How to Have Different Headers on Each Page

In Microsoft Word, you can create page headers that display text, images and document information such as the page number. A document can have the same header on each page, such as a company logo or the name of the document, or it can have a different header on the first page or on odd and even pages. With a couple of extra steps, you can even have a different header on each page of your document.

A header that repeats on every page of a document is referred to as a running header. You can add a running header to a document by double-clicking at the top of the page, in the margin area where no text is displayed. The Header area will be activated and the rest of the document will be grayed out. The Header & Footer Tools tab becomes available, allowing you to insert text, pictures, a page number, date and time information and document information such as the file name and location.

After you add content to the header, click on the red close button at the right of the ribbon to close the Header & Footer Tools tab and deactivate the header area. Your header should be displayed on each page of your document. You can also activate the header for editing by clicking on Edit Header on the Header menu, which is located on the Insert tab. The menu also displays some built-in headers you can use to create a header with a specific format.

You can create different headers for different pages using controls on the Header & Footer Tools tab. Toggle on Different First Page to enable a different header on the first page of your document. If you toggle on Different Odd & Even Pages, your header can be right-justified for some pages and left-justified for others.

Using sections, you can have a different header on each page of your document or on different groups of pages. When you want a different header on a page, go to the Breaks menu on the Page Layout tab and select Next Page. With the cursor in the new section, activate the page header and add content. To keep your changes from affecting the page headers in other sections, click on Link to Previous if it's enabled on the Header & Footer Tools tab. This will break the connection to other headers.

To add a page number to a document header that will update automatically as the document is modified, activate the header for editing and place the cursor in the location where you want the page number. Select a page number style from the Page Number menu at the far left of the Header & Footer Tools tab. You can also access the Page Number menu from the Insert tab without activating the header. Selecting a page number style will automatically activate the header and display the page number. Use the red button on the right of the Header & Footer Tools tab to deactivate the header and retain the page number.

In Word 2010, remove a header quickly with the Remove Header command on the Insert tab's Header menu. This will also work in later versions of Word. To remove the header from the first page only, toggle on Different First Page on the Header & Footer Tools tab. You can also remove a header by activating it and deleting all its contents, though that may take more time.