Here is a guide that will help you understand how to differentiate the headers of different sections of a Word document easily, in just 3 steps.

Step One: Divide your document into sections. If you have not already done it, you need to have at least two sections, in order to apply different headers. The headers can be equal to the sections, or less. You can have 5 sections with 5 different headers, one for each section, or you can have just 2 different headers, e.g. a header for the first two sections, and a different one for the remaining three sections. To divide your document into sections, go to the point where you want the start of a new section, usually a title page, and from the toolbar select “Page Layout” > “Breaks” > “Odd Page” or whatever “Section Break” you may prefer.

Step Two: Add your first header. Go to the first page of the section where you want to add your first header, double click on the empty space near the top side of the page, to open the header pane and write your first header. To have Word adding automatically as a header text the title of a chapter/section, go to “Header and Footer Tools” > “Document Info” > “Field” > “StyleRef” > “Heading 1” or “Heading 2” etc.

If you prefer in your headers only the most important/main parts of your document, and not each and every chapter, you can define e.g. “Heading 1” so that sections that belong to chapters with “Heading 2” or even lower headings won’t be reflected in the headers.

Step Three: Normally you already have a document with different headers for different sections according to a level of headings. However, some fine tuning may be needed; for example, if you want some extra pages without any header at all etc. You may also have a document without headings or any other way to add automatically your headers, so that you have to write them manually. In any case, to interrupt a header, go to the first page of the section after the section that should not have this header, enter the header pane by double clicking at the top side of the document, go to the “Header and Footer Tools” section of the Word toolbar and press the “Link to Previous” button.

The button is deactivated and this header won’t follow anymore what is written in the header of the previous section. This way it won’t inherit the content you are going to change in the preceding section. After that go to the preceding section, the one that you want to customize, enter again the header pane, unlink the section from the previous one, and write your new header text.

You may need to repeat the same for the second page of the same section, in case that you defined, at the “Page Setup” of your document, your sections to have different odd and even headers and footers and different first page. If more sections need a new header, follow the same routine, unlink them from the preceding headers, etc.

Important note: Since a header inherits its content from the previous header, to interrupt this continuation start from the last parts of your document, change first the last section that needs a custom header, then go on changing a preceding header that needs to be changed, etc. This way you will avoid a lot of unnecessary editing.

Is there anything you cannot understand? Drop a note in the comments below. Enjoy!

Being yourself an author or student you will perhaps appreciate especially this feature, that the very structure of the book will teach you how to work. The book contains even chapters on how to prepare a document for professional publishers such as Amazon. Reading Steven Adams' Writing a book or thesis in Microsoft Word you are surprised realizing it makes you want to work -- to think, write, use Word and be creative!