Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 6, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
Steve asked if there was a way in Word to set up common headers or footers in one or more separate files and then include them in a document template.
The traditional way of handling this type of situation is through the use of the INCLUDETEXT field. This field fetches information from a file and includes it in place of the field itself. To use this field, you follow these steps:
{ INCLUDETEXT "C:\\My Documents\\MyHeader.docx" }
Remember that Word maintains the field code in the template file, so that whenever you create a document based on the template, the contents of MyHeader.docx are fetched and included in the header of the new document. Likewise, your new document includes the INCLUDETEXT field (just as the template does), and whenever you update the field in the new document, Word dutifully fetches MyHeader.docx to replace the field.
If you want to completely get rid of the INCLUDETEXT field in the document created from the template (which would make the included text a snapshot of what MyHeader.docx contained at that point in time), you will need to get just a bit more creative. You could include an AutoNew macro in your template that would select the INCLUDETEXT field, update it, and then unlink it. The following would do the trick:
Sub AutoNew() If ActiveWindow.View.SplitSpecial <> wdPaneNone Then ActiveWindow.Panes(2).Close End If If ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdNormalView Or _ ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdOutlineView Then ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.Type = wdPrintView End If ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekCurrentPageHeader Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend Selection.Fields.Update Selection.Fields.Unlink ActiveWindow.ActivePane.View.SeekView = wdSeekMainDocument End Sub
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10394) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Pulling Headers and Footers from Other Files.
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