Detailed instructions on how to create headers / footer?

[tom.s]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel The "upgrade" to 2008 has left me unable to successfully add/create/edit headers and footers (and page numbers) like I could with 2004. A lot has to do with the super complicated 'breaks' section. It shouldn't be that difficult to add pages or headers. It took a long time to understand and finally be able to successfully create headers in 2004 but I'm again starting from scratch with 2008, it just doesn't do what I want it to do.

Is there a detailed tutorial on how to create these in 2008? And by detailed I mean step by step, no generalizations, the tutorial should be for dummies.

For the developers, a great product feature would be an override button that allows one to put the headers and footers and page numbers in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). These section breaks are maddening to deal with.

The current process is so confusing and complicated that I just simply can't get 2008 to do exactly what I could do in 2004...

help...

 

[tom.s]

Specifically, nothing shows up on the first page, even though the box "different first page" is NOT checked.

thanks

 

[tom.s]

Ah, one more item: in 2004 there was one tool in the header/footer toolbar that contained everything, like the "same as previous button".

Where is this? I don't feel 2008 has the same flexible functionality, and it really seems like some of these options have completely disappeared.

The header/footer section in the toolbox does not container same as previous and you can click the blue header/footer same as previous in the actual document but it doesn't do anything.

p.s. Mac Word for dummies instructions do not work...

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Tom:

Word 2008 has more flexibility as far as headers and footers are concerned,
and that may be what is throwing you off.

I shall assume that you have reviewed the Word Help topics " Add or delete a
header or footer" and " Edit or format a header or footer"?

Make sure that you are actually looking at the WORD help, not the Mac help,
and that you have allowed the Help System to retrieve online content. If
you have, there's a movie there that shows you exactly how to do it.

One thing they don't put enough emphasis on is that headers and footers are
properties of the section break that controls the text you are working on.

The section Break actually contains the headers and footers. So there are
three headers and three footers for each section break in the document.

Unless you add more section breaks, there is only one, and it is at the far
end of the document below the last paragraph mark (which means you can never
see it).

If you add more section breaks, by default their headers and footers are set
to "Same as previous" which means they are inherited from the section break
before the one you just added.

You will not see the Same as Previous button in Word 2008 unless the
document has more than one section break, and in the Formatting Palette it
will be greyed out.

The options are all there, plus more. They have moved around. But they're
there. Hit the Help and I think you will have no further problems.

Cheers

Ah, one more item: in 2004 there was one tool in the header/footer toolbar
that contained everything, like the "same as previous button".

Where is this? I don't feel 2008 has the same flexible functionality, and it
really seems like some of these options have completely disappeared.

The header/footer section in the toolbox does not container same as previous
and you can click the blue header/footer same as previous in the actual
document but it doesn't do anything.

p.s. Mac Word for dummies instructions do not work...

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

....and I doubt that you'll fail to make the association, but what was
formerly "Same as previous" is now labeled "Link to previous" in the
Formatting Palette's Header & Footer section.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[tom.s]

John,

This is kind of helpful, but I cannot find this video you refer to even after googling for it. I've looked into the help sections as you also refer to but it's vague, it doesn't show you step by step where to place the cursor to get the breaks right...

If Bill Gates were explaining this to his grandmother, would the video and help section show her how to do what I'm doing? lol

I'm also stuck trying to add a blank page at the top of my document. Shouldn't be as easy as Insert/Blank page? Until I figure out these break sections, I don't think I can get anything done in 2008...

 

[tom.s]

John, to expand a bit further, in the Word Help, there are 2 steps to insert a page break and it's not helpful at all... sorry.

 

[tom.s]

John, I think I have finally figured some of this out... thanks for your help, I think writing out my problems and rereading what you wrote helped....

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Tom:

It's here:
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/help.mspx?MODE=ct&CTT=PageView&clr=99-4-0&targe
t=14e99507-cb21-478d-8971-c608319d3a631033&srcid=&ep=8&rtype=2&pos=1&quid=88
dc663b-e912-420a-b026-b4a72b7b1389

Make sure you have switched your Office 2008 help to go online. Otherwise,
you will get practically nothing: there is very little help content
installed with the product.

And the Office 2008 Help is a natural language search engine: the best
results will come from giving it a whole sentence to work with.

Hope this helps

John,

This is kind of helpful, but I cannot find this video you refer to even after
googling for it. I've looked into the help sections as you also refer to but
it's vague, it doesn't show you step by step where to place the cursor to get
the breaks right...

If Bill Gates were explaining this to his grandmother, would the video and
help section show her how to do what I'm doing? lol

I'm also stuck trying to add a blank page at the top of my document.
Shouldn't be as easy as Insert/Blank page? Until I figure out these break
sections, I don't think I can get anything done in 2008...

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]