Understanding sections

A section is a page-formatting container. All documents feature one section, which is why the various page-formatting commands affect the entire document; they’re applied to that single section. A document, however, can sport multiple sections. Each section can sport its own page format, independent of the other sections.

Figure 14-1 illustrates three examples of how a document can be sliced up into sections.

In Example 1, a single document contains two sections. The first section uses Roman numeral page numbers. The second section uses human numerals. Each section restarts page numbering.

The document in Example 2 contains a single-page section for its cover page. The second section — all remaining pages — uses page numbering.

In Example 3, the document has three sections. The first and third sections sport the same page formatting; the second section was created so that page 6 could be presented in landscape orientation.

In all three examples, the document’s text and paragraph formats remain unaffected by sections. Only page-level formatting is affected. Even then, you can choose whether to apply a page-level format to the current section or to the entire document.

Creating a section

A section is similar in concept to a page break, though it’s page formatting that’s “broken,” not a physical page in the document. To create a new section in a document — to insert a section break — heed these steps:

1. Position the toothpick cursor where you want the new section to start.

   Click the mouse where you need to begin a new section, similar to creating a new page break. For most new sections, position the insertion pointer at the start of a paragraph.

2. Click the Layout tab on the Ribbon.

3. In the Page Setup area, click the Breaks button.

   A menu appears, listing several items. The last four items are various section breaks.

4. Choose Next Page from the Breaks button menu.

   A new section has started, which also serves as a page break.

Pages before the section break are in one document section, pages after are in the next. Page formatting commands can be applied independently to either section.

Here is a summary of the different types of section breaks:

• Next Page: Start a new section and break the page, like a hard page break. (See Chapter 13.)
• Continuous: Start a new section on a flexible boundary, depending on which page-formatting command is used. A continuous section break may start a new page, or it may not.
• Even Page: This one is similar to the Next Page break, but the page starting the new section will be an even-numbered page. For binding purposes, the even page is on the left side.
• Odd Page: It’s the same as an Even Page section break, though the page following the break will be odd, or on the right side of a bound manuscript.

When working with sections, I recommend placing the Section item on the status bar: Right-click the status bar and choose Section from the pop-up menu. The Section item shows the current section by number as you work through the document.

Using sections

You have two options to apply a page-formatting command to a specific section within your document. In both instances, the insertion pointer must roost in the section you want to format.

To apply a page format to the current section, select that format from the Ribbon, as described in Chapter 13. For example, set a new page orientation, and that format affects only the current document section.

In the Page Setup dialog box, use the Apply To drop-down menu to apply page-formatting changes to the current document section, as illustrated in Figure 14-2.

Each tab in the Page Setup dialog box features the Apply To drop-down menu. Use it to apply page-formatting changes to the entire document or to only the current section.

Removing a section break

Section breaks are invisible in Print Layout view, though you can see them in Draft view. To remove the section break, you delete it. Follow these steps, though you can start at Step 3 when using Draft view:

1. Click the Home tab.

2. In the Paragraph group, click the Show/Hide command button.

   Hidden codes and characters are revealed in the document.

3. Position the insertion pointer to the start (left end) of the double-dashed lines that say Section Break.

4. Press the Delete key.

   The section break is gone.

5. Click the Show/Hide command button again to hide the codes.

After the section break vanishes, the page formatting changes, adopting the format from the previous section. That’s to be expected, but it may alter things you can’t see, such as page numbering and headers and footers.

If you regret your decision to remove the page number, press Ctrl+Z to undo.

Adding a cover page

The sneakiest way to slap down a cover page on your document is to use Word’s Cover Page command. Here's how it works:

1. Click the Insert tab.

2. In the Pages group, click the Cover Page button.

   If you don’t see the Pages group or Cover Page button, click the Pages button and then click the Cover Page icon.

   The Cover Page button displays a fat, fun menu full of various cover-page layouts.

3. Choose a cover-page layout that titillates you.

   The cover page is immediately inserted as the first page in the document.

Many preset cover pages feature replaceable text, such as [COMPANY NAME]. Click that text and type something appropriate, such as your actual company name, unless you actually work for the Company Name Corp. Do so for all bracketed text on the inserted cover page.

• You can change a cover page at any time by choosing a new one from the Cover Page menu. The new cover page retains any replacement text you typed.
• To remove a cover page, summon the Cover Page menu and choose the Remove Current Cover Page item.
• The cover page you add is followed by a hard page break. It is not a section break. Even so, it’s treated differently from certain page-formatting commands applied to the rest of the document. That means if you add page numbers or a header or footer to your document, the formatting applies to only the second page and later pages, not to the cover page.

Inserting a cover page manually

When you’re dissatisfied with Word’s Cover Page designs, you can craft your own cover page. All the formatting tools and document tricks presented in this book are at your disposal. You just need to insert the page at the start of the document.

