Cannot have different headers and page numbers?

Question

I want two things from my Microsoft Word Online document. A header that starts on the second page and page numbers on every single page. However, as far as I can tell, I can't have both of these modifications. I assume the header and page count are linked so that they can either show up on every page or skip the first. Am I possibly missing something? An extra step somewhere that could let me modify the header and page count to allow just the header to skip the first page?

Answer 1

Using Word Online, the header footer options are there, just in a different place.

Insert > Header/Footer > Options (on right side).

![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/81c87a66-db6b-4bd8-8d11-63d4b3523684?platform=QnA

Answer 2

Options offered in Word Online are limited. In the complete, locally installed version of Word you can set a "Different first page" and insert the page number twice (in the first page footer and the main footer) while leaving the first page header blank. See Charles' post.

Answer 3

Hi

You can stop being stressed over this. If you want a page number on the first page but no header, you need to put the page number there as well. It can be confusing.

The setting "Different First Page " is section**** setting that applies to both the header and the footer as a set. These are separate headers and footers from the primary ones, the ones that continue on the other pages.*

To insert the page number on the first page, you can edit the footer on that page and press Alt+Shift+P for your page number. If you need a particular format, go to the footer on page 2, copy that page number and paste it into Page 1's footer.

Page numbers are fields that are in headers or footers.

Page Numbers in Word 2007-2019 (365) 

More (than you may want or need to know):

Each section will have three sets of headers and footers:

• The primary header and footer.
• The first-page header and footer. (triggered by the different-first-page setting)
• The even-page header and footer. (triggered by the different odd and even setting)

Those will be present in each section, even if you do not have them activated or set. Each header/footer set is independent of the others in the section. A single page can have multiple sections, each with its own three sets of headers and footers.

The setting or Different first Page is a setting in each section. If a new section is created it will use the same setting for this as was in use in the previous section by default. It can be changed in the header/footer tools tab for that section.

The setting for different  odd and even is for the entire document. Changing it in one section, changes it for all. Again, it applies to both headers and footers; it activates display of this separate set of headers and footers on even-numbered pages. The primary header-footer set is then displayed on odd-numbered pages.

Different Even and Odd Header/Footer 

If you have multiple sections, in each section each header and footer can be linked to the previous section's similar header/footer or not. *Thus each section after the first has six settings for link to previous, one for each header and each footer in that section.*When a new section is created, all of its headers and footers will be linked to those in the previous section. That can be changed by the user. Again, there are six settings for each section. Link to Previous

Here is my recap of how these settings work together.

Header/Footer Settings Recap 

* When talking about Word documents, the term "section" is jargon for a particular part of a document. it is not the same as a logical section like a chapter, although many users have each chapter as a separate Word section. A Word section is a structure that holds formatting of the page layout including headers/footers, margins, layout and columns. You can have more than one section on a single page.

This forum is a user-to-user support forum. I am a fellow user.

I hope this information helps.

Please let me know if you have any more questions or require further help. You can ask for more help by replying to this post (Reply button below).

Regards

Answer 4

Let us know if there's anything else. If you have more questions or need clarification, please reply to this. I would be happy to work with you to get the document you want.

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