Numbering reports in word

Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processing tools for creating reports and other documents. Whether you are a student, professional or anyone who does documentation works, proficiency in Microsoft Word is a skill that is necessary for today’s digital age. Microsoft Word software comes with a vast number of features to improve the productivity of your works and to produce accurate outputs. In this post, I will show you how to use some of these features to create professional reports with Microsoft Word.

When you write a Thesis, Dissertation, Project Report, and Technical Report, etc… Microsoft Word helps you to keep your content more organized, clear and structured. Microsoft Word comes with inbuilt options such as Source Manager for managing your citations, Track Changes, Document Outlines, etc… to make it easier to handle your documents and related resources.

If you closely observed any professional report created with Microsoft Word, you can identify there are several common features in every document. Those common features include Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, different levels of Heading Styles, Sections, Image and Table Captions, Index, Headers & Footers, Page Numbering, etc… Microsoft Word has specific ways of creating and generating those features. If you follow those methods correctly, you can create your report more easily and correctly.

In this series of tutorials, I will show you how to create Microsoft Word reports and make use of the inbuilt features correctly to make your report looks professional.

For better understanding, I have created a separate post for each key options that you will need to create reports and documents with Microsoft Word. I have listed out all the posts below, and it is not necessary to follow the same order. How ever, to use some options there are some prerequisites. I have added links to those prerequisites within the post itself.

First of all, let’s identify the main sections of a report.

Identify the main sections of a report

In a professional report, the appearance or look of the report as well as it’s flow is significant. So, you should first identify the main sections of the report. The sections given below are the most common in a professional report. (in this post I assume that you know the meaning of bellow terms)

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgement
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Acronyms
• Main Content/ Chapters
• References
• Appendixes
• Index

Creating these sections manually is not an easy task. However, if you practice the following Microsoft Word features, you can easily create the above sections.

The list of must-know features in Microsoft Word to create Professional Reports

Each feature below described in separate pages. You may click the post image or “read more” link to access these pages.

Insert Section Breaks

As the name suggests, section breaks used to break the document into separate sections. Sections allow you to handle its contents separately with the contents of other sections. Read More…

Create Numbered Multilevel Heading Styles

Numbered multilevel heading styles let you clearly distinguish the heading levels make the report easy to read & track. Correctly styled headings are used to generate… Read More…

Add Captions

It is a good practice to caption all the tables, images, maps, etc… added to your report. Caption helps you to refer to those objects precisely in your text. Read More…

Add Citations and Bibliography

Citation is “a word or piece of writing taken from a written work” [Cambridge Dictionary]. If you are obtaining information from another source, you must reference them. Read More…

Add Headers and Footers

Headers and footers are areas in the top or bottom of each page in a document. You can add title, page numbers, dates, or some graphics to every page in a document using headers and footers. Read More…

Add Page Numbers

Page numbers are generally added in the footer section of the document. Therefore the easiest way to add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word is to select a footer with page numbers when you are adding footers to the document. Read More…

Create a Table of Contents

Table of content help readers to easily navigate through your document. In this post, I will show you how easily you can create a table of contents in Microsoft Word. Read More…

Create List of Tables and Figures

When you add several tables and figures or any other objects in your report, it is a best practice to create a list of tables and figures or lists of other objects in the preface of the report. Read More…

Create an Index

An Index is a list of terms and topics that are discussed in a document. The terms and topics are listed along with the page numbers that they appear in the document. Read More…

Wrapping Up

The listed above are the essential features required to create professional reports with Microsoft Word. Here I have explained the basics of those features only. Once you get used to them, you can find more design and customization options inside those features. These features not only adding rich & professional looks to your documents, but they also help you to create and manage your report more easily and productively.

Usually, if you number the pages in a Microsoft Word document, you will number each of the pages sequentially starting from one. In some cases, such as long business reports or books with introductions or other special sections, you may want to use different page numbers in Word for different sections. You might also want to leave certain pages unnumbered, such as if you want to start page numbering on Page 3. This is all possible using Word’s built-in numbering feature.

Numbering Pages in Microsoft Word

It’s easy to add page numbers to a document in Microsoft Word. Simply click the «Insert» option on the ribbon menu, then click «Page Number.» Choose from one of the options to position the numbers where you want them, such as on the top or bottom of the page. Click «Page Number» again and click «Format Page Numbers» to choose font, size and other display settings.

