Technology

Headers and Footers

The inclusion of Headers and Footers in documents has two main benefits:

    • Provides information to the reader
    • Increases the professional appearance of the documents

In the illustration below you will see the header "Managing Complex Documents" and at the bottom you will see the footer "Advanced Diploma of Recreation Management" and "Page 1".

 

Procedure to insert Headers and Footers

On the menu bar select "View".

Within the "View" menu select "Headers and Footers".

You will now see the Header and Footer toolbar and at the top of your document you will also see:

 

Before you start to enter any text in your header you should click on the Header and Footer toolbar the 6th icon from the left which looks like an open book.

This opens the Page Setup dialog box. At this stage you should now decide whether:

    • You want your headers and footers to be different on Odd and Even pages – if so click the appropriate box. This may be useful if you are going to photocopy your document double sided (duplex) and bind your document into book. Furthermore if you are "making a book" it would be a good idea to click on the Margins tab in the Page Setup dialog box and select "Mirror Margins". Notice that the Left and Right margin changes to Inside and Outside. You should also consider a gutter margin (suggest 0.5cm) because the binding of the document into a book will consume a small proportion of the Inside margin.

    • You want your header and footer on the first page to be different – if so click the appropriate box. This may be useful where you use a cover page, or a page that is different at the start of each chapter or section. Normally the first page does not contain any headers or footers.

Once you have made these decisions you should begin adding your header. You can format your header like any paragraph in your document, i.e. you can set TABS, utilise BORDERS and SHADING, change the FONT.

The header of this page includes a border below the text. This is achieved by selecting Borders and Shading on the menu bar and then on the right hand side of the dialog box that appears (the preview section) tells you to "click on the diagram below or use buttons to apply borders".

Once you have finished with your first header you can quickly and easily move to your first footer by clicking on the 9th icon on the Headers and Footer toolbar (switch between Header and Footer). Remember that if you have selected the "Different Odd and Even" option you will need to format your headers and footers on the next page as well.

Some of the items you should consider adding to your headers and footers are as follows:

Page numbers

There are several ways to add page numbers:

  • An easy way to insert page numbers is via the Headers and Footers Toolbar by selecting "Insert AutoText". You are given two choices (i) – PAGE– (ii) Page X of Y

  • Another easy way is via the "Insert" menu. Click on "Page Numbers" on the insert menu and the dialog box that appears will give you instructions and options for you to take.

  • A more advanced way is to select "Field" from the "Insert" menu. When you have clicked on "Field" the dialog box that appears has a section called "Categories". Select "Numbering" in the Categories box. In the "Field Names" section to the right of the categories box you will see "Page" – double click on this. In many ways this is a preferred method as you become acquainted with "Insert Fields". You will return here many times in your quest to build a professional document.

Date

When you are adding a date to your footer you should decide whether you want the date to be permanently fixed (i.e. date of creation of document or perhaps assignment due date) or the date to be updated to today’s date each time the document is opened.

To add a permanent date just type in the text or on the "Insert" menu select "Date and Time".

To add a date that updates when the document is opened select on the "Insert" menu select "Field". In the category box select "Date and Time" and in the "Field Names" box select "Date".

File Name

Inserting the name of the file can be very useful when it becomes necessary to find the file again at some future time when you have forgotten the name of the file and where you put it. However in certain types of business documentation it may not always add to the presentation.

To add the File Name to the footer click on "View" on the menu bar and then click on "Header and Footer". On the "Header and Footer" toolbar choose "Insert AutoText" and then select "Filename".

Author Name

Inserting the name of the author is often advisable to prevent others from plagiarising the author’s work. The author may be an individual (Leo Isaac) or an entity (Southbank Institute of TAFE).

To enter the special symbol © which stands for "Copyright" click on the "Insert" menu and then click on "Symbol". On the dialog box that appears click on "Special Characters" and choose the copyright symbol.

To enter the author’s name either type the text straight in or from the "Insert" menu select "Field" sand in the category box select "Document Information" and in the "Field Names" box select "Author". The only works correctly if the Document Properties Box "see File menu" correctly states the author’s name.

Title

To enter the document’s title either type the text straight in or from the "Insert" menu select "Field" sand in the category box select "Document Information" and in the "Field Names" box select "Title". The only works correctly if the Document Properties Box "see File menu" correctly states the document’s title.

 
 

Copyright Leo Isaac 2006 -2007

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