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: Changing Headers and Footers.

Changing Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 14, 2023)

You can easily change the text in a header or footer by using the Header/Footer option from the View menu, in the following manner:

Choose Header and Footer from the View menu. You will see the Header and Footer dialog box, which looks very much like a toolbar.
If you want to change the footer, click on the Switch button in the dialog box.
Change the contents of the header or footer in the same manner as you edit normal text in your document.
Click on Close when you are done making changes.

You should note that if you are currently using Print Layout view, your headers and footers already appear on your screen. To modify the header or footer, you can simply double-click on the area you want to change.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1041) 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: Changing Headers and Footers.

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...

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