How to Add a Page After Endnotes Without Changing Headers in Word
Question details
The user needs to append a new page (e.g., an About the Author page) after a book's endnotes without altering the established running headers of the previous sections.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Formatting a book manuscript with endnotes, where headers are configured differently for odd and even pages.
- Observed behavior
- Adding a page after the endnotes disrupts the running headers, and attempting to edit the header in the new section causes the cursor to jump back to previous sections due to linked headers.
Make sure to display hidden formatting marks by clicking the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Home tab. This will allow you to see exactly where your current section breaks and endnotes are located before you make changes.
Unlink Headers Using a New Section Break
Isolate the new page's formatting by inserting a Next Page section break and disabling the link to previous headers for both odd and even pages.
When dealing with book formatting, Microsoft Word uses separate headers for odd and even pages. To change a header on a new page without affecting the rest of the book, you must unlink both the odd and even headers in the newly created section.
Place your cursor immediately after the last endnote. Go to the Layout tab, click on Breaks, and select Next Page to create a new section for your appended page.
Double-click the header area at the top of the newly created page to open the Header & Footer tab.
With the cursor in the odd page header of the new section, click the 'Link to Previous' button in the ribbon to turn it off.
Scroll down to the next page (the even page of your new section), click inside its header, and turn off 'Link to Previous' there as well. Both must be unlinked separately.
You can now safely delete or modify the header text in this new section. Scroll back to your endnotes and previous chapters to confirm their running headers remain unchanged.
Easily Format Book Layouts and Headers with WPS Writer
WPS Writer provides an intuitive interface for managing complex document layouts, including section breaks, endnotes, and different odd/even headers, making book formatting a breeze.
- 1. Insert Section Break: Open your document in WPS Writer, place your cursor after the endnotes, go to the Page Layout tab, click Breaks, and choose Next Page Section Break.
- 2. Open Header Settings: Double-click the header area on the new page to bring up the Header and Footer menu.
- 3. Disable Link to Previous: Click the 'Link to Previous' icon in the ribbon to disable it for both odd and even pages, then freely customize your new headers without affecting the rest of the book.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my cursor jump to an earlier section when I click the header?
This happens when headers are linked to previous sections ('Link to Previous' is enabled) or if you click into a header type (like an even page) that was defined several sections earlier. Unlinking the current section's headers breaks this connection.
How do I keep the book title on even pages but change the odd pages?
Ensure the 'Different Odd & Even Pages' option is checked in the Header & Footer tab. Then, navigate to the odd page header in your new section, disable 'Link to Previous', and change the text. Leave the even page header linked if you want it to remain the same as previous sections.
Word won't let me type anything after my endnotes. How do I fix this?
By default, Word places endnotes at the absolute end of the document. To add pages after them, you must change the endnote placement. Click the small launcher arrow in the Footnotes group on the References tab, and change the location of endnotes from 'End of document' to 'End of section'.
