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Disappearing Header and Footer, unrelated to white space display

Anonymous
2013-12-12T03:15:48+00:00

I am trying to create documents with consistent headers and footers.  In most cases, this is not a problem.  However, in one particular file, whatever was in the header and the footer just keeps disappearing.  After saving the file WITH the header and footer, they would sometimes disappear upon re-opening the file.  Everything would be moved up by the space the header would have taken.  The worst part is that this is inconsistent; the header and footer disappear only some of the time upon re-opening.

I've tried to find an answer to my problem on this site, but all responses seem to deal with hiding/revealing white space.  My problem is NOT related to this, since even printing the document after the header's disappearing act does not reveal it again.  I need help to prevent this from happening my other documents.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-20T00:27:57+00:00

    Hi there Jesse, I had exactly the same problem and I've scoured the internet for an answer. When I say exactly, the problem was the same however it only occurred post-mail merge. In the merged document would have no Header and Footer in it.

    The solution I found was to place a "Continuous page break" on the first line of the first page and the Header and footer both stabilised. Hope this helps

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-12-12T23:39:32+00:00

    That is not what I meant.  The headers completely disappear, both when I view the document on my computer and when I print the documents.  It is as if I never made the headers and footers in the first place.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-12-12T18:35:09+00:00

    Hi Jesse,

    Since other files works fine, you may use the save as option to save the file and check if it works fine as expected.

    If the above steps fail, you may copy the entire content of the file on a new Word document and verify the status.

    You may also refer to the following article on how to troubleshoot damaged Word 2010 document.

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918429/en-us

    I hope this helps. Let us know if you need further assistance.

    Thank you.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-12-28T04:43:57+00:00

    Hi Jesse,

    I believe I have had a similar problem where the header and footer disappeared. What I believe has happened is that you have inadvertently copied a section break across from another document. I suggest turn on the hide / show and look for a section break on the page. To narrow the location down check the pages on either side of where the header and footer disappear. Delete the section break and the header and footer should return. Hope this helps.

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  5. Anonymous
    2013-12-12T21:34:09+00:00

    I have already renamed the document, saved the file under a different name, copied the entire contents into a new document, and created the document from scratch.  None of those worked.  The document would seem okay for a while, but after a few times opening and closing the file, the header and footer would disappear.  So far, the only thing that has worked has been saving on a different hard drive and/or turning the document into a read-only file.  Neither is optimal as I will need to work on the document directly, and constantly downloading or changing the properties is not the best method.

    I will try troubleshooting using the link you gave.  However, it directs me to use templates, which I have never before touched, and have never had problems.  I will have to get back to you on that.

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