How To Have Different Headers In Google Docs

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If you’re working on a lengthy report or an academic paper in Google Docs, using different headers is a great way to organize your document. This feature provides clarity and makes the document more navigable. However, many Google Docs users might not know how to execute this task. In this post, we’ll take you through the simple steps to have different headers in Google Docs.

First Header

To add your first header, go to the ‘Insert’ tab on the top menu bar, select ‘Header & Page Number’, then ‘Header’. An editable space will appear at the top of your document where you can input your first header.

Different Headers on Different Pages

If you need different headers on different pages, Google Docs offers an option to implement this. The following steps will guide you:

  1. Put your cursor on the page where you want to start a new header.
  2. Go to ‘Insert’, then ‘Break’, and then select ‘Page break’ or ‘Section break (next page)’.
  3. Click on the header section of the new page.
  4. Uncheck the box that says ‘Link to previous’ in the menu.
  5. Now you can input a new header for this page.

Note: When you uncheck ‘Link to previous’, the headers become independent, meaning changes in one won’t affect the other.

Creating Different Headers for Odd and Even Pages

Maybe you’re writing a book or a report where you need different headers for odd and even pages. Thankfully, Google Docs has a feature for this:

  1. Click on ‘File’ and then ‘Page setup’.
  2. In the Page Setup window, click the box that says ‘Different odd & even’ under the ‘Headers & footers’ section.
  3. Click ‘OK’. Now you can edit the headers separately for odd and even pages.

Different Headers for First Page

If you want to have a different header on the first page of your document, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the header of the first page.
  2. Uncheck the box that says ‘Different first page’.
  3. Now you can edit the header of the first page separately from the rest of the document.

Conclusion

Creating different headers in Google Docs is a very handy tool when dealing with longer documents. Despite seeming complicated at first, once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it becomes second nature. Happy documenting!