Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Creating Sideheads.

Creating Sideheads

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 9, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

Sideheads are document headings that are placed in the margins of your document. This can be done as part of an overall layout design to create a certain image for your information. You can create sideheads in Word using a text box. Follow these general steps to create your sidehead:

Switch to Print Layout view (if you are not already in that viewing mode).
Display the page on which you want to place the sidehead.
Since sideheads (by definition) are printed in the margin, make sure you have a large margin defined.
Add a text box to contain the sidehead text. Make sure the text box resides completely between the edge of the paper and the text margin.

Your sidehead has been placed, and you can type text in the newly placed text box. (Make sure you format the text box itself to reflect your design preferences.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11395) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Creating Sideheads.

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

Converting Text to Uppercase in a Macro

Macros are often used to process documents. If part of the processing involves making text selections uppercase, Word ...

Discover More

Reverse Numbered Lists

Adding numbered lists to your document is a snap; Word provides tools to add them immediately. What Word doesn't do is ...

Discover More

Searching for All

When you are working on a worksheet (particularly a large one), you may want to search for and possibly copy information ...

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)

Adding Page Numbers

Ever want to add page numbers to your document? Word allows you to control many aspects of page numbering. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Starting a New Section on an Odd Page Number

A common pagination convention used in publishing is for new chapters (and sometimes new sections) to start on an ...

Discover More

An Exact Number of Lines Per Page

For some purposes, you may need to fit an exact number of lines on a printed page. This may be easier said than done, as ...

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 6 + 6?

2025-08-09 05:48:52

Robert Love

A disadvantage of this textbox-based approach is that it's fiddly work to get all the sideheads uniformly aligned. As an alternative I have sometimes formatted the entire document as a two-column table with the first column devoted to the sideheads. This approach comes with some disadvantages of its own, however. Such as that keep-lines-together and other paragraphing options don't work properly within table cells.

Has anyone else tried the two-column approach and beem satisfied with it?

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.