How to Use Different Headers and Footers in Google Docs

Today, in this article we will discuss about how to Use Different Headers and Footers in Google Docs. In a typical Google Docs document, the header and footer are added to each page automatically. In an ideal world, that doesn’t happen very often. You can also go to the official Google Docs support site to know more information about this.

If you look for a setting in Docs that lets you have separate headers, you won’t find it. That’s because there isn’t a specific switch for doing that. For customizing headers and footers in Google Docs, you will need to use sections. Let’s look at what needs to be done. But you need to know about section breaks before you jump into the steps.

Headers and footers are common places to put your company name or logo, the number of pages, the name of the person who wrote the document, and the date. But these details aren’t needed for every document. You might want a header or footer on only the first page of a document, every other page, or a different one on each page.

Ways to Use Different Headers and Footers in Google Docs

Use a Different First Page Header or Footer in Google Docs

In Google Docs, the first page of a document can have a different header or footer. This can be helpful if you want to add a title page or set up the rest of your document in a certain way.

1. Open the document you want to edit in Google Docs.
2. Place your blinking cursor on the first page.
3. Next, open the Insert menu and hover over Headers and Footers.
4. Press either Header or Footer from the menu.
5. Your header or footer will appear for editing.
6. Press the Different first page checkbox. This will ensure that the front page has a different header or footer to the rest of the document.
7. Make changes to your front-page header or footer or, alternatively, change the header and footer in the rest of your document.
8. When you’re done, click elsewhere in the document (outside of the header or footer editing box) to exit the menu.

Using Odd and Even Page Headers and Footers in Google Docs

Depending on whether the page number is odd or even, you can change the header and footer. For example, the header or footer on pages 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 would be different than on pages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

1. Open the Google Docs document that you want to edit.
2. Open the Insert menu and hover over the Headers and Footers option.
3. Press either Header or Footer from the menu.
4. The header or footer editing box will appear for editing, depending on your choice.
5. Press the Options menu link in the bottom-right corner of the header or footer editing box.
6. From the pop-up menu, select Header Format.
7. In the Headers and Footers menu box, click the Different odd & even checkbox.
8. Press Apply to save the changes.
9. Make changes to your odd and even headers and footers. These will be labeled as Odd page header, even page header, odd page footer, or even page hooter in the bottom-left corner of the editing box.
10. To exit the editing menu for your headers and footers, press anywhere else in your document.

Remove Headers and Footers in Google Docs

Your document does not need a header or a footer. Follow these steps if you’d rather get rid of them for good.

1. Open the document in Google Docs.
2. Press File > Insert from the top menu.
3. Hover over the Headers and Footers menu and choose either Header or Footer.
4. The editing box for either your header or your footer will appear.
5. Click Options > Remove Header or Remove Footer to remove the header.
6. Repeat these steps for your header or footer and for any other pages in the document, as required.

FAQ

How can I have different Headers in the same document?

To give part of a document a different header or footer, you’ll need to break the link between the header or footer in the current section and the one in the previous section. To do so: Add breaks between sections; see ARCHIVED: What are sections in Microsoft Word?

Can a page have multiple headers and footers?

There can be more than one footer> or header> on a page. You put footers inside other elements to put information about the footer for that part of the page in that section. Nested headers are used to introduce the content of a page section.