Answered By: Alyssa Mitchell
Last Updated: Jul 07, 2020     Views: 887705

Microsoft Word 2016 instructions:

  1. From the menu, click on the Insert tab. 
  2. In the Header and Footer box, click on Page Number and select the location/option you want the page number (usually top of the page, plain number 1).
  3. At the top of the page, under Header and Footer Tools, click the box that says Different first page
  4. In the Header, type Running head: and then your abbreviated title in all caps.
  5. Tab over twice and type in the numeral 1.
  6. Go to the 2nd page of your paper. The number 2 should already be there.
  7. Type in your title or abbreviated title in all caps in front of the 2. Tab the 2 over to the right side of the header.
  8. Click on the red "X" to close the Header and Footer Tools.

Microsoft Word 2013, click here or read on:

  1. From the menu, click on the Insert tab.
  2. On the toolbar that appears, choose the Page Number option.
  3. Select the option you want (usually top of the page).
  4. Go to the menu, at the top of the page, under Header and Footer Tools, click the box that says Different first page.
  5. Your cursor should now be at the top of page 1 in the header box. Set the cursor just to the left of the number 1 and type Running head: and then your abbreviated title in all caps.
  6. Use the backspace key to set your title to the left and then use the tab key to move the page number back to the right hand side (usually 2 tabs).
  7. Close the header and footer (red x on the top right-hand side of the page)
  8. Go to page 2 of your document (or if you haven't started writing it, insert a page break) and delete the phrase Running head, leaving just your abbreviated title.
  9. On page 1, Running head will remain in your first page header, and only your abbreviated title will appear on subsequent pages.

It's easier to set up the pages before you start writing the paper.

Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Word 2010:

  1. On the View tab, select the Print Layout document view.
  2. Double click the header area of the document.
  3. On the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, in the Options group, select the check box for Different First Page.

 

 

Comments (74)

