft Word’s built-in formats for page numbers. For more control over how the page numbers display, use fields. 

Double-click on the top or bottom of page to open the Header & Footer view. In the header or footer, place the cursor where you want to insert the page number.

From the Header & Footer ribbon, click on the Field button. 

The Field dialog box opens. To add a page number, scroll down Categories, and select Numbering. Then, under Field names, select Page.

Click Options to change the number formatting. Make the selections you want to use, then click OK.

6. How to Fix Broken Page Numbers

Sometimes as the document gets larger and new pages and sections are added, page numbering can break. Below are two common page number errors and how to fix them.

Example 1: Page number starts over at 1 in the middle of the document

This can happen when you’ve defined a section, formatted its page number to restart at 1, then inserted a section break again.

Solution:

Examine the section breaks in your document by clicking on the Show/Hide Paragraph button. 

Check how the page numbers are formatted in the section, and make sure to uncheck Start at:___.

Example 2: Word is counting the cover page as page 1

The first page of the document is usually the cover page as well. Naturally, we don’t want it to be included in the page count. But what if your document does? Here’s one way to fix that. 

Solution:

Insert a section break after the cover: click Insert > Break > Section break. Select one of the options that appear.

Check the button for Different First Page.

On the page where you want the page count to begin, go to Page Number > Format Page Numbers. Check the radio button for Start at:___. Type the page number that you want the page count to begin at.

Work With Templates With Header and Footer Designs for Microsoft Word

If you’d rather not make any design and formatting decisions, the easiest thing to do is to start with a Microsoft Word template. A good template comes with header, footer, and page numbers all pre-formatted. These will automatically update as you add or remove pages.

Select a Word template like this e-book template for Microsoft Word that I found in Envato Elements.

If you want to edit the header, footer, or page number, click into the header/footer to open it. Make the changes you want to make following the relevant steps above. 

When you’re done, double-click outside the header/footer to close it.

Work With Other Header Options and Change Designs

Microsoft Word headers and footers also come with built-in designs for you to choose from.

To select one, click in the header or footer. Click the Header or Footer button on the ribbon. Scroll down to see all the available options. Choose a design from the selections that appear. 

Note: This will override any header or footer and page number settings you’ve already made.

Use Microsoft Word Header, Footer, and Page Numbers to Give Readers a Good Experience

By following the steps in this article, even beginning users of Microsoft Word can add headers, footers, and page numbers in their documents. Or, if you’d rather not worry about formatting these page elements, use a Microsoft Word template instead of starting from scratch. 

Envato Elements is a wonderful source of professionally designed Microsoft Word templates. Your subscription includes unlimited downloads of everything you need to produce a high-caliber document, from custom fonts to stock photos. 

To get templates a la carte, then GraphicRiver is another source of great Microsoft Word templates for you to explore.

Whether creating your own layout or starting with a template, Microsoft Word headers, footers, and page numbers help you provide a better experience for your readers. They’ll be able to more easily navigate the document and find the pages or sections they need.

You can also make the most of headers and footers to brand the document. Add your logo and organization name, as well as the author’s name, to increase brand recognition and establish your thought leadership.

What are your tips for using Word in long documents? Leave a comment and let us know.

You can get a lot out of headers and footers in Microsoft Word. We show you how to use them in a document.

Headers and footers are simple to use in Microsoft Word, but there is much more to them than catches the eye. Learn how to get more out of headers and footers in Word.

In Microsoft Word, the top margin of a page is called its header, and the bottom margin is called the footer. Headers and footers are especially useful for including information that you want to display on every page, or specific pages. This information could be the page number, the chapter title, or anything else.

The main difference between a header and a footer is where they’re positioned in the document. So, what works for the header also works for the footer. That being said, let’s start with inserting something to the header in Word.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Select Header. This will bring up a dropdown menu with some options in it. These are all presets for the header, provided by Microsoft. For now, select the first option which is Blank. This will take you to the header and also activate the Header & Footer Tools in the Design tab.
   

If you’ve more than a single page in your document, you’ll notice that once you add something in the header, it’s going to appear on top of every page in your document. This makes the header an excellent location to place document info.

