# Sections, Pages, Headers, and Footers > Give sections their own headers, set page columns and borders, remove section breaks and render pages as images, SVG or TIFF in a Windows Forms TextControl. - **Product:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms > Document Processing > Sections, Pages, Headers, and Footers - **7500 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/sections-headers/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/sections-headers/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/sections-headers/llms-full.txt --- A report with a landscape page for a wide table, a letterhead on the first page and "Page 3 of 12" at the bottom of every page is built from sections, headers and footers. The `TextControl` on your form shows them as the user sees them on paper, and your code creates and changes them through three collections: the sections of the document, the headers and footers of each section, and the formatted pages. The examples are button handlers in *Form1.cs* of the application from [Create Your First Windows Forms Application](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-editor/first-application/llms-full.txt), with a `TextControl` named `textControl1`; the samples of the pages need `using System.IO;` and `using TXTextControl;` in *Form1.cs*. The page size and margins of a new document are described in [Creating Documents](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/creating/llms-full.txt). ### How Sections, Headers and Footers Fit Together - **A section** is a part of the document with its own page size, margins, orientation, page columns and page borders, numbered from 1 in [TextControl.Sections](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/sections-property/llms-full.txt). [What a Section Is](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/sections/#what-a-section-is) explains how sections inherit their settings. - **A header or footer** is a [HeaderFooter](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/headerfooter/llms-full.txt) object with its own `Selection`, paragraphs, tables and images, which belongs to a section. [How Headers and Footers Work](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/headers-footers/#how-headers-and-footers-work) describes the collections and the header and footer types. - **A page** is the result of formatting. Sections can span several pages, and several sections can share one page. [TextControl.GetPages](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/getpages-property/llms-full.txt) returns the pages as [Page](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/llms-full.txt) objects when [ViewMode](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/viewmode-property/llms-full.txt) is `ViewMode.PageView`, and `null` otherwise. Users set the same things with the ribbon and the **Page Setup** dialog box, as [Sections and Page Layout](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/sections/llms-full.txt) and [Headers and Footers](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/headers-footers/llms-full.txt) describe. ### Insert a Section in Landscape Orientation [SectionCollection.Add](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectioncollection/add-method/llms-full.txt) inserts a section break at the input position, and [Section.Format](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/section/format-property/llms-full.txt) sets the page settings of a section, such as `Landscape`. [Insert a Section Break From Code](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/sections/#insert-a-section-break-from-code) inserts a landscape section, and [Format a Section](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/sections/#format-a-section) lists the properties of `SectionFormat` and their units. The sections after a landscape section inherit the orientation, so set `Landscape` back to `false` where portrait pages continue. ### Add a Footer With Page Numbers A [PageNumberField](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagenumberfield/llms-full.txt) in a header or footer shows the number of its page, or with `ShowNumberOfPages` the number of pages. [Add a Footer With Page Numbers](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/headers-footers/#add-a-footer-with-page-numbers) adds a centered footer "Page x of y", and the same code works in a `ServerTextControl`. ### Give a Section Its Own Header Connected headers always have the same content. To give a section a header with other text, get the header from the section and set [ConnectedToPrevious](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/headerfooter/connectedtoprevious-property/llms-full.txt) to `false` before you change it: ```csharp private void chapterHeadersButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { textControl1.Text = ""; textControl1.Selection.Text = "Chapter 1\r\nThe first chapter."; textControl1.Sections.Add(TXTextControl.SectionBreakKind.BeginAtNewPage); textControl1.Selection.Text = "Chapter 2\r\nThe second chapter."; // Section 2 receives a header that is connected to section 1 textControl1.HeadersAndFooters.Add(TXTextControl.HeaderFooterType.Header); TXTextControl.HeaderFooter header1 = textControl1.Sections[1].HeadersAndFooters.GetItem(TXTextControl.HeaderFooterType.Header); TXTextControl.HeaderFooter header2 = textControl1.Sections[2].HeadersAndFooters.GetItem(TXTextControl.HeaderFooterType.Header); header2.ConnectedToPrevious = false; header1.Selection.Text = "Chapter 1"; header2.Selection.Text = "Chapter 2"; // Restart the page numbers in section 2 textControl1.Sections[2].Format.RestartPageNumbering = true; } ``` As soon as a document has more than one section, get headers and footers through `Section.HeadersAndFooters`: through the document's collection, most collections of a `HeaderFooter` are then `null`. `RestartPageNumbering` starts the page numbers of a section again, with the number that the [StartNumber](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagenumberfield/startnumber-property/llms-full.txt) of the page number field sets. ### Set Page Columns and Page Borders Newsletters and brochures set text in page columns, and a section decides how many. A section that begins on a new line changes the number of columns without a page break, so a heading can span the page while the text below it runs in two columns: ![A page of the TX Text Control demo document whose text runs in two page columns, with the overview and table of contents on the left and the form fields and footnotes sections on the right.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/two-page-columns.747e3a05.webp) The following handler writes a heading, starts a two-column section below it on the same page and draws a border around the pages: ```csharp private void columnsButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { textControl1.Text = ""; textControl1.Selection.Text = "Newsletter\r\n"; // A new section on the same page, in two columns 0.5 inch apart textControl1.Sections.Add(TXTextControl.SectionBreakKind.BeginAtNewLine); TXTextControl.SectionFormat twoColumns = new TXTextControl.SectionFormat(2, 720); twoColumns.ColumnLineWidth = 10; twoColumns.ColumnLineColor = System.Drawing.Color.Gray; textControl1.Sections.GetItem().Format = twoColumns; textControl1.Selection.Text = "The text of this section flows from the first column into the second."; // A border 0.5 inch from the edge of each page, except the first page of the section TXTextControl.PageBorder border = new TXTextControl.PageBorder(20, 720, System.Drawing.Color.DarkBlue); border.OmitFirstPage = true; textControl1.Sections[1].Format.PageBorder = border; } ``` The code works as follows: - The [SectionFormat constructor](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/constructor/llms-full.txt) with a number of columns and a distance in twips creates columns of equal width, which TX Text Control calculates from the page size. Another overload takes an array of column widths and an array of distances, for columns of different widths. [