I use MS Word 2003 exclusively and now have a new job where I need to put in headers all the time that change constantly. I'm having a very very very hard time figuring out how to change them so they appear correctly.

I put in a section break, continuous, then change the header and link to previous and it still sometimes won't work -- repeats old header, replaces the old header, it drives me crazy.

Is there an easy peasy solution to doing headers in 2003 that anyone can point out to me??? I've been using this for over 30 years but never had to mess with headers before and it's driving me crazy. I'm spending hours and hours trying to figure out headers.



Thank you!!

Easy, not exactly.
First, do you really need to edit the header, though?
See StyleRef Field.

Take a look at Sections / Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word - a Tutorial in the Intermediate Users Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented Legal Users' Guide to Microsoft Word).

Well, no, I just need to change it. Many many times in this document. And I have no idea about using Styles. Never used them.


I will look at your references. Thank you.


I am using Word 2003. Are headers easier, more straightforward, etc, with the newer versions? I hate ribbons but this header thing is driving me crazy.

There is no tangible difference between the way headers/footers work in Word 2003 and the later versions of Word so upgrading won't help you avoid learning how they work.
The type of 'change' needed is important. There are real benefits to minimising the number of section breaks in your document so it is best to figure out when your aims can be achieved without a section break.

If you want focused advice, you will need to post a sample document showing the structure of your document and the content of your header/footers. Otherwise we can only give generalised information that may gradually build your knowledge.

__________________
Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

I do legal work so I cannot post any documents here at all, of course.


What I'm doing are court proceedings or interviews where the person asking the question changes often then the person being questioned changes, etc, etc, etc.


Right now, I'm using section breaks but I cannot figure it out perfectly so I have to have my employer fix them for me, which really sucks because I like to know how to do things inside out myself.


I never used headers before and now, at my age, almost 60, I find it a lot harder to learn new things and remember them. Very, very frustrating.


I can start the document and have a blank header then the first header and I've done up to three changes but then things start to mess up and I have sections up to 9 and headers that aren't right and I just gave up.


So you're saying using Styles, I won't have to use sections? Is there a tutorial on using Styles? If it's easier that way, no problem. I like things to be logical and make sense. I used to use Word Perfect but was forced to change about 25 years ago.



I tried using it again but I have so much stuff set up in Word that it would be a huge undertaking to learn it all again in Word Perfect (all my autocorrect and dictionary entries).



I really appreciate any help you can give me. When I read it, it makes sense but Word LOVES to hide things from you (unlike Word Perfect) so it's frustrating that I cannot SEE what it's doing.


Maybe I really need to go back to Word Perfect again. I work for myself as in I'm self-employed so any time not working is time not paid for and it will take me quite a bit to get used to WP again but if I have to, in order to master this, then I will.


Thank you very much

I am a lawyer.
Using styles and the StyleRef Field will do 90% of what you want, if not more.
Use a character style for something you want to go in the header.

• StyleRef Field
• The Importance of Styles in Microsoft Word

If you are using Word on a regular basis, you owe it to yourself to learn more about how it works.

• Basic concepts of Microsoft Word: An introduction by Shauna Kelly, MVP

Here is a screenshot on getting to the Insert Field dialog in Word 2003.

Thanks, Charles. I know how to use MS Word inside out and backwards. Just never did the header thing ever that's all. I don't understand Styles yet but will read what you've noted above. Wish I could upload something here and have you guys say, hey, this is what you're doing wrong. Be so much easier but this stuff all protected so...

Not to be contrary, but if you do not know Styles, you do NOT know Word inside and out. Please, please, please read the page on the Importance of Styles. Styles are at the heart of how Word does its formatting. If you are not using them you are doing things the hard way. I virtually always keep the Styles Pane showing (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S). You can also use the Styles dropdown in the Formatting toolbar or the Apply Styles dialog (Ctrl+Shift+S).
The page on the Importance of Styles is my page and I quote myself:
Go to the full page though for much more.


I have been using Word since 1990 on a daily basis. Around 2002 I learned a lot I did not know (that was really pretty basic and important) reading Shauna Kelly's short tutorials. It does not take much time.

Reading those will save you time, frustration, and hair.

