This chapter describes what header and footer are in MS Word and how to add a header and footer in Word. Headers and footers are sections of a document that contain special information, such as page numbers and the total number of pages, the title of the document, the company logo, and any images. The header and footer appear at the top and bottom of each page, respectively.
Table of contents
What is the header and footer in MS Word?
Headers and footers are handy for including information on each page of a document, such as your name, the document’s title, and page numbers.
Header
Text that goes at the top of a page is called a header. Most of the time, this is where you put information about the document, like its name, the chapter heading, page numbers, the date it was made, and so on.
Footer
A footer is a section at the bottom of a document page that contains information shared with other pages. Footers may contain page numbers, creation dates, copyrights, or references that occur on a single page or all pages.
Why header and footer used in MS Word
Header and footer are typically used in Word documents because they include additional information such as page numbers, dates, an author’s name, and footnotes, which can aid in the organization and readability of lengthy publications. Text supplied in the document’s header or footer will appear on each page.
By utilizing the header and footer sections, you can make your document look professional and polished. The header is a piece of the document that appears at the top margin, whereas the footer is a section that appears at the bottom margin.
Advantages of header and footer in MS Word
One of the advantages of header and footer in Word document is that they repeat important information on every page or section. This makes it easier for people to find what they need quickly in a long document. This is shown by page numbers, which are important in any long document.
Header and footer are helpful because they give quick information about your document or data in a predictable way and set up different parts of a document. Simply, they make it much easier to read and understand calculations, graphs, and pivot tables.
The main difference between a header and a footer is their placement inside the document. Thus, what functions for the header also functions for the footer. Therefore, let’s begin by placing anything into the Word header.
How to Use Header and Footer in MS Word
Steps on How to Use Header and Footer in MS Word. In this example, we want the actual article to appear at the top of each page, so we will include it in the header.
- Step 1: Double-click anywhere on the document’s top or bottom margins. Here we will double-click the upper margin in our example.
- Step 2: The header or footer tab will be displayed. The insertion point will be displayed in either the header or footer.
- Step 3: Fill in the blanks with the required information in the header or footer. We’ll type the website name and the date in our example.
- Step 4: Close the Header and Footer when you’re finished. Alternatively, press the Esc key.
- Step 5:The text of the header or footer will load.
Different Headers for Different Sections
Additionally, here are the instructions to have Different Headers for Different Sections. To accomplish this, you must first create sections in your document. To make sectioning:
- Select the location where you wish to create a section by positioning the cursor there.
- Select the Layout tab, then click Breaks.
- In the bottom half of the menu, the Section Breaks are displayed.
- Choose “Continuous” from the list. This will make a Section Break right where the cursor was.
Once you divide your document into sections, you can give each section a different header.
To have different section headings:
- Go to the Header & Footer Tools tab by double-clicking on the header.
- Click the Link to Previous button to turn it off. If you keep this option turned on, this section will use the same header and footer as the last one.
So there you go! With these, each page in your document can have its own header.
How to Remove Header and Footer in Word
The following are Remove Header and Footer from the first page of word document.
- Double-click the first page header or footer area.
- Check Different First Page to see if it’s selected. If not:
- Select Different First Page.
- Content of the header or footer on the first page is removed.
- Add your new content into the header or footer.
- Select Close Header and Footer or press Esc to exit.
How do I change single-page header or footer of Word
Breaks between pages and between sections are different. If you want to change single-page header or footer of Word there is already a page break before the page where you want to change the header or footer, remove the page break and replace it with a section break, as shown below.
- Click or press where you want a new page to begin without a header or footer.
- To make a section break, go to Layout > Breaks > Next Page.
- To open the Header & Footer tab, double-click the header or footer section.
- Select Link to Previous to disable the connection between parts.
- Choose Header or Footer and do one of these:
- Choose Remove Header or Remove Footer .
- Change or add to the information in the header or footer. If you want to delete or change both the header and the footer, you’ll need to repeat steps 3 through 5.
- To get back to your document’s body, choose Close Header and Footer or press ESC.
Shortcut key for header and footer in MS Word
The table shows the Shortcut key for header and footer in MS Word.
| Shortcut Key | Description |
| Alt+N, H, E. | To open the Header & Footer ribbon, You can add a header or footer picture or modify their location with the Header & Footer ribbon. |
| Alt+V, H. | Hold down the Alt key and press the V key at the same time. You can hold down the Alt key while you press H, or you can let go of it. |
| Alt+N, O | Press it to make a footer. |
Summary
In summary, we’ve learned what is header and footer in MS Word are and how to add header and footer in a document, as well as what those terms mean. In addition, we know why we need a header and footer to make our document presentable and creative.
Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about formatting text, see the previous tutorial on how to check and change lines and paragraphs as well as how to adjust page margin in Microsoft Word, which are still part of formatting your documents. You can browse those guides if you are having a hard time exploring your documents.
We hope this tutorial helps you as you format your documents in MS Word.
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