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

Positioning Headers and Footers

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 9, 2019)

7

Several WordTips cover how to insert headers or footers in your document. Besides controlling what appears in the header or footer, Word allows you to also control where the header or footer appears on each page of your document. To position the header or footer, follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point in the document section whose headers or footers you want to position.
  2. Make sure the Page Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  3. Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Page Setup group. Word displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Layout tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  5. In the Header box enter a measurement indicating how far from the top edge of the paper you want the bottom line of your header to be printed.
  6. In the Footer box enter a measurement indicating how far from the bottom edge of the paper you want the top line of your footer to be printed.
  7. Use the Apply To drop-down list to select the part of your document to which your adjustments should apply.
  8. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9080) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Positioning 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. ...

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What is nine more than 4?

2019-10-27 23:26:43

Jan

thank you - very helpful

2018-08-21 10:49:27

Nompilo

thank you so much, this was stressing me out so much, i almost missed my submission date.

2018-01-26 11:18:21

Connie

I agree with Ken C. If you create a header with multiple lines and experiment you will see that the measurement refers to the top line of the header and the bottom line of the footer. But I'm glad this tip was posted - it made me go look and finally figure it out for myself. Thanks for all you do Allen, you've solved countless problems for me.

2018-01-25 17:49:38

Ken C

Wrong, the header value is the distance from the top of the page to the top of the header, not the bottom of the header. Likewise, the footer value is the distance from the bottom of the page to the bottom of the header, not the top of the header.

2017-08-12 23:11:46

natalie

Thanks so much-So easy to follow. I could never figure out how to move any margins. I would always need just one more line or even just space for one more word in a document and it would spill onto a second page!
Natalie

2016-08-16 17:50:37

Jack

I agree with Annie. This is exactly what I needed to make headway on my text.

2015-09-22 09:13:15

Annie

Wonderful - easily explained, easy to folow & it worked!!

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