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 All Headers and Footers.

Deleting All Headers and Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 5, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

If you work with documents you receive from other people, one of the tasks you may routinely need to do is delete all the headers and footers in the documents. One way to do this is to simply select the various headers and footers and delete them, but if the document contains many sections, doing so can be very time consuming. (Particularly if you consider that each section can have up to three different headers and footers.)

Repetitious, time-consuming tasks are always a prime candidate for macros; this is no exception. The following macro will zip right through each section of a document, deleting all the headers and footers that have been defined.

Sub RemoveHeadAndFoot()
    Dim oSec As Section
    Dim oHead As HeaderFooter
    Dim oFoot As HeaderFooter

    For Each oSec In ActiveDocument.Sections
        For Each oHead In oSec.Headers
            If oHead.Exists Then oHead.Range.Delete
        Next oHead

        For Each oFoot In oSec.Footers
            If oFoot.Exists Then oFoot.Range.Delete
        Next oFoot
    Next oSec
End Sub

This macro is very powerful—it doesn't ask if you want to proceed, nor does it consider what may be included in the headers and footers. It simply deletes them all, leaving your document with none. If you regularly process quite a few documents, you can easily assign the macro to a toolbar button, menu item, or shortcut key.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1777) 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 All 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Preventing Styles from Changing

It is frustrating to spend a lot of time working on a document, getting your styles just right, and then have those ...

Discover More

Selecting a Paper Size

Excel can print your worksheet on just about any paper size you can imagine. How you select the paper size you want used ...

Discover More

Adjusting Formulas for Top-Added Rows

Formulas are the heart of using Excel, and formulas often refer to ranges of cells. How you insert cells into the ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Deleting a Header or Footer

When working with existing documents, you may need to delete a header or footer previously created. Here's how you can do ...

Discover More

Odd & Even Headers and Footers

Adding a running header or footer to a document can be a nice touch. If you want, you can even tell Word to use a ...

Discover More

Inserting the Date in a Header or Footer

Need today's date in the header or footer of your document? Here's how to get it there easily.

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 6 + 5?

2022-02-24 11:58:16

Melissa Lalande

The macro worked very well when I was using Microsoft 2016, but ever since we switched to Microsoft 365 it stopped working. There is an error message saying that there is a compile errer in hidden module and gives us this link from the help:
(see Figure 1 below)

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/Language/Reference/User-Interface-Help/compile-error-in-hidden-modulemodule-name

is there anyway to adapt it for Microsoft 365?

thank you
Melissa

Figure 1. Error message from macro on Word 365 64 bit


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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.