A quicker way to access the header is to double-click on the top margin of the page. Double-clicking the bottom margin will bring up the footer.

The Header & Footer Tools tab activates whenever you’re editing the header or the footer of a page. This tab allows you to change options related to the header and also insert components other than plain text to it.

Different First Page

So far, anything that you add to the header will appear on every other page but what if you don’t want the header on your first page to appear on every page in the document? You might want to have other content in the header of other pages or anything else. This can effortlessly be resolved:

1. Double-click on the header.
2. In the Header & Footer Tools tab, in the Options section, check Different First Page.

Once you check this option, the stuff you put in the header of the first page won’t appear on other pages and conversely, if you change the header of any other page it won’t affect the first page.

Different Odd and Even Pages

You probably have seen this one in different documents and even books. As a familiar example, you could have the document title in the odd page header and the heading title on the even pages. You need to check only one option to have different headers on odd & even pages:

1. Double-click on the header.
2. In the Header & Footer Tools tab, check Different Odd & Even Pages.

Now, when you edit the header of an odd page it will apply to all odd pages but it won’t affect the even pages. This also works the other way around.

You can also have different headers for different sections. To do this, you need to create sections in your document first. To create sections:

1. Select where you want to create a section by placing your cursor there.
2. Go to the Layout tab and then click on Breaks.
3. In the bottom half of the menu, you can see the Section Breaks.
4. Select Continous from the menu. This will create a Section Break right where you had placed the cursor.
   

Once you create sections in your document, you can have different headers for each section. You can read our article on creating and removing page breaks to learn more about breaks.

To have different headers for a section:

1. Double-click on the header and go to the Header & Footer Tools tab.
2. Click on Link to Previous and disable it. Keeping this option enabled will use the same header and footer as the previous one for this section.

There you have it! With these, you can have unique headers for any page in your document.

Numbering Pages in Word

Headers and footers in Word provide a display area for page numbers in your document. Adding page numbers to longer documents makes them easier to navigate for readers. To add page numbers:

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. In the Header & Footer section click Page Number.
3. In the menu, you will have four choices for the location. Choose one and then select the styling you want.
   

Top of Page and Bottom of Page will display the page number in the header and the footer respectively, but you can show the page number in areas other than these two.

Selecting Page Margins will display the page number on the right or left side of the page. What’s more, is that you can show the page number anywhere within the page. To do this:

1. Place your cursor where you want to display the page number.
2. Go to Insert and then select Page Number.
3. From the menu, select Current Position then select a style.
   

This will add the page number right where your cursor was. Keep in mind that this won’t show the page number on every page, it will appear only where the cursor was.

For an in-depth guide on numbering pages in Word documents, read our article on how to number your Word document.

You can make your document more dynamic by utilizing Fields in Microsoft Word. Fields are dynamic components that add auto-updating variables to your document. For example, you could insert a field in your header to display a heading on every page. This way you don’t have to type the heading on top of each page.

Note: Headers and headings are similar in name, but they’re different in nature. A header is the top margin of the document while a heading is a document element that allows you to define different sections and build a table of content for your document.)

Let’s work on the example we mentioned to add the heading to the top of each page. To do this, you’ve to first create some headings for your document.

1. Go to the Home tab.
2. In the Styles section, select a heading. For now, let’s go with Heading 1.
3. Next, type something in your heading so that it’s not blank.
   

Once you’ve your headings set out, it’s time to display their names in the header.

1. Double-click the header and then go to the Header & Footer Tools tab.
2. Click on Quick Parts and then select Field… . Here you can see the various fields you can add to the header.
3. From the Categories menu, select Links and References.
4. In the Field names select StyleRef.
5. Finally, in the Style name box, select Heading 1.
6. Check the additional options that you might want in Field options and once you’re done, click OK.
   

Now you can see the headings displayed in the header of the page. It will show the same heading until a new heading is used on a page.

There are many fields that you can use in your document. Fields aren’t exclusive to the header or the footer and you can use them anywhere else in your document as well. You can access fields from the Insert tab:

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. On the right side, click Quick Parts and then select Fields.
   

Now that you’ve read through all these, you can achieve a lot more from the top and bottom margins of your document. However, this is just one of the many things you can do to improve your document.