Microsoft Word 2010 : Managing Word Page Layouts - Adding Headers and Footers

Using Header and Footer Styles

In keeping with the themed concept of Office 2010, the predefined headers and footers contain elements designed to make your document more visually appealing. Choose Insert > Header & Footer > Headers (or Footers) which displays a gallery of 27 unique header (or footer) styles, as shown in Figure 1. If you were not already in Print Layout view, Word automatically switches you to it.

Figure 1. Creating a header or footer.

From the Header or Footer gallery, select the style you want. The document header area becomes visible, the body of the document fades, and Word displays one or more additional tabs on the ribbon. You can now use the Header & Footer Tools > Design tab for creating your personalized header or footer.

In the header example shown in Figure 2, Word inserts a placeholder for the document title. Click the placeholder and enter the desired text. Also in the same figure, you see a placeholder that says Pick the Date. If you click the down arrow, Word displays a calendar from which you can select the date you want in the header. Optionally, you can just type a date in the date field. The actual choices you see depend on which header or footer style you select.

Figure 2. Working with text placeholders.

Now take a brief look at some of the tool groups on the Header & Footer Tools > Design tab, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The Header & Footer Tools > Design tab.

• Header & Footer: Use this group to change the header or footer style, or to insert the page number in the header or footer.

• Insert: From this group you can insert the current date or time, a picture, or a piece of clip art. You can also select from Quick Parts and choose one of the document properties shown in Figure 4.

  Figure 4. Adding document Quick Parts.

  

• Navigation: Use the tools in this group to move between the document headers and footers.

• Options: The Options group allows you to choose whether the first page of your document should have a different header or footer from the rest of the document. You can also choose different headers for the odd or even numbered pages.

• Position: This group contains settings for exact header and footer placement in relation to the top or bottom of the document paper edges.

• Close: Use this button to close the header or footer and return to the document body. You can also double-click anywhere in the document body to close the header or footer.

Every page of the document displays the header and/or footer you created (see Figure 5). Remember, however, that documents displayed in Outline or Draft view do not reveal any headers or footers.

Figure 5. Viewing a document header.

Creating a Custom Header or Footer

If none of the predefined headers or footers suits your needs, you can certainly create your own. You can add text, fields (such as date, time, or author), or page numbers, and you can add graphics (such as logos, lines, and other art). Just follow these steps:

Adding Page Numbering

Although Word automatically numbers your pages as you type them, it doesn’t print the page numbers; it simply displays them in the screen status bar. You can easily tell Word you want to print them. Typically, the page numbers appear in the header or footer area, but they don’t have to. You can place them wherever you want. What you do need to remember, though, is to use the Page Number feature provided by Word—don’t try to type the page numbering yourself. If you type Page 1 of 6 in the footer, every page will say Page 1 of 6. If you use one of Word’s Page Number features, the page numbering will change as needed, such as Page 2 of 6 or Page 3 of 6.

To insert a page number, choose Insert > Header & Footer > Page Number. A menu of placement options appears. You can put the page number at the top of the page in the header, at the bottom of the page in the footer, in the page margins outside of the header or footer, in the margin area, or you can put the page numbering at the current document position of your cursor.

Choose the position you want, and then a gallery of prefabricated page number styles appears (see Figure 7). Select the page numbering style you want to use. Word adds the page numbering to your document, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Select a page numbering style.

Figure 8. Page numbering added to the document.