Numbers will automatically appear where you placed them on each page.

Start Page Numbers Within Document

If you’re using a desktop edition of Microsoft Word, you can start with a page number other than one and start numbering anywhere in a document or a section.

To simply skip numbering on the first page, click the «Insert» tab in the ribbon menu, then click «Header» and «Edit Header.» In the «Header & Footer Tools» menu that appears, click the «Design» tab and check the box next to «Different First Page.»

If you want to otherwise start page numbering later in the document, you’ll want to insert a section break in the document before the section you want to number. To do this, go to the page where you want numbering to start and click «Layout» then click «Breaks» and «Next Page.» Double-click the header or footer where you want the page numbers to appear, and in the menu that pops up, uncheck the «Link to Previous» button, then click «Page Number» and pick the settings you want.

If you want to number multiple sections independently, create a section break for each one and uncheck «Link to Previous.»

Custom Page Numbers in Word

Once you have page numbers in sections where you want them or in the entire document in the Desktop version of Word, you can customize the numbering. Double click the header or footer where the numbers are, then click «Page Number» and «Format Page Numbers.»

Click the «Start at» drop-down and choose the number you want to start numbering. Repeat this for each section where you wan to customize the numbering.

If you want to delete page numbers for a particular section, double-click them on the header or footer of a page in that section and delete the numbers. The changes will apply to the entire section.

Using Word Online

If you’re using an online version of Word, your page number customization options are somewhat limited. You can skip numbering on the first page, but you can’t otherwise customize where numbering starts or what number comes first. If you need to make such changes, you may want to use a desktop version of Word or ask someone with the program to help you customize your document and send it back to you.

If you want to skip numbering the first page in Word online, click the «Insert» tab on the ribbon menu and then click «Header & Footer.» Click «Options,» then click «Different First Page.» Click the «Options» button again and click «Remove Page Numbers.»

If you need to add the numbers to the rest of the document, click the «Other Pages» button in the «Header & Footer» menu and then click «Insert» and «Page Number.»

1. What Multi-level Numbering Looks Like

Often used in the legal profession or in large corporate documents, multilevel numbering creates a logical hierarchy and easy navigation within the document. The headings can also be summarised later on in a table of contents. Here is a simple example:

2. How to Set Up Multilevel Numbering

Here is the correct process:

Bullets and numbering pose a problem in Word. They are complicated. Word tries to be very helpful and predict what you want, with sometimes very peculiar consequences.
It is easy enough to insert bulleted lists or numbered lists, but it is not so easy to control exactly how they look and behave once you are working with larger or more complex documents.
If you don’t use styles…
…then your best course of action is to do the Microsoft on-line training to learn exactly how Microsoft intends you to use them. There are good PowerPoint instructions, but you must be using Internet Explorer Browser to access them.

1. Click this link. Training presentation: Word 2007—Bullets, numbers, and lists
   
2. Click the Download button, save, and print if required.
3. Follow the instructions and good luck. If you are writing small documents and not sharing them with others, this system will probably work for you.

If you do use styles…
…there are two main tricks to getting this right:

1. If you are working in a document that has lots of complex lists, use the built-in Multilevel List styles and re-define them to suit.
2. Associate those styles with a single gallery box from the Numbering Library accessed through the Ribbon.

Display multi-level lists

1. Create a new document based on Normal template.
2. Click Home tab, Styles group, dialog box launcher, to display the Styles pane and see all the styles displayed.
3. Click Manage Styles to display the Manage Styles dialog box.
4. Click the Recommend tab.
5. Scroll down the list to near the bottom where you will find styles starting with the word List. They are likely to be greyed out and have the words (Hide Until Used) next to them.
6. Highlight all these items and click Show .
7. Click OK.

Re-define styles to suit
Work out what numbered lists you want and how deep you want them to go. For example, I often use a three level list for normal text, a three level list inside tables and a third three level list for special formatting, which makes 9 styles in all.

1. Apply the pre-defined list style to some text.
2. Re-format the text to look the way you want.
3. Locate the style in the Styles pane.
4. Right click and click Update *style name* to match selection. The style now possesses the formatting of your selected text which will be applied to all other text formatting with that style.

