Troubleshoot headers and footers

Make sure that you're in print layout view. Headers and footers appear only in print layout view and in printed documents. Headers and footers do not appear or print in Web layout view or in browsers.

When you save your document as a Web page, the headers and footers no longer appear or print. However, they are retained in the Web document, so they appear when you go back to the .doc format of the document. If you've created a Web page that uses frames, you can also create a header or footer by adding a header frame or adding a footer frame.

Make sure that you're in print layout view. If your document is divided into sections, click in a section or select multiple sections in which you want the header or footer to appear on the first page. On the File menu, click Page Setup, click the Layout tab, and then clear the Different first page check box.

When you change the header or footer for a section, Microsoft Word automatically changes the same header or footer for all sections of the document.

To create a different header or footer for a section, you need to break the connection between the sections. Click in the section for which you want to create a different header or footer. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Link to Previous to break the connection between the header and footer in the current section and the previous one.

You may have placed the text in the nonprinting area of the page. Check your printer manual to see how close to the edge of the paper your printer can print.

On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Layout tab. Under From edge, enter a value that's larger than your printer's minimum margin setting.

Use the Show Previous and Show Next buttons to move to the previous or next header or footer that is different than the current header or footer. If headers and footers are the same throughout the document, the insertion point won't move from the current header or footer. If a document contains different headers or footers in sections, however, the insertion point will move from the header and footer in one section to another. You can also use the buttons to move from an odd header or footer to an even header or footer, or to move from a unique first page header or footer to the next header or footer.

The Link to Previous button is not available unless a document is divided into sections, and is not available in the first section in a document.

When you add page numbers, dates, times, and so on to a header or footer, Microsoft Word inserts fields for these items. Fields ensure that page numbers are automatically updated as you change the document and that dates, times, and other items are updated when you print the document. If you see field codes such as {PAGE} or {DATE} instead of the actual page numbers, dates, times, and so on, press ALT+F9.

If you inserted the date and time by clicking Date and Time on the Insert menu, make sure that you select the Update automatically check box in the Date and Time dialog box. When you add dates, times, titles, and so on to a header or footer, Microsoft Word inserts fields for these items. You can update a field at any time by clicking the item and pressing F9.

To set up different headers or footers for odd and even pages— or for a different first page— insert a manual page break in the one-page template, create the headers or footers you want, and then delete the page break. Then create a document based on the template. The headers and footers will appear when the document becomes more than one page.