Headers and Footers in LaTeX

Complete guide to customizing headers and footers in LaTeX. Learn to use fancyhdr, create custom page styles, and design professional document headers.

Headers and footers provide essential navigation and document information. This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic page numbering to complex multi-section headers with automatic content generation.

Key concept: LaTeX separates content (what appears) from style (how it looks). Understanding page styles lets you create consistent, professional headers and footers across your document.

Related topics: Page numbering | Document design | Cross-referencing

Understanding Page Styles

Default Page Styles

LaTeX provides four built-in page styles:

Style	Description	Header	Footer
plain	Default for chapters	Empty	Page number
empty	Completely blank	Empty	Empty
headings	Automatic headers	Section/chapter names	Page number
myheadings	Manual headers	User-defined content	Page number

basic-styles.tex

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

% Set page style for entire document
\pagestyle{headings}

% Or change style for current page only
\thispagestyle{empty}

\section{Introduction}
This page will have the style set above.

\newpage
\section{Methods}
This page continues with the document page style.

\end{document}

The fancyhdr Package

The fancyhdr package provides complete control over headers and footers.

Basic Setup

fancyhdr-basic.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

% Activate fancy page style
\pagestyle{fancy}

% Clear default headers and footers
\fancyhf{}

% Set headers and footers
\fancyhead[L]{Left Header}
\fancyhead[C]{Center Header}  
\fancyhead[R]{Right Header}
\fancyfoot[L]{Left Footer}
\fancyfoot[C]{Page \thepage}
\fancyfoot[R]{Right Footer}

% Customize the line under header
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}
\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0.4pt}

\begin{document}

\section{Sample Content}
This page demonstrates basic header and footer customization.

\newpage
\section{More Content}
Headers and footers appear consistently across pages.

\end{document}

Position Specifiers

position-specifiers.tex

\documentclass[twoside]{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% For two-sided documents
\fancyhead[LE,RO]{\thepage}  % Left on Even pages, Right on Odd pages
\fancyhead[LO,RE]{\leftmark} % Left on Odd pages, Right on Even pages

% Alternative: use combinations
\fancyhead[L]{\ifnum\value{page}=1 Title Page \else \leftmark \fi}
\fancyfoot[C]{Footer text}

% For one-sided documents, use simple positions:
% L (Left), C (Center), R (Right)

\begin{document}

\section{Introduction}
Content for testing headers...

\newpage
\section{Methods}
More content to show header changes...

\end{document}

Advanced Header Customization

Dynamic Content

dynamic-headers.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{lastpage}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Dynamic page information
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\today}
\fancyfoot[L]{Document Title}
\fancyfoot[C]{Page \thepage\ of \pageref{LastPage}}
\fancyfoot[R]{Author Name}

% Custom header rule
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.5pt}
\renewcommand{\headrule}{\hbox to\headwidth{\color{blue}\leaders\hrule height \headrulewidth\hfill}}

% Different style for first page
\fancypagestyle{firststyle}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyfoot[C]{\thepage}
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt}
}

\begin{document}

\thispagestyle{firststyle}
\title{Document Title}
\author{Author Name}
\maketitle

\section{Introduction}
Regular pages use the main fancy style.

\newpage
\section{Methods}
Headers automatically update with section names.

\end{document}

Conditional Headers

conditional-headers.tex

\documentclass{book}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{ifthen}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Different headers for different page types
\fancyhead[LE,RO]{\thepage}
\fancyhead[LO]{\ifthenelse{\isodd{\value{page}}}{\rightmark}{\leftmark}}
\fancyhead[RE]{\ifthenelse{\isodd{\value{page}}}{\leftmark}{\rightmark}}

% Chapter-specific footers
\fancyfoot[C]{%
  \ifthenelse{\value{chapter}>3}
    {Advanced Topics}
    {Foundation Material}
}

% Special handling for chapter pages
\fancypagestyle{plain}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyfoot[C]{\thepage}
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt}
}

\begin{document}

\chapter{Introduction}
Chapter content here...

\chapter{Background} 
More content...

\chapter{Methods}
Even more content...

\chapter{Advanced Topics}
Notice the footer changes here...

\end{document}

Multi-line Headers

multiline-headers.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Multi-line header
\fancyhead[L]{%
  \begin{tabular}{l}
  \textbf{Document Title} \\
  \textit{Subtitle}
  \end{tabular}
}

\fancyhead[R]{%
  \begin{tabular}{r}
  Author Name \\
  \today
  \end{tabular}
}

% Adjust header height for multi-line content
\setlength{\headheight}{28pt}

\fancyfoot[C]{\thepage}

\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}

\begin{document}

\section{Sample Section}
This demonstrates multi-line headers with proper spacing.

\end{document}

Graphics in Headers

graphics-headers.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Logo in header
\fancyhead[L]{\includegraphics[height=20pt]{company-logo}}
\fancyhead[C]{\textbf{CONFIDENTIAL}}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}

% Watermark-style footer
\fancyfoot[C]{%
  \begin{picture}(0,0)
    \put(-50,-10){\includegraphics[width=2cm,opacity=0.3]{watermark}}
  \end{picture}
}

% Adjust header height for graphics
\setlength{\headheight}{25pt}

\begin{document}

\section{Document with Graphics}
Headers can include logos and other graphics elements.

\end{document}

Chapter and Section Information

Automatic Section Headers

section-headers.tex

\documentclass{report}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Use LaTeX's automatic sectioning marks
\fancyhead[LE,RO]{\thepage}
\fancyhead[LO]{\nouppercase{\rightmark}} % Section name
\fancyhead[RE]{\nouppercase{\leftmark}}  % Chapter name

% Customize how marks are created
\renewcommand{\chaptermark}[1]{%
  \markboth{\thechapter.\ #1}{}
}
\renewcommand{\sectionmark}[1]{%
  \markright{\thesection.\ #1}
}

% Remove uppercase from marks
\renewcommand{\MakeUppercase}[1]{#1}

\begin{document}

\chapter{Introduction}
\section{Overview}
Content here shows chapter and section in headers.

