I understand I must enter the even-page numbers in the footer, and then the odd-page numbers, when I have Different odd/even headers and footers. I also understand I need to disable Link to Previous for the even-page numbers. Do I also need to do that for the odd-page numbers? I'm not clear what "Previous" I would be unlinking from.

What, precisely, are you attempting to do?
I have no clue why you would be clearing the link to previous settings.

The Link to Previous setting has to do with repeating information from the same header or footer in the previous section. Each section in Word has three header parts and three footer parts.

You would want to include a page number in the even-page footer and in the odd-page footer, which are different.


References:

• Header/Footer Settings Recap
• Page Numbers in Word 2007-2021 (365)

You need to add the page number to each footer, but what order you do it in is up to you.

Where are you getting your understanding from? Whatever the source it is not a reliable one.

Headers and footers are a property of the section. So "Link to Previous" links the headers and footers in one section to the previous one. You only need to turn Link to Previous off if the headers and footers in that section need to be different from the one before.

Also, before unlinking, take a look at the StyleRef Field.

"Link to Previous" applies by header type (and footer type), as Charles said. For example, you can turn off the linking of the even page header in section 2 to the corresponding even page header in section 1. Whether you must do this depends on what you are trying to accomplish, specifically.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional