My husband has asked for a document/letter template for his Men's Club that will have a logo and name in the header, a quote in the footer, a sidebar on page 1 with officer's information and no side bar on the following pages.
I have the first page, using a text box for the sidebar. But, I don't use text boxes much, and I have had a problem getting the text for the letter or bulletin entered without it affecting the placement of the sidebar text box. Is there a better, non-code way to set up that sidebar on page 1 and not have the rest of my document get squirrelly? (And yes, I realize it might be me, not the document that is squirrelly)

Marci Abels

Attached Files

Test doc.docx (54.3 KB, 11 views)

There are tried and true methods to set up letterhead in Word.
See How can I get a different header/footer on the second page? and
Setting Up Letter Templates - by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP

Here is a tutorial with sample documents demonstrating the concepts.
Letterhead Textboxes and Styles Tutorial

The key is to put your letterhead elements into the First-Page Header (and potentially into continuation Headers). This is true even if they are in places on the page outside of the traditional header area. This can be used to mimic different margins and insert logos. Your sidebar would go in the First-Page Header with wrapping set to wrap text around it.

The headers and footers are normally not the area of focus when writing letters and can be protected.

Here is your sample back with those ideas applied. I would urge you to look at the links though. I promise you will have a much better letterhead after you do.

Also, this works better if the sidebar is on the right rather than the left because it interferes with the use of tabs and indents otherwise.

Attached Files

Test doc.docx (55.8 KB, 14 views)

Charles,
Thank you so much - as much for the links as for the fix. I will check them out - I very much want to be able to do this myself. Teach a girl to fish!

Best place to start fishin'
Basic Concepts of Microsoft Word - from Shauna Kelly