In this lesson
Set up three report sections, unlink their headers and footers, then add a landscape appendix without changing earlier pages.
Example
The quarterly facilities report
The facilities report needs an unnumbered cover, a contents page numbered i and a body starting at page 1. The appendix has a wide comparison table. Page breaks in the old draft left every header linked. Use three sections for the report and a fourth for the landscape appendix.
How it works
A page break starts a new page but keeps the same section settings. A Next Page section break lets you change numbering, orientation or headers for the next part of the report. Different First Page changes the first-page header or footer; it does not start a new numbering sequence.
Link to Previous applies separately to headers and footers. Unlink the footer before changing its page numbers, and unlink the header before changing its text. Check which section you are editing before removing anything.
Steps
Create a cover with the report title. Insert Layout › Breaks › Section Breaks › Next Page. Add a Contents heading, then another Next Page section break before the body.
Show formatting marks and find the two section breaks. Open the body footer, check that it says Section 3 and turn off Link to Previous.
In the body footer, insert a page number. Choose Page Number › Format Page Numbers, select 1, 2, 3 and Start at 1. Check the first body page.
Open the Section 2 footer and turn off Link to Previous. Insert a page number using lower-case Roman numerals and Start at i. Once both later footers are unlinked, remove any number from the cover.
Open the body header and turn off its own Link to Previous setting. Type “Quarterly Facilities Report”. Leave the cover and contents headers empty.
Add two pages within Section 3, using text or page breaks. Check that numbering continues instead of restarting at each page.
Add a Next Page section break for the wide appendix. Set that section to Landscape and its page numbers to Continue from previous section. Earlier sections should remain portrait.
In Print Preview, check the cover, contents, first body page and appendix. Note each section’s header, orientation and starting number so you can spot a change later.
Try it yourself
- Build the three-section report and landscape appendix. Insert another body page before the appendix. Check that the cover has no number, the contents uses i and the body numbering continues.
Show expected result
- The cover has no visible page number, the contents starts at i and the body starts at 1. The body header does not appear on the cover.
- Only the appendix is landscape. Its page number continues from the body, including the page added in the exercise.
If something goes wrong
- Link to Previous is greyed out.
- Check for a section break. A page break is not enough. The setting also cannot link a header or footer in Section 1 to an earlier section.
- Removing the cover number also removes body numbers.
- Undo. Open the footers in Sections 2 and 3 and turn off Link to Previous before deleting the cover’s number. Unlinking a header does not unlink its footer.
Quick check
Try these questions after the exercise. Check the result in your app before marking the lesson complete.
Choose an answer for all 3 questions to check your understanding.
Optional: try it with Copilot
If you have Copilot, try this after the exercise. Keep the original file and compare its suggestions with your own result.
Give me a setup checklist for an unnumbered cover, Roman front matter and a body starting at 1. Include separate header and footer links for each section, using automatic page numbers.
More from Microsoft
These Microsoft guides cover the tools used in this lesson.
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