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)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Adding Line Numbers

Many types of documents, such as legal documents, require the use of line numbers to make it easier to identify specific ...

Discover More

Breaking Links in Lots of Documents

Breaking document links can be a tedious chore, especially if there are lots of links and lots of documents. This tip ...

Discover More

Merging and Printing

When you merge information into a document, Word provides two different ways you can create your output. Here's an ...

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

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

Editing Headers and Footers

Headers and footers are a nice final touch in a document. You can easily edit them by using the methods described in this ...

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 five less than 9?

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.