Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Floating Footer.

Floating Footer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 2, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Julie asked if there was a way, in a two-column document, to make a special footer that "floats" five lines beneath the end of the right column on the last page of the document.

The short answer is no, there is not a way. Why? Because footers can only appear in the footer area of a document—which is, by definition, at the same place at the bottom of each page. The longer answer is that you probably don't want a footer, at least not what Word terms a footer.

The most likely solution is to utilize a text box. You can define one that is anchored to the final paragraph of your document. It will then float as the document grows or contracts. You can even instruct Word to position the text box so it appears five lines below the last paragraph of the document.

For help with creating text boxes and positioning them, refer to other issues of WordTips or to the online help system within Word itself.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7752) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Floating Footer.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Replacing Some Smart Quotes

Smart quotes look great in a document, but may not be right for all instances of quote marks or apostrophes. If you need ...

Discover More

Limiting when Others Can Use Your Shared Printer

Sharing resources on a network can be a great help to everyone. However, you might not want to always make your printer ...

Discover More

Counting the Results of a Formula Using Find and Replace

Need to get a count of a particular result from a formula? You can use Find and Replace (as described in this tip), but ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Applying Standard Headers and Footers to a Document

When you attach a template to a document, it doesn't modify the documents headers or footers. This tip provides three ...

Discover More

Deleting All Headers and Footers

Headers and footers add a finishing touch to documents, but sometimes they can be bothersome. You may need to remove them ...

Discover More

Turning Off "Link to Previous" by Default

When you add a new section to a document, you may want the headers or footers in that section to be different from those ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 - 5?

2019-03-02 07:58:06

Maureen Devaney

When I typed my girlfriend's email address, I put two lower case l's in her name. The email came back and I realized what I did. i edited the address and deleted the extra 'l' but ever since (over 3 years ago), when I reply to one of her emails to me, my computer puts the wrong email address in to the Reply section instead of her correct email address. I have deleted the wrong email address and cannot find any others so is it in memory in Yahoo and how do I get rid of it My mail is always being returned due to the wrong email address and I have to send a "new" email which does have her correct email. I cannot find the wrongly spelled email address on my contact list. Any suggestions?


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.