Margins, page numbers, and a simple header

A margin is the empty space between your words and the edge of the paper. Microsoft says that in Word each page automatically has a one-inch margin. You can choose a ready-made setting or define your own.

Microsoft’s steps are: select Layout > Margins, then select the margin configuration you want, or select Custom Margins to define your own. On many computers you will see names such as Normal. A slightly wider margin can make a one-page notice easier to hold and to punch for a binder. Very narrow margins can make a page look crowded and, when you print, risk cutting off text.

You do not need facing-page or binding settings for this course. If Custom Margins looks like a large box of numbers, choose a named preset instead, or ask a tutor. Preview the page later in Lesson 10 before you print, so you can see whether the margins feel right. A notice that will be posted on a board often looks better with the default one-inch edge than with words running to the paper’s trim. Leave room for a binder clip or a punched hole if someone will file the printed page later on.

Screens differ: the Layout tab may appear as Page Layout on some older versions. If you cannot find Margins, ask rather than guessing at columns or section breaks — those tools are outside this basic course.

A header is a strip at the top of each page; a footer sits at the bottom. Microsoft’s steps to insert one are: go to Insert > Header or Footer, choose a header style, then add or change the text. To edit an existing header or footer, double-click it. To leave, select Close Header and Footer or press Esc. Some built-in designs already include page numbers. To remove a header from a title page, Microsoft says to select it and check Different First Page.

Keep header text short: a document name such as “Hall booking — practice,” or your name on a homework page. Microsoft’s accessibility guide gives an important caution: avoid writing important information only in the header or footer, because those areas are easy to miss for people who use screen readers (they do not scan headers and footers the same way they scan the body). Put titles, subtitles, page-number explanations that matter, and other key facts in the main body with heading styles. The header can repeat something that is already on the page.

That is why Lesson 5 asked you to style the real title in the body. The header is extra, not a hiding place. If you already typed a long sentence only in the header, copy that sentence into the body, apply a heading style, and leave a short repeated label up top. Double-check by clicking in the body: you should still see the title when the header is closed.

On Windows, Microsoft’s page-number steps (opened 10 November 2026) are: double-click in the header or footer where you want the numbers to go; go to Insert > Page Numbering; select Current Position; then choose a style. To move a number that is already there, select it and use Tab to shift it left, centre, or right (if it is flush left, Tab once for centre and twice for right; Backspace moves it back). You can change how the number looks with Home > Font.

Mac and Word for the web use slightly different labels on the same Microsoft page (for example Insert > Page Number on Mac, or Insert > Page Numbers on the web, where you pick a position). If the button you see does not say “Page Numbering,” look for Page Number or Page Numbers, or ask a tutor. This course follows the Windows steps above and does not invent extra menus.

A page number is handy on a letter that might run to a second sheet. On a one-page notice it is optional. Because screen readers may skip headers and footers, do not rely on a header page number as the only way someone knows they are in a long document — but it still helps people who print the pages and stack them.

When you are done, close the header (Close Header and Footer, or Esc) so you are typing in the body again. Save.

In your practice document:

1. Open Layout > Margins and notice the current setting (stay with Normal unless a tutor suggests another preset).
2. Insert a simple header with a short practice label — not private information.
3. Add a page number using the Windows steps above, or the matching control your screen shows.
4. Close the header. Confirm the real title is still in the body with a heading style.
5. Save.

When is a header helpful on a printed letter, and when does it just add clutter to a one-page notice?