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Headers, footers, and page numbers

Headers and footers are optional, repeating elements that appear at the top and bottom of every page in the document. They usually include text but may also incorporate graphics such as logos or icons, and they typically contain information about the document such as the document title, version, and date. Technical documents often include additional document classification information in the header and/or footer so the document can be precisely identified at a glance.

You need to decide what is going to be in the header and/or footer and how that information is aligned on the page. Your options are left-, center-, and right-aligned. Word automatically inserts centered and right-aligned tab stops in footers, so you can use the Tab key to put text or graphic elements in those positions.

Headers and footers reside within the top and bottom margins of the page. Therefore, the top and/or bottom margins must be large enough to accommodate the contents of the header and/or footer as well as the amount of space between the header or footer and the top or bottom of the page. This isn't a problem if you have simple headers and footers with just one line of text and use the Word defaults for margins and header spacing. But if you have headers or footers with multiple lines of text or large graphics, you might need to make your top and bottom margins larger to make the headers or footers fit. Once again, we recommend keeping it simple.

Page numbers usually appear in the document footer. You need to choose a font (typeface, size, and weight) for the page number and decide how the page number is aligned. Most documents we see have the page number either center- or right-aligned in the footer. Often the page number appears by itself, without any other text next to it, but sometimes the page number is preceded by the word "Page." Another variation is to use compound page numbers, particularly in technical documents. Compound page numbers are usually hyphenated, with the first part of the number representing a chapter or section, and the number after the hyphen being the actual page number (e.g., 3-2, 12-6). Section breaks are required for this variation.

Whichever options you choose for page numbers, we recommend using Word's automatic page numbering feature to automatically insert and maintain the correct page number on each page. Do not manually enter a page number on each page.

Placement of graphics and tables

Graphics and tables are aligned left by default when you paste, insert, or create them in Word. You can go with the default or alternatively choose to center graphics and tables. Just make sure you use the same alignment for all of them.

Use the Table Properties tab to change the alignment and width of the table (Tables tab). To change the alignment (top, bottom, or middle) of a row or individual cell, select the appropriate option from the Cell tab. Changing column widths can be as easy as dragging them where you want them. Make sure Automatically Resize to Fit Contents is not selected (Table Properties > Table > Options).

Section breaks

Section breaks are used to vary the layout of a document within a page or between pages. Section breaks give you the ability to change the margins, paper size/orientation, headers and footers, and page numbering within a document.

Section breaks can be your friend, as long as they are used properly. The most important thing to remember is that, illogically, a section break controls the section formatting of the text that precedes it. Therefore, if you delete a section break, the preceding text will become part of the following section. This is no fun if your document has different headers or page orientations.

The Next Page section break is the one we use most often in the business documents we write. It is used to change the page orientation or header/footer information for one or more pages. When you insert a Next Page section break, Word automatically creates a new, blank page with a paragraph mark at the top. Now you can change the page orientation, enter new header or footer information, and even change the margins if necessary.

The Continuous section break starts a new section on the same page and typically is used in newsletters and other documents that include multiple columns on a page. We sometimes see the Continuous section break used incorrectly to attempt to do things such as changing the page orientation. Frustration often ensues!

For more information, or to discuss documentation or training needs at your company, give KB Comm a call at 610.357.8625.

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