  1. Thank you so much, it is ridiculous how difficult this was. I don't understand why Word made this so hard to add a header and page numbers on the same line. Thanks for the help!
    by Melissa on Nov 26, 2014
  2. Thank you so much, this was a giant help!!
    by Caroline on Mar 08, 2016
  3. thanks for the information I really needed it.
    by Jeffrey on Mar 28, 2016
  4. Thanks for the step-by-step guide. It was extremely helpful!
    by Shannon on Apr 10, 2016
  5. This helped me tremendously! It was very difficult for me to figure it out until i found this
    by Rachelle on Apr 24, 2016
  6. Thank you so much. I have to come back to this for every paper because it is so ridiculously difficult and I can never remember these steps!
    by Meaghan on May 06, 2016
  7. Thank you for your help. You are a life saver!
    by Roger Slawon on Aug 30, 2016
  8. Thank you. I always forget a couple of the steps and then i'm stuck. Thanks for the step-by-step help.
    by Mr. Tim on Sep 04, 2016
  9. This was excellent. I was able to set paper up quickly. Was struggling terribly prior.
    by Kat on Sep 11, 2016
  10. Just switched from having to write MLA papers to APA and this is so much help. You win the internets.
    by Crystal on Oct 01, 2016
  11. Lifesaver! Thank you so much!!!
    by Shana on Oct 03, 2016
  12. I searched templates in word and chose apa. This automatically sets up the running head/page number/template for you.
    by stef on Oct 08, 2016
  13. A million thanks. Why can't they make it simple?
    by Amy on Oct 12, 2016
  14. Thank you so much! you don't understand how much this helped me.
    by Tiffiany on Apr 10, 2017
  15. thanks. you are a life saver!
    by Linda on Apr 19, 2017
  16. Thank Goodness for Google, and everyone else who commented and said they could not figure this out. Why was this so hard?
    by Bree Hart on Jul 14, 2017
  17. Yes indeed, thank you! The directions in my APA The Easy Way don't work for this issue, and it took numerous Google searches before finding this.
    by Gretchen on Jul 24, 2017
  18. I can't tell you how grateful I am for this solution. I even had to make one change to your directions work for me! You're wonderful!!!
    by Judith on Aug 03, 2017
  19. Thank you so much. I had trouble with running heads and page numbers on all pages of the document, and your instructions applied to that too.
    by Elise on Aug 15, 2017
  20. Thank you for this. I have always had issues with this seemingly simple task, and now I feel like I truly know how to do this forever due to your instructions :)
    by Sami on Aug 30, 2017
  21. HUGE help! Thank you! It only took me over an hour to figure how to do it, but with this I got it in no time!
    by C Mayor on Sep 13, 2017
  22. Thank you! This helped so much. I have been trying to do this for over an hour and a half!
    by Diane on Oct 09, 2017
  23. Omg!!! Thank you so much! What a night mare this was trying to do the Header and page numbers !
    by Carla on Oct 14, 2017
  24. I've looked all over the web trying to figure this out! Very helpful!
    by Brat on Oct 28, 2017
  25. Thank you, it was very helpfull
    by Lidia on Oct 30, 2017
  26. Thanks so much. I had points taken off my last paper for this. I couldn't seem to get the page numbers in the corner and the running head on the line at the same time. It seemed like it was so difficult, yet so easy. Thanks for all the help. I did have to redo the steps on page 2 cause it didn't automatically do the running head but the page number was there but it was good after I redid the steps for the header. You are AWESOME!!!!
    by Kim on Nov 10, 2017
  27. Thanks a million! I have been struggling to format my paper. It was not displaying the header and page number at the same time in Word 2010. Your explanation saved me. My paper is due today!
    by Sandra B. on Mar 05, 2018
  28. Awesome!! You made that so easy. Thank you very much.
    by Scott Owens on Mar 25, 2018
  29. Thank you!!! The last time I was in school was 10 years ago. This was so frustrating to me figuring out a page number AND header - not the actual paper. Why is word so difficult?
    by stacy on Mar 29, 2018
  30. Thank you, those instruction saved me lots of time I did not have. I been trying to do this for 2 days. I wouldn't never figure it out.
    by Carolyn on Mar 30, 2018
  31. I can write a paper like nobody's business, but for whatever reason the running header has never wanted to cooperate. I followed your instructions and viola!! It worked perfectly. Too bad this is my last paper before I graduate.
    by Barb L on Apr 24, 2018
  32. Thank you-much appreciated!
    by mmm on Jun 26, 2018
  33. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
    by COLLEGESTUDENT on Jul 03, 2018
  34. I'm using MS office 2010 and am still having issues. The numbers will not change per page and i have "different first page" checked.
    by Lisa on Jul 11, 2018
  35. @Lisa - if you're still having trouble and you're a current Walsh student/faculty/staff, stop by the Walsh U Library and we'd be happy to help you out.
    by Katie Hutchison on Jul 11, 2018
  36. I cannot get this to work at all, so frustrating
    by Katie on Jul 15, 2018
  37. @Katie - if you're still having trouble and you're a current Walsh student/faculty/staff, stop by the Walsh U Library and we'd be happy to help you out.
    by Katie Hutchison on Jul 16, 2018
  38. THANK YOU! I spent an hour trying to do this myself, and then I found your step by step instructions. Microsoft did not make this process intuitive, but you provided an excellent walk through. Thanks again!
    by Jeff on Aug 05, 2018
  39. I found this so helpful, thank you! However I cannot seem to get "Running Head" off of the other pages. When I delete it from page 2, it deletes from page 1 as well.