Do this for all the styles you want to create. To change style names:

1. Right click on style in Style pane.
2. Change the name.
3. Click OK.

Associate styles with numbers

1. Click Home tab, Paragraph group, Multi-level list button down arrow.
2. Identify and click a number format from the Numbering Library that is closest to the required numbering style.
3. If you exit the dialog box, click Home tab, Paragraph group, Multi-level list button down arrow again.
4. Ensuring your selected box is still highlighted, click Define New Multi-Level list. You will work in this dialog box to define how every numbered list you have will work.

Style 1

1. With level 1 selected, click the More button.
2. In the Link level to style box, select your first style in a sequence, for example «table list 1».
3. In the Enter formatting for number, enter the numbering type you want.
4. In the Start at field, enter the start number, usually 1
5. In the Aligned at field, enter the identical left margin defined in the style.
6. In the Text indent at field, enter the identical indent defined in the style.
7. In the Add tab stop field, enter the same indent tab defined in the style.

Style 2

1. Click level 2.
2. In the Link level to style box, select your second style in a sequence, for example «table list 2».
3. In the Enter formatting for number, enter the numbering type you want.
4. In the Start at field, enter the start number, usually 1
5. In the Aligned at field, enter the identical left margin defined in the style.
6. In the Text indent at field, enter the identical indent defined in the style.
7. In the Add tab stop field, enter the same indent tab defined in the style.

Repeat this process with all your remaining styles — try to get every list style you will use defined in this one gallery box. It doesn’t matter that they are not the same list sequence, just link your styles and define your number format, number style, number alignment, indent and tabs.
Place re-start numbering button on Quick Access Toolbar

1. Right click in any blank area of the Ribbon.
2. Click Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
3. In the Choose Commands from field, click All Commands.
4. Scroll down to Restart numbering and highlight.
5. Click Add.
6. Click OK.

This should work reliably for all your styles providing they are all defined in the one Gallery box in the Numbering Library.

Each table should be referenced in the document content. Typically, tables have a number and a title, which are referenced. Microsoft Word offers functionality to create automatically updated numbers for figures, tables, and equations. The numbers and titles, created using the Captions functionality, are used to cross-reference tables in a document and create a List of Tables.

The word Table and a number identify a table then follows the caption. A caption is a short block of text that explain table contents without referring to the document content:

See more about creating numbers and captions for figures: images, pictures, charts, etc., creating captions for equations, and creating captions for photographs.

Attention! We highly recommend checking the formatting requirements, accepted by your college, university, company, or established on the project, etc.

Insert a caption for tables

To add automatically updated numbers and a title (caption) for a table, select it by:

• Selecting all rows or columns of the table one by one, or
• Moving the mouse over the table until you see the table selection icons in the upper-left corner of the table and clicking it:

  

  Note: You can also click on the table selection icon in the bottom-right corner for the same effect. See how to select table elements for more details.

After selecting a table, do one of the following:

• On the References tab, in the Captions group, click the Insert Caption button:

  

• Right-click on the selection and select the Insert Caption… in the popup menu:

  

In the Caption dialog box:

Select the label and its position

• Under Options:
  • From the Label dropdown list, select the item type you need:

    

    • Table,
    • Equation – see how to create captions for equations,
    • Figure (selected by default) — see how to create captions for figures,
    • Another label (in this example, My Caption) was created using the New Label… button (see how to create a new label below).

    Note: Remember that each type of object you labeled will be numbered sequentially within its group.

  • From the Position dropdown list, select one of the options:

    

    • Above selected item (selected by default for the Table label), or
    • Below selected item (selected by default for the Figure label).

    Note: The captions for tables are usually located above the tables.

Exclude label from caption

• Select the Exclude label from caption check box if you don’t need to add the label to the caption:

  

  Some requirements recommend using the lowercase word table instead of the automatically added Table in Word cross-references.

  The option Exclude label from caption hides the label from being displayed in cross-references or a List of Tables.

  For example:

  • When you insert a cross-reference with the selected option Entire captions or Only label and number (see more details how to use cross-references in Word), Word adds the capitalized label and number, as you see in the Caption field of the Caption dialog box. E.g., “are listed in Table 3” or “are listed in Table 3 Number of articles by statuses and products”.
  • All captions, created with selected option Exclude label from caption, Word adds in cross-references as their numbers without the labels. Type the word table (as required) and insert a reference to a caption (e.g., “are listed in table 3”).

