Headers and footers are common navigation aids that help readers quickly see where they are in the document. A header appears at the top of the page, a footer at the bottom. With your word processing program, you can automatically include the same header and footer on every page of your document, or you can use different headers and footers for different sections of a long document. Consult your program's Help feature for more specific instructions.
Content and design of headers and footers
The type of information you include in headers and footers varies from one company (or course) to the next. Typically, headers and footers include the name of the document, the name of the section of the document, the date or version number, and the page number. Often a different typeface and a horizontal rule are used to help readers distinguish header and footer information from the rest of the document.
 |
|
If the header uses the same typeface and size as the body text and lacks a horizontal rule, readers may mistakenly think that this information is part of the page's body text. In addition, the page number should be clearly separated from the section information.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/styleman/2000/pdf/chap02.pdf
|
|
|
Repeating information from the header in the footer is overkill.
|
|
|
Designed for a one-sided document, the header for this page of a style manual includes the most recent first-level heading information ("Makeup") and page number. A sans serif typeface is used, as well as a horizontal rule to separate this information from the body of the page.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/styleman/2000/pdf/chap02.pdf
|
|
|
The footer includes the manual's name and chapter number and title. Maintaining a consistent design, this footer also features a sans serif typeface and horizontal rule to separate this information from the body of the page.
|
Placement of page numbers in headers and footers
For one-sided documents, page numbers typically are placed in the upper or lower right corner of the header or footer. Such a placement allows the document to be bound (for example, stapled) while keeping the page numbers visible. For two-sided documents, however, put the page numbers near the outside margins.
|
|
This example shows an ineffective header for two facing pages in a double-sided document. The page numbers have been placed near the inside margins of each page-in the far right corner of the even-numbered (or left-hand) page and the far left corner of the odd-numbered (or right-hand) page. Readers do not expect to find page numbers on the inside margins of double-sided documents. In addition, certain types of bindings may obscure these page numbers.
|
|
|
This revised example shows an effective header. The page number for the even-numbered page is located in the upper left corner of the header, and the page number for the odd-numbered page is located in the upper right corner, so that both page numbers appear in the outside margins. Header information is moved away from the center binding. Note that the design uses reverse type (white type against a black background) to clearly distinguish the header from the rest of the page. Also notice that the writer uses lowercase Roman numerals for paginating front matter.
|
