Inserting header, table of contents, bullets and figures in Word

07/14/26 •0•0

Advancing our knowledge of Word a little further, today we will analyze how to insert necessary elements into texts in the document

Written byLeon

Translated byEditorial

Revised byEditorial

Header and Footer

Headers and footers are areas located in the top and bottom margins of each page of a document, where text or images can be inserted.

They are the appropriate place for elements such as page numbers, the date, a company logo, the author's name, the document title, or the name of the folder and file related to the document in question.

This information will be printed at the beginning (header) or at the end (footer) of each page of the document.

To work with the header and footer areas, look for these elements in tabs such as "insert", since we will be inserting them into the text. Next, the header and footer areas will be visible (marked with a dotted line) and editable.

In the blank space inside the dotted field, you can create your Header or Footer, either by typing only or also by using the toolbar resources, as shown in the figure below.

The table of contents is a list of the topics in a publication separated by the page numbers where they are found. It is also called an index.

To create the table of contents, click in the space in the text where you would like to add it. Right after that, click the "insert" tab and look for table of contents. It is created automatically using the text styles it has as a reference: styles "Title 1" and "Title 2" and so on influence the order in which they will appear in the table of contents. The "Title 3" sections will be inside the pages of "Title 2", which will be inside the pages of "Title 1", thus creating the sections of your text.

An example of what a table of contents would look like:

Notice that the effort is minimal since it is created automatically by searching for the styles within your text. To make changes, just click the update button that is usually attached beside the table of contents.

Bullets

To highlight the items in a list, you can use some symbols or a numbering scheme, as used in this material.

To number or insert bullets in a list, click the Format tab and then

Bullets and numbering. Notice here that "bullets" changes the display for the end user of your list more than it inserts something into your file.

Remember, if the list already exists, select the desired text; otherwise, the symbols or

numbers will appear automatically as you type the items.

Lists can be simple or more complex, with numbering or images according to the user's request.

Figure

Text editing applications also allow you to manipulate images and insert them into the text. They offer several ways to work with images: you can obtain them from a file, that is, you can capture them from the Internet or any other source and insert them into your document, and you can also use some existing ones.

To insert a figure into your document, click the "Insert" tab and then the "Figure" option, and next we will see the figure options that can be used in the document.

By clicking the figure twice, you will open an editing screen. There you can change the size, colors, definition, among other changes to your image. Something that is not common in image editing and is specific to these applications is the "text wrapping" option. There are usually 3 types of text wrapping for images:

- Inline with text: the image is part of a character, as if it were part of the sentence. It will follow the sentence where it is placed wherever it goes. It will adjust the height of the sentence to the size of the image.

- Wrap text: the image will go in the middle of the text.

- Break text: the image will occupy the entire width of the page, that is, there will be no text beside the image.

Can We Insert Anything Else?

Depending on the application you are using, it will be possible to insert several types of elements. The most common are charts, tables, shapes, etc. There is also the possibility of inserting buttons or more complex elements that will, for example, make the user send an email when clicking.

I do not recommend using any of these elements when making a regular text file. Text files with complex elements cannot be exported to other programs. It is very common in a work environment to use macros in Microsoft Word and use buttons to choose items inside a form, for example. This is a terrible habit because it assumes that everyone will have access to Microsoft Word, a paid program that only works on Windows. When opening a program with Macro or complex elements in LibreOffice Writer or Google Docs, these elements will be unformatted and will not work.

If you need more complex elements, look for other programs. A text editor was made to edit text and only that.