\section{Scope}
More content to demonstrate header updates.

\chapter{Methods}
\section{Data Collection}
New chapter shows different header content.

\end{document}

Custom Section Marking

custom-marking.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

% Custom command to set header content
\newcommand{\sectionheader}[1]{%
  \markright{#1}
}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

\fancyhead[L]{\rightmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}
\fancyfoot[C]{Custom Document Footer}

\begin{document}

\section{Introduction}
\sectionheader{Introduction to LaTeX Headers}

This section has a custom header description.

\section{Methods}  
\sectionheader{Research Methodology and Approach}

Different custom header for this section.

\end{document}

Special Page Styles

Title Page Style

title-page-style.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

% Define special style for title page
\fancypagestyle{titlepage}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyfoot[C]{\textit{Draft Version - \today}}
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt}
  \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0.4pt}
}

% Define style for table of contents
\fancypagestyle{toc}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyhead[C]{\textsc{Contents}}
  \fancyfoot[C]{\thepage}
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}
}

% Main document style
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}
\fancyfoot[C]{Main Document}

\begin{document}

% Use title page style
\thispagestyle{titlepage}
\title{Document Title}
\author{Author Name}
\maketitle

\newpage

% Use TOC style
\pagestyle{toc}
\tableofcontents

\newpage

% Switch to main style
\pagestyle{fancy}
\section{Introduction}
Main content with standard headers...

\end{document}

Bibliography Style

bibliography-style.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

% Style for bibliography pages
\fancypagestyle{bibliography}{%
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyhead[L]{\textsc{References}}
  \fancyhead[R]{\thepage}
  \fancyfoot[C]{\textit{Bibliography}}
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}
  \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt}
}

% Main document style
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}

\begin{document}

\section{Introduction}
Main content here...

% Switch to bibliography style
\newpage
\pagestyle{bibliography}

\begin{thebibliography}{9}
\bibitem{ref1}
Author, A. (2023). Paper title. \textit{Journal Name}, 10(2), 123-145.
\end{thebibliography}

\end{document}

Headers with Boxes and Borders

boxed-headers.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Boxed header with color
\fancyhead[L]{%
  \colorbox{lightgray}{%
    \parbox{3cm}{\centering\textbf{Section}\\\leftmark}
  }
}

\fancyhead[R]{%
  \fcolorbox{black}{yellow}{%
    \parbox{2cm}{\centering Page \thepage}
  }
}

% Fancy footer with TikZ
\fancyfoot[C]{%
  \begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture,overlay]
    \draw[thick,blue] (0,0) -- (2,0);
    \node at (1,0.2) {\textbf{Document Footer}};
  \end{tikzpicture}
}

\setlength{\headheight}{25pt}

\begin{document}

\section{Sample Section}
This page demonstrates boxed headers and graphic footers.

\end{document}

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Header Height Problems

header-height.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

% Set appropriate header height BEFORE using fancy
\setlength{\headheight}{30pt}  % Adjust as needed

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Multi-line header that needs more space
\fancyhead[L]{%
  Line 1\\Line 2\\Line 3
}

% If you get warnings about headheight, increase it:
% \addtolength{\headheight}{5pt}

\begin{document}
Content here...
\end{document}

Page Break Issues

page-break-issues.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}

\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Prevent headers from affecting page breaks
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}

% Use phantom content to prevent widow/orphan issues
\fancyfoot[C]{%
  \phantom{Invisible content for spacing}
  Page \thepage
}

% Adjust penalties if needed
\clubpenalty=10000
\widowpenalty=10000

\begin{document}

Content that flows across pages...

\end{document}

Best Practices

Header and footer guidelines:

1. Keep it simple - Too much information clutters the page
2. Be consistent - Use the same style throughout similar documents
3. Consider your audience - Academic vs. business documents have different conventions
4. Test thoroughly - Check headers on all page types (first, last, odd, even)
5. Mind the margins - Ensure headers don’t overlap with main content
6. Use semantic marking - Let LaTeX generate section names automatically when possible

Professional Formatting

professional-example.tex

\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\usepackage{lastpage}

% Professional document setup
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}

% Header: document info on left, page on right
\fancyhead[L]{\textbf{Project Report} | \leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{Page \thepage\ of \pageref{LastPage}}

% Footer: company info and date
\fancyfoot[L]{Company Name}
\fancyfoot[C]{\textit{Confidential}}
\fancyfoot[R]{\today}

% Clean lines
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.5pt}
\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0.3pt}

% Adjust spacing
\setlength{\headheight}{14pt}

\begin{document}

\section{Executive Summary}
Professional document content...

\end{document}

Quick Reference

Essential fancyhdr Commands

Command	Purpose	Example
\pagestyle{fancy}	Activate fancy headers	Required for customization
\fancyhf{}	Clear all headers/footers	Start with clean slate
\fancyhead[L]{text}	Set left header	\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyfoot[C]{text}	Set center footer	\fancyfoot[C]{\thepage}
\thispagestyle{style}	Set style for current page	Override default style

Position Codes

Code	Meaning	Code	Meaning
L	Left	E	Even pages
C	Center	O	Odd pages
R	Right	LE	Left on even pages

Common Variables

Variable	Content
\thepage	Current page number
\leftmark	Chapter name (book) or section name (article)
\rightmark	Section name (book) or subsection name (article)
\today	Current date

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Next: Learn about Page numbering for advanced numbering schemes, or explore Document design for overall layout principles.