Here are the general steps to take:

1. Before writing the cover page, position the toothpick cursor at the tippy-top of the document.
2. Click the Layout tab.

3. Choose Breaks ⇒   Next Page.

   A section break effectively inserts a new, first page into the document as its own section.

4. Create the cover page.

   Add a title, additional text, graphics, and various document froufrou.

Because the first (cover) page is now its own section, the page formatting it sports can be separated from the rest of the document. For example, you can apply page numbering to the second section, which keeps the cover page unnumbered. Refer to Figure 14-1, example 2.

Using a preset header or footer

Most documents use standard, noncreative headers and footers, placing common information into one or both areas. To accommodate your hurried desires, you can quickly shove one of these preset headers or footers into your document. Heed these steps:

1. Click the Insert tab.

2. From the Header & Footer group, choose the Header button.

   The Header menu shows a list of preformatted headers.

3. Choose a header design.

   The design’s contents are added to the document, saved as part of the page format. Also, the Header & Footers Tools Design tab appears on the Ribbon.

4. Change any [Type here] text in the header.

   Click the bracketed text and type to personalize your header.

5. Use the commands on the Insert group of the Header & Footer Tools Design tab to add specific items in the header.

   Examples are offered in the sections that follow.

6. When you’re done working on the header, click the Close Header and Footer button.

   Or you can double-click in the main text body.

To add a footer, choose the Footer button in Step 2 and think of the word footer whenever you see the word header in the preceding steps.

After you exit from the header or footer, you can see its text at the top or bottom of the document in Print Layout view. It appears ghostly, to let you know that it’s there but not part of the document. To edit the header or footer, double-click that ghostly text.

Creating a custom header or footer

When one of the preset header/footer designs doesn’t cut it, consider creating your own. The secret is to double-click the space at the top or bottom of the page in Print Layout view. This location is the header or footer area, respectively. When it becomes active, you can manually craft a header or footer to match your innermost desires.

A header or footer can contain text, a graphical goober, a field, or any other item you can slap down into the main part of the document. Common and useful commands appear on the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, but you can use other tabs on the Ribbon to create and customize a header or footer.

To switch between the header and footer while editing, click the Go to Footer or Go to Header button. These buttons are found on the Header & Footer Tools Design tab in the Navigation group.

Type text

Any text you type in a header or footer becomes part of the header or footer. It doesn’t have to be fancy text, — just whatever text you want appearing at the top or bottom of every page in the document.

The standard format for lines in a header or footer includes two tab stops: a center tab stop in the middle of the page and a right tab stop aligned with the right margin. Use these tab stops, as illustrated in Figure 14-3, to create useful header text.

Working with multiple headers and footers

Headers and footers come in a variety of types, allowing you to change them depending on whether the page is odd or even, or to alter the header or footer for a given document section. You can even suspend the header and footer for a page or two. Such agility requires knowing a few tricks, which I’m happy to share.

Headers, footers, and sections

One way to apply different headers and footers to your document is to use sections. That way, you can change the header and footer between sections, but only when you unlink the headers and footers. Unless you know this trick, working with headers and footers in different sections can be frustrating.

To break the link between the current section’s header and footer and the previous section’s header and footer, follow these steps:

1. Edit the document’s header or footer in the section that you want to be different from the previous section’s head and footer.
2. Click the Header & Footer Tools Design tab.

3. In the Navigation Group, click the Next button to locate the start of the next section’s header or footer.

   The Header tag or Footer tag is updated to reflect the current section, as shown in Figure 14-4. You also see the tag Same as Previous, which is your clue that the header is identical to the one in the previous section. For example, if you change something in the first section’s header, the change is reflected in all linked headers.

4. In the Navigation group, click the Link to Previous button.

   The link is broken. The Same as Previous tag disappears. The header or footer doesn’t change — yet.

5. Edit the section’s header or footer.

   Changes made apply to only the current section.

The link is what confuses a lot of people. They know about sections, but when they change the header or footer in one section, the text isn’t updated. That’s because the link hasn’t been broken, as described in these steps.

To restore the link, return to the given section’s header or footer and repeat the steps in this section. Clicking the Link to Previous button a second time reestablishes the link.

• This trick may not work if your document uses different headers and footers on odd- and even-numbered pages, as described earlier in this chapter.

• The Different First Page option, described earlier in this chapter, doesn’t link the header or footer between the first page and the rest of the document.

Removing a header or a footer

You can’t destroy the header or footer area in a document, but you can remove all text and other stuff: Edit the header or footer, press Ctrl+A to select everything, and press the Delete key. Poof!

The more official way to remove a header or footer is to follow these steps:

1. Edit the document’s header or footer.
2. Click the Header & Footer Tools Design tab.
3. In the Header & Footer group, click the Header button.

4. Choose Remove Header.

   The header is gone.

5. Click the Footer button and choose Remove Footer.

   The footer is gone.