Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Deleting a Header or Footer.

Deleting a Header or Footer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 7, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you want to delete the headers or footers defined in your document, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point in the section that has the header you want to delete.
If you are using Normal or Outline view, choose Header and Footer from the View menu. In Print Layout view, you can simply double-click on the Header or Footer you want to delete. You will see the Header and Footer dialog box, and the header area of the page.
If you want to delete the footer, click on the Switch icon in the Header and Footer dialog box.
Select the contents of the header or footer.
Press the Del key, or press Ctrl+X.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (259) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Deleting a Header or Footer.

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

Removing All Formatting

Getting rid of formatting from a cell or group of cells can be done using several different techniques. This tip ...

Discover More

Quickly Deleting Words

Tired of pressing the Delete or Backspace key for every character you want to delete? Here's a way you can make your ...

Discover More

Criteria-Based Counting in a Filtered Column

The filtering capabilities of Excel are excellent, providing you with great control over which records in a worksheet are ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Paragraph Numbers in Headers or Footers

If your documents routinely use numbered paragraphs, you may want to place the number of the page's first paragraph in ...

Discover More

Missing Header and Footer Toolbar

When you need to make changes to the header or footer of a document, the Header and Footer toolbar is invaluable. What if ...

Discover More

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the Last Style on a Page

It is often helpful to reference a specific heading in the header or footer of a page, and have that reference change on ...

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 four less than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.