    by Julie on Aug 18, 2018
  40. @ Julie - If you are using Office 2010 or newer, I would just double check to make sure that the box for different first page is clicked. This is what will let you do the separate header on the first page. If you are still having problems, stop by the library and we'd be happy to work with you in person!
    by Alyssa Mitchell on Aug 21, 2018
  41. Everything worked wonderfully except my page numbers didn’t continue, I have to manually go in to change them. I have word 2010
    by Ctect44 on Sep 13, 2018
  42. @Ctect44 - If you are still having trouble, just stop by the library and we would be happy to help you!
    by Alyssa Mitchell on Sep 14, 2018
  43. YOU ARE THE BEST
    by anonymous on Sep 20, 2018
  44. thank you!
    by stephanie on Oct 15, 2018
  45. Usually I can figure out stuff like this but this really stumped me so thank you so much for this.
    by Monique on Oct 21, 2018
  46. Thank you, thank you, thank you
    by Karen A on Nov 12, 2018
  47. Set the running header up FIRST before you start you paper, it will save you so much time!!!! Thank you so much for great instructions!!!
    by Cindy Moultrie on Nov 15, 2018
  48. Thank you so much for your clear explanations.
    by Tish on Nov 16, 2018
  49. Wish I had been around when the video for Word 2016/365 had been around. What you get now is a big black screen. Can somebody type it out, like the 2013 one, please?
    by Gamanin8 on Jan 16, 2019
  50. @Gamanin8 - Thank you for bringing the missing video to our attention! I have added the step by step instructions to this answer in place of the video.
    by Alyssa Mitchell on Jan 17, 2019
  51. Amazing! Thank you so much!
    by YEN on Mar 20, 2019
  52. Thank you so much. I have a paper due in a 6 PM and was having a terrible time with formatting the header with page numbers. Your advice with perfect ! Thank you.
    by dorothy neufeld on Mar 23, 2019
  53. THAAAAAAAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!! Your step by step guide has saved my paper. You should get an award for most helpful FAQ on the internet.
    by Rich Gonzalez on Apr 17, 2019
  54. Thank you so much! You made it so easy to do.
    by A Curl on Apr 17, 2019
  55. Thank you so much!!! This was driving me crazy and is much more complicated than needed, but now I can begin actually writing my paper now!
    by Lora B. on Apr 20, 2019
  56. Thank you for helping with APA title page and page numbering. It's a bit tricky if you miss a step. It's much better to set up the title and page numbers before typing the paper.
    by L. Love on Jun 06, 2019
  57. Thank you so much for your help. Your directions were easy to follow, unlike others that made it complicated. This was a huge help. Well appreciated.
    by Pamela on Jul 10, 2019
  58. A google search on how to do this brought me to you after I had attempted to do this on my own with no luck. You saved me time and taught me how to figure it out. Thanks so much!
    by sw on Jul 11, 2019
  59. Thank you so very, very much. I have spent hours trying to compose instructions for both PC and Mac for my students, and this was extremely helpful. Clearly but simply written.
    by Gina on Sep 05, 2019
  60. I really appreciated your help. I had forgotten how to do the running-head on my 2015 IMAC. Helping someone is a blessing and receiving has saved my day.
    by SOUTHERNIVORY on Sep 16, 2019
  61. Alyssa, you just saved me so much time and frustration! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :)
    by Heather on Oct 10, 2019
  62. thanks so much... it was very helpful
    by dedan on Oct 20, 2019
  63. I am so glad I found this answer. I was getting so frustrated on trying to get the header and page number to stay. Thank you
    by Beth J on Oct 26, 2019
  64. None of those answers work. Help doesn't give me any answers. Otherwise it looks like a normal page. Opening and closing Word 2016 or OS Windows 10 doesn't help. Help!
    by Les on Nov 22, 2019
  65. @Les - I am sorry it's not working for you. Without being able to see your screen, I would just recommend making sure that you the page doesn't have the margins hid. If you are still having trouble, just stop by the library and we would be happy to help you!
    by Alyssa Mitchell on Nov 22, 2019
  66. YOU ARE AWESOME! THANK YOU!!!
    by JILLY on Jan 30, 2020
  67. THANK YOU SO VERY VERY VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!
    by SEAGM on Feb 06, 2020
  68. Thank you so much! Make sure you follow the directions exactly. I opened both my Word Document and internet tab side by side which helped. This was super helpful! Back to writing my research paper.
    by Lizzy on Apr 29, 2020
  69. Thank so much for this. Seriously it's ridiculous why one has to use such a roundabout way to place the running head and page numbers at the same time!
    by Beverly on Jun 28, 2020
  70. I AGREE YOU ARE AWESOME! Thank you so much this helped a great deal and saved hours.
    by Kathy on Jul 18, 2020
  71. thank you thank you thank you. I literally killed myself wandering in internet how to do it. thank you.
    by zahra on Aug 06, 2020
  72. So glad I finally found these steps. Thank you for saving me time and eliminating much aggravation!
    by Angela on Sep 26, 2020
  73. Absolutely the only source that explains this correctly without the paper going all wonky. THANK YOU!
    by Mia on Oct 16, 2020
  74. Thank you so much! I was having the hardest time trying to get both the title and page number in the header at the same time!!! Your instructions were very clear and concise.
    by Danie Boatman on Dec 10, 2020

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