Link to previous - Microsoft Support (2024)

Link to Previous

Link to previous is available when you have more than one like section. By default, sections are linked, so a header that was created in one section will be carried over when you create a section break.

Link to Previous will only link to a previous like sections. If you're using different headers and footers such as different first page or different odd and even pages, they can't be linked together because they're all separate.

If you're using sections, such as defining chapters in a document, you may want different info in different sections. By disabling Link to Previous, you can have the first page of chapter one numbered as 1-1, and as 3-1 for the first page of chapter three. To disable Link to Previous, follow these steps:

1. Go to Layout > Breaks > Next Page and insert a break wherever you want to switch to different header or footer information.

   Tip:To see section breaks and other formatting marks, go to Home and select Show/Hide (¶) to turn on the display of formatting marks.

2. In the first header of each new section, deselect Link to Previous. If Link to Previous is dimmed, check to make sure a section break was created.

3. Format each section the way you'd like. You can use Field codes to put information such as Author's name, total pages, or section number. For more info, see Insert, edit, and view fields in Word.

4. Select Close Header and Footer, or press Esc to exit.

For more info on page numbers, see Page numbering in Word.