Troubleshoot headers and footers

Make sure that you're in print layout view (Print Layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.). If your document is divided into sections (section: A portion of a document in which you set certain page formatting options. You create a new section when you want to change such properties as line numbering, number of columns, or headers and footers.), click in a section or select multiple sections in which you want the header or footer to appear on the first page. On the File menu, click Page Setup, click the Layout tab, and then clear the Different first page check box.

When you change the header or footer for a section (section: A portion of a document in which you set certain page formatting options. You create a new section when you want to change such properties as line numbering, number of columns, or headers and footers.), Microsoft Word automatically changes the same header or footer for all sections of the document.

To create a different header or footer for a section, you need to break the connection between the sections. Click in the section for which you want to create a different header or footer. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Link to Previous to break the connection between the header and footer in the current section and the previous one.

When you add page numbers, dates, times, and so on to a header or footer, Microsoft Word inserts fields (field: A set of codes that instructs Microsoft Word to insert text, graphics, page numbers, and other material into a document automatically. For example, the DATE field inserts the current date.) for these items. Fields ensure that page numbers are automatically updated as you change the document and that dates, times, and other items are updated when you print the document. If you see field codes (field code: Placeholder text that shows where specified information from your data source will appear; the elements in a field that generate a field's result. The field code includes the field characters, field type, and instructions.) such as {PAGE} or {DATE} instead of the actual page numbers, dates, times, and so on, press ALT+F9.

To set up different headers or footers for odd and even pages — or for a different first page — insert a manual page break (page break: The point at which one page ends and another begins. Microsoft Word inserts an "automatic" (or soft) page break for you, or you can force a page break at a specific location by inserting a "manual" (or hard) page break.) in the one-page template (template: A file or files that contain the structure and tools for shaping such elements as the style and page layout of finished files. For example, Word templates can shape a single document, and FrontPage templates can shape an entire Web site.), create the headers or footers you want, and then delete the page break. Then create a document based on the template. The headers and footers will appear when the document becomes more than one page.