Keyboard Shortcut to Access Header and Footer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 29, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021

Amol is the type of guy who prefers using the keyboard whenever possible. He's looking for a shortcut to switch between the header (or footer) and the main body of the document, or vice versa. He wonders if such a shortcut actually exists.

You could, if you desire, create your own shortcut to access the header or footer (how you create a shortcut has been discussed in other WordTips), but there is little need to do so. Word includes a very easy-to-use shortcut that allows you to jump right to the header: Alt+V, H. (Press the Alt and V key at the same time, then press H. You can continue holding down the Alt key as you press H or not, it is up to you.) A helpful mnemonic for this shortcut is "Alt View Headers," and it works great.

Once you are in the header area, you can then use the Down Arrow to move to the footer area and use the Up Arrow to move back to the header area.

Getting back to the main document is easy—just press <Sstrong>Esc or Shift+Alt+C. Either action closes the header and footer areas completely and returns you to where you were in the document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (4630) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Disabling the F1 Key

Tired of hitting the F1 key by mistake and pulling up the Help system? Here's a couple of ways (one drastic and one not ...

Discover More

Replacing Characters at the End of a Cell

The Find and Replace capabilities of Excel can come in handy, but they can't accomplish all your replacement needs. One ...

Discover More

Printing Summary Information from a Macro

Part of the information that Word maintains about each of your documents is a summary statement, which you can define in ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Why Does the Footer Expand?

When you add too much text into a footer for that text to display in the space you've allotted to the footer, then Word ...

Discover More

Changing the Link to Previous Default for Headers and Footers

When you insert a new section in your document, Word assumes you want the headers and footers in that section to be the ...

Discover More

Putting Document Names in Headers or Footers

Want to include the file name of a document on the printed copy without rearranging the layout? You can use a header or ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five more than 8?

2024-06-30 08:34:33

John R Hightower

Is there a direct way to use the keyboard to access the footer? Perhaps Alt+V and then F?

2024-06-29 12:48:58

Phillip Holt

This quick move to the Header feature does not function on a Macbook Pro. What it does do is paste in whaterever has most recenvlt been placed in the MAC's copy/paste buffer.

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.