Word Headers & Footer Options are missing

Karl 0 Reputation points
2026-03-03T12:18:10.8266667+00:00

I have been using Microsoft Word for years, and suddenly the options for Headers & Footers have disappeared. It now only offers me "More Headers from Office.com". I have no idea why. This applies to old documents and new ones

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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Stefan Blom 353.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-03-03T12:25:13.87+00:00

Your description indicates that the Built-in Building Blocks template (you may or you may not see the .dotx extension), which stores custom header/footer formats, have been damaged. You can delete the template, with Word closed.

Do the following: Exit Word if it is currently running. In File Explorer, go to %appdata%\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks. If you have a US English installation, open the 1033 subfolder and then the 16 subfolder. You will find two templates—Building Blocks.dotx and Built-in Building Blocks.dotx—and you should delete the latter one. When you are done, restart Word.

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  1. AMD 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-30T12:07:08.0633333+00:00

    Ensure "Show whitespace between pages" is checked in the Display option. This suddenly became unchecked following a 365 update on my laptop and my headers and footers stopped showing.

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  2. Charles Kenyon 171.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-03T20:30:16.3266667+00:00

    As far as I know, this problem has never been solved by reinstalling Word or repairing Office.

    Deleting the file Built-In Building Blocks.dotx from the folder:
    Document Building Blocks/1033/16
    did not help you.

    If English US is not your primary proofing language, the file will be in a different folder keyed to that language. Look for other files under Document Building Blocks.

    Stefan and Suzanne both told you about the different language files but you may have missed it. Here is my page on this problem: https://www.addbalance.com/word/pagenumber10.htm#Solution

    The screenshot below is from my Explorer map.

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    I would recommend deleting all files named Built-In Building Block.dotx with Word closed. I agree that you will be ahead, though, if you actually learn to build and use your own Headers, Footers, and Page numbers. Use the ones provided by Word as samples or ideas if you want.

    Here is a Quick Reference Guide that Microsoft used to publish on Header, Footers, and Page Numbers in pdf form. https://www.addbalance.com/word/download.htm#hfQuickReference

    Here is my feedback requesting that they restore the page: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/88c65ccc-f18a-ee11-a81c-0022484e5453 You are welcome to comment and vote on it.

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  3. Stefan Blom 353.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-03T18:43:03.6633333+00:00

    Deleted the file and it regenerated when i opened a new doc. Problem was not resolved though

    Thanks for the follow-up. Are you sure that you deleted the correct version of the file? There will be one per language version of Office.

    If you did make sure that it was the correct version, and the problem remains, try an Online Repair of Office. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-an-office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b .

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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-03T12:29:03.2533333+00:00

    While it is possible to create a header manually as the AI suggests, the failure to find the fancier options in the dropdown usually means that the Built-in Building Blocks.dotx file has been damaged. If you delete this file, Word will rebuild it. Find it at "C:\Users<ProfileName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks\1033\16\Built-In Building Blocks.dotx" (this assumes English Microsoft 365; your final path may be different depending on language and version).

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