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 February 28, 2015)

6

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using the Status Bar

When developing a macro, you may want to display on the status bar what the macro is doing. Here's how to use this ...

Discover More

Displaying Negative Times

Excel allows you to perform math using times as operands. If you subtract a later time from an earlier time, you should ...

Discover More

Getting Help when Entering Functions

Need a quick memory jog when entering a worksheet function? Here's a shortcut that will be invaluable.

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Automatically Applying Custom Styles to Footnotes

Word is great in that it allows you to create styles that define how you want your text to appear. If you spend a great ...

Discover More

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

Including Headers and Footers when Selecting All

If you are creating a macro that, in the course of processing your document, needs to update all the fields in the ...

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.

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

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}] 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 five more than 3?

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!!

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.