Word Annoyances: How to Fix the Most ANNOYING Things about Your Favorite Word Processor

Create Different Headers on Different Pages

The Annoyance:

I need to use different headers on different pages, but I can't find the options I need.

The Fix:

Word's headers and footers are plenty confusing to start with, but once you've learned what the different options are and where they hide, you can create a wide range of headers and footers.

Choose File Page Setup and click the Layout tab (see Figure 4-18). Check the "Different first page box if you just want a different header or footer on the first page. (This box is also useful when you want headers and footers on every page except the first.) Check the "Different odd and even" box to use different headers or footers on facing pages, as is done in most books.

If different headers on the first page or on odd and even pages is all you need, close the Page Setup dialog box, choose View Header and Footer, and enter suitable text. But what youll often need to do is divide your document into sections (by using Insert Break). Each section can then have its own header and footer. By default, each section after the first picks up the header and footer from the first section ( assuming that section has a header and footer). Click the "Link to Previous button on the Header and Footer toolbar (see Figure 4-19) to break the link with the previous section, and then create the new header or footer for the section you're in.

Another option that's often useful is to use the same header or footer throughout a document, but insert in it the closest heading of a particular level. See the next Annoyance for details.

Create a Header from a Heading Paragraph

The Annoyance:

I need to set up a document that uses the text from the current Heading 1 paragraph as part of the header.

The Fix:

Easy enough. Choose View Header and Footer, position the insertion point where you need the text, and choose Insert Field to display the Field dialog box. In the Categories drop-down list, select Links and References, and then select StyleRef in the "Field names list. Choose the style in the "Style name " list (see Figure 4-20), and click the OK button. In Word 2000, you need to click the Options button in the Field dialog box, click the Styles tab, and then select the style.

Divide a Page into Multiple Pages

The Annoyance:

I can't divide a page into multiple pages in Word (e.g., quarters: 4 "pages" to an 8.5" x 11" page), as can easily be done in WordPerfect. I can create a "custom size ," but to divide a page into quarters , I have to create a table with multiple columns to create the interior margins and adjust the page margins for the outside marginsa royal pain.

The Fix:

How satisfactory a fix this is will depend on exactly what you're doing, but one possibility is to create one page to a page and then print multiple pages on the same piece of paper: choose File Print and specify your other printing options as usual, but then choose "4 pages (or another suitable setting) in the "Pages per sheet" drop-down list before you click the OK button.