Use a Different Format for the First Page: MS Word

When you're doing a long report or business letter or perhaps writing the great American novel, you often do not want the page number to appear on the first page. You have the choice of clearing the check box to show a page number on the first page of your document when inserting page numbers, but MS Word gives you even more flexibility by allowing you to format the first page differently from subsequent pages, specifically in what text appears in the headers and footers.

You can use unique headers and footers for the first page in a report for example, where the page number appears on the bottom of page 1 and at the top of subsequent pages. You may also place the date and file name on the first page and the title on subsequent pages of a long document.

Open up a fresh new document in MS Word and follow along with the instructions below:

1. Choose File | Page Setup and select the Layout tab to display the dialog box. Another way to access the dialog box is to click the Page Setup button on the Header and Footer toolbar.
    
2. Select the check box for Different First Page.
    
3. Click OK.

Now you will have a separate set of headers and footers for the first page appropriately labeled. To toggle between the first page and subsequent page headers or footers, use the Show Next and Show Previous buttons on the Header and Footer toolbar, or simply scroll to the first or a subsequent page.

You can also create separate headers and footers for odd and even pages. You use this when creating that novel we talked about earlier and you want it printed on both sides of the page.

When a book is opened, the odd-numbered pages appear on the right and should have the page number on the outside, or right side of the page. Even-numbered pages, which appear on the left, should have page numbers on the left side of the page, and the chapter title on the right-hand page.

Click the option for Different Odd and Even on the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box, and edit separate headers and footers for each location: first page, odd-numbered pages, and even-numbered pages.

Who knew that Headers and Footers could be so interesting?

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