Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Changing Headers and Footers.

Changing Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 12, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

You can easily change the text in a header or footer by using the Header/Footer option from the View menu, in the following manner:

Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click either the Header or Footer tool in the Header & Footer group. Word displays a list of options.
Click Edit Header or Edit Footer, depending on what you selected in step 2. Word activates either the header or footer area of the page.
Change the contents of the header or footer in the same manner as you edit normal text in your document.
Click on the Close Header and Footer tool (on the Design tab of the ribbon) when you are done making changes.

You should note that if your page already has headers or footers, you should be able to see them on your screen. To modify the header or footer, you can simply double-click on the area you want to change.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7918) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing Headers and Footers.

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

Accessing Old Excel Data

If you have some legacy data stored in very old spreadsheet files, you may be wondering how to get that data into an ...

Discover More

Making Sure Word Doesn't Capitalize Anything Automatically

Word, in an effort to be helpful, will often change the capitalization of the words you type. If you tire of Word's ...

Discover More

Adding Automatic Time Stamps

Your computer knows the current date and time, and Word provides ways you can get that date and time into your document. ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Editing Headers and Footers

Headers and footers are a nice final touch in a document. You can easily edit them by using the methods described in this ...

Discover More

Making Wider Footer Margins

Want the margins used in your footers (or headers) to be wider than the margins used in the rest of your document? There ...

Discover More

Placing the First Two Words from the Following Page In the Footer

Headers and footers can be used for all sorts of information to help orient your document reader. In fact, Word provides ...

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 5 - 0?

2022-05-23 12:56:34

Dan

How does one move the header up and the footer down in a Word document on an ipad?
In a book length Word document on an ipad the header and footer margins are excessively wide. I would like to change that but don’t know how. I have been looking everywhere online but can’t find a solution. I really need help with this.
Thank you in advance for any reply.

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.