Headers & Footers
Configure headers and footers for both left-hand (verso) and right-hand (recto) pages with complete control over positioning and content. The Headers & Footers group in the Print Settings menu has five panels: Page Layouts, Typography, Spacing, Borders, and Section Type Options. Header sizing depends on your trim and margins, so set those first in trim sizes and page margins and pair with book page layout and fonts for body typography.
Page Layouts
Open Page Layouts to arrange what appears where. Use the Left Page and Right Page tabs to configure each side, and the preset dropdown at the top to save the arrangement as a preset you can reuse.
Page Areas
Each page has six areas where you can place elements:
Page Elements
Drag these elements into the page areas above. You can drag and drop to rearrange them, and configure separately for left and right pages.
Style Individual Elements
Every placed element can carry its own style, so your page number can be bold while the running title stays light.
Hover over a placed element and click its gear icon to open the style popover:
- Custom style. Turn this on to override the global header and footer text style for just this element. The gear turns blue so you can spot styled elements at a glance.
- Weight. Pick a font weight, with an italic toggle beside it. The available weights depend on your header and footer font.
- Transform. Change the text case: None, CAPS, lower, or Title.
Turning Custom style back off removes the override and the element follows the global style again.
Custom Text with Tokens
Custom text gives you granular control over exactly what appears in your headers and footers. Click a placed Custom Text element to open the Custom Page Element Text dialog, where you can mix plain text with dynamic tokens that automatically pull in page numbers, section titles, author names, book parts, volume names, and more. Click a token in the palette to add it as a badge.
Example: {author-name} - {page-number} displays your author name and page number separated by a dash.
Example: {part-prefix} {part-number}: {part-name} displays the full book part label with its number and name.
You can also style each token on its own: click a badge and turn on Custom style to set that token’s Weight & style and Transform. A styled badge turns blue. This is how you get a layout like a bold page number next to a small-caps book title inside one custom text element.
Header & Footer Text
Open Typography in the Headers & Footers group to style the text globally, with separate Header Text and Footer Text tabs.
- Font: Choose a font for your headers or footers.
- Size: Set the font size in points.
- Letter Spacing: Adjust the space between letters.
- Weight: Pick a font weight, with an italic toggle beside it.
- Transform: Change the text case:
- None: Keep original capitalization
- CAPS: ALL UPPERCASE
- lower: all lowercase
- Title: Title Case
Individual elements can override these with their own custom style.
Header & Footer Spacing
Open Spacing to control the vertical room for your header and footer areas, with separate Header and Footer tabs and a live Preview.
Both header and footer have the same two settings:
- Total Space: The full distance from the edge of the page to where your body text begins. The header or footer sits within this space.
- Safe Zone: The minimum margin from the absolute edge of the page. Increase this if your headers or footers are getting cut off during printing.
Header & Footer Borders
Open Borders to add decorative lines beneath your header or above your footer for a polished, professional look. You can configure header and footer borders independently using separate tabs.
Toggle Enable Border to turn the border on for the selected area. Once enabled, you have full control over the line’s appearance and placement.
Line
- Thickness: Set the border line thickness from 0.5 to 6 px.
- Style: Choose a line style:
- Solid: A continuous line
- Dashed: A series of short dashes
- Dotted: A series of small dots
Size & Position
- Width: Control how far the border line extends across the page, from 1% to 100% of the available space.
- Position: Choose where the border line sits horizontally:
- Left: Aligned to the left edge on every page
- Center: Centered on every page
- Right: Aligned to the right edge on every page
- Mirror Out: Opens the line outward from the spine (left-aligned on left pages, right-aligned on right pages)
- Mirror In: Reaches the line inward toward the spine (right-aligned on left pages, left-aligned on right pages)
Spacing
- Gap: Set the distance between the header or footer text and the border line, from 0 to 24 px.
Section Type Options
Open Section Type Options to control where headers and footers appear at all. These settings are not affected by presets.
Chapter Opening Pages
- Hide on chapter openings: Remove headers and footers from the first page of each chapter for a cleaner opening.
- Show page numbers: Display page numbers even when headers and footers are hidden.
Front Matter Pages
- Hide on front matter pages: Hide headers and footers on the title page, copyright, table of contents, and dedication. Turn it off to let those pages show headers and footers like the rest of the book.
Need different headers, footers, page numbering, or even a different first-page layout for a single chapter? Override these globals using per-section print settings, which can also assign separate First Page and Other Pages layout presets. When you’re ready, export a print-ready PDF for KDP and IngramSpark.