Add or Remove a Header in Google Docs

A header in Google Docs appears at the top of the page. You can add the title, page number, heading, and date as a header in the document of multiple pages. And you can also format the header margins and layout in Docs. In this tutorial, we will look at the different methods to add, customize and remove the header.

Method 1: Use the Default Option

You can add a header in Google Docs by the below steps.

1. First, position the cursor on the Google Docs where you want to add a header.
   
2. After that, go to the Insert tab and hover over the Header and Footer options.
3. Now, click on the Header.
   
4. Once you do this, you can see the header appears on the top of your page.
5. Here, you can add the number or text as a header of your choice.
   

Method 2: Using the Keyboard Shortcut

Another way to add the header to your document is by using the keyboard shortcut.

1. Place the cursor on the top of the Google Docs to insert a header.
2. For Windows: Press Ctrl +Alt + O or Ctrl +Alt + H.
3. For Mac: Press Ctrl + Cmd + O or Ctrl + Cmd +H.

Quick Tip: You can add a header by double-clicking on the top of the page in Google Docs.

Customizing the Header

Google Docs also allows you to customize the header margins and layout by the below steps.

1. Click options on the header.
2. Then, select Header Format from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Now, change the margin values of the header from the headers and footers dialog box.
   
4. You can also set the header layout by checkboxes on any following options (different first-page headers or different odd and even headers).
5. Click Apply.
   

Add Page Numbers in the Header

Adding a page number helps you easily find the page in the document or file. The following are the steps to do it.

1. In the options drop-down, click on the page numbers.
   
2. Next, in the page number window, select the position of the number, either header or footer.
3. Now, click on the show first-page option to show the page number on the first page.
   
4. Then, add the number in the box from where you would like to start the page numbering.
5. Click apply.
   

Remove the Header

You can also remove the header once you add it to your document.

1. Click on the options drop-down.
2. And select the remove header option.
   
3. In the end, you can see the header has been removed from the page.