Add a new label

• Click the New Label… button to create a new label:

  

  In the New Label dialog box, type a new label name:

  

Note: See also how to delete a custom label.

Modify caption numbering

• Click the Numbering… button if you want to change any of the numbering options:

  

  In the Caption Numbering dialog box:

  

  • In the Format dropdown list, select the numbering format you need (some requirements recommend using Latin capital letters instead of numbers for tables):

  

  • Select the Include chapter number check box to include the chapter number in the caption number. After selecting this option, two more options will be unlocked:
    • From the Chapter starts with style dropdown list, select the heading level you need to include in the caption:

      

    • In the Use separator dropdown list, select the punctuation you need to insert between the chapter number and the table number:

      

    • At the bottom of the dialog box, see how your choices will look in the Examples section. E.g., Table 2.3” means the third table in chapter 2.
    • Click the OK button.

Add a title

• To add the text of your caption, click after the table number and enter the text. E.g.:

  

Notes:

1. There are several standard requirements for table titles:
   • Chicago style recommends using the table title in line with the label and number. E.g.:

     

   • In opposite, APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) styles recommend using the table title with one double-spaced line below the table number (see how to adjust line spacing). E.g.:

     

     To create such a title, don’t type any text in the Caption field, leave it, then do the following:

     1. Create a caption without a title.
     2. Position cursor after a caption number and add a new line (by pressing Shift+Enter) in which type of title you need.

        Note: You can press Enter and create a new paragraph instead of a new line. See how to create a List of Tables (Table of Figures) for more details.

     3. Format the caption to adjust line spacing (see how to change caption line spacing).
   • In addition, MLA style recommends using a hanging indent to the second line of long titles. E.g.:

     

2. Word offers very helpful functionality to create a text that can be displayed in a List of Tables instead of a caption text. See how to create a Table of Contents Entry.
3. For most requirements, the number and the title should be without an ending period. If you need a period after a number, type it in the Caption field.
4. If a table spans more than one page, the first page of that table should have a complete caption; the subsequent pages should have an abbreviated caption consisting of a label, a number, and the word Continued. E.g., “Table 3. Continued”.

Using an AutoCaption

See Adding captions with AutoCaption.

Group a table and its caption

According to all requirements, a table (or its part) with its caption should appear on the same page. Word adds captions for tables as a regular paragraph with selected Keep with next option. See how to keep lines and paragraphs together for more details.

See also how to keep a table row on one page and keep a table on one page of a Word document.

Edit or modify a caption

Microsoft Word adds numbers in captions as fields.

You can show all fields in a document with a gray background, see how to turn on or turn off highlighting of fields in a Word document.

• Labels:

  If needed, you can change the label. Word for Microsoft 365 will update the reference if available. In this case, Word will not create a new label and a separate numbering. Be careful!

• Numbers:

  DO NOT edit caption numbers! If you change a number:

  • In some cases, Word will update it, and you will lose your changes,
  • Otherwise, the caption number may stop updating automatically.
• Text:

  To add or modify a caption text, click on it and change what you need, like in a regular paragraph.

Do not forget to format a caption according to the requirements you use!

Delete a caption and an unnecessary label

If you need to remove some caption, select the caption paragraph (full line or several lines) and press Delete. Do not forget to update fields in the document!

To remove the unnecessary label, do the following:

   1.   Open the Caption dialog box.

   2.   In the Label dropdown list, select the label you want to remove.

   3.   Click the Delete Label to remove a custom label:

Note: You can’t delete predefined labels: Equation, Figure, and Table.

Update caption numbering

Word automatically updates references and numbering if you insert a new text. However, copying, deleting, or moving context often leads to confusion in the document. After such operations, you have to update all dependencies manually.

To update fields in the document, select the entire document by clicking Ctrl+A, and do one of the following:

• Press F9,
• Right-click on any of the fields and select Update Field in the popup menu:

  

Word will update all fields. You can be sure that the numbering and references are correct.

We strongly recommend checking a document at least visually after changes!

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.