You can upload something here, you just need to clean it up. Here is my article on how to do that.
Why a sample file is important for troubleshooting - - - - - - - and how to do it.
That article is for a different forum which does not allow actually attaching files but the thoughts about how to remove confidential material applies.
See also: Attach a Sample File Demonstrating the Problem - Here's How
If you do post a sample document, make sure that it has the problem you are asking about.

I prefer quoting Dian Chapman: “Avoiding styles is a hobby for some Word users. They go through 35 mouse clicks in 12 formatting dialog boxes, just to avoid using a style."

It’s actually impossible to use Word without using at least one style, typically Normal. Styles are fundamental to how Word works.

If you want, here is a link to a video webinar by "Legal Guru" Deborah Savadra on why you need to use styles.

Here is a link to the full article by Dian Chapman: Yet Another "Use Styles" Verbal Beating! by Dian Chapman, MVP. Here is the article from which the Dian Chapman quote came:
Getting Started With Styles. Both articles were written for pre-menu versions of Word.

And, while you are using a style "Normal" if you do not do anything, you are not making use of styles. You are making things harder for yourself and anyone else using your documents.

Well, I've been using Word for over 30 years and I've worked in many places and no one ever uses Styles. I'm not saying you're wrong. You're probably completely correct but, having NEVER used Styles for anything, it's completely foreign to me.


I guess I should have said I know Word inside FOR MY PURPOSES.



I have read many, many, many articles on the use of Styles since then and how to format headers, etc, and it's so so so so so complicated I get lost.


I know it's probably my age, but I'm not following it AT ALL and I really don't understand Styles. I also don't know if I'm allowed to use them because often I'm doing parts of documents that are hundreds of pages long and I have to fit in with the rest.



Work has never mentioned using Styles so they obviously are amongst many people who just don't know anything about them.


I will read more this weekend and try again but for someone who has always had an easy time of learning everything technical (I can take a computer apart and put it back together, I can restore everything without just deleting everything and starting over, etc., etc,. ) I'm really find this very difficult to comprehend.


It seems like literally over 10 or more steps to do everything to do with this and it really shouldn't be so darn complicated.


Like I said, I will try again this weekend reading more and more things about it but it's not sticking, it's not making sense to me. Probably along the lines of learning things the incorrect way, it's MUCH harder to RELEARN things correctly when you've done things the wrong way for years and years and years.

And I've never had to use headers before ever. Never. So it's a whole new thing to me and the section thing and styles -- it's all really, really complicated compared to Word Perfect. Unfortunately, it's been 30 years since I used Word Perfect and I don't remember how to use it any more And all my shortcuts and such -- anyway, I'm going on and on.


I will try again and I believe you when you say it will make my life much easier. It's just all brand new.



Most tutorials include so much gibberish I get lost. Just tell me step by step how to do something and not anything else until I get that down pat. THEN add in things. Or maybe I'm just too old to learn any more.


It would be VERY helpful to submit a document and have your comments but everything I do is protected. I cannot ever even send you a page. That's just the way it is. Confidentiality.

You may have missed this in my previous response:

No, I read that. Sorry, can't do it. It's legal work that is protected. No amount of fixing it makes it acceptable to upload, sorry. Not going to happen.


Can't use Styles. The place I work with does not want me to do that.


Guess I'll just muddle through.

Thanks for all who replied. Really appreciate it.

You should download and review the 2002 Legal User's Guide to Microsoft Word. It is available on my website. Original Legal Users Guide to Microsoft Word 2002 - Documents in Zip Format. It is no longer available on the Microsoft website.
That was written for Microsoft by leading consultants to the legal industry.

It is the basis for my Users Guide website. Here is the Templates chapter for that website. That chapter is original to me but provides links to the other chapters from the original. It was subsequently copied with permission to the Microsoft website.

I created these pages first for my own use because I added hyperlinks between chapters and to other resources not found in the original. The chapters on my site maintain the original content but have been expanded and also cover the ribbon versions. My chapters include many links to outside resources. Another original page is on Automated Boilerplate Using Microsoft Word. While that page talks about Building Blocks which are not in Word 2003, AutoText is a key component of Word 2003 and is extensively discussed in that chapter, as is AutoCorrect.

I had prepared an extensive answer going back to your original headers issue and styles but a stray mouse-click erased it before I could send. I will try to reproduce it but am sending this now before it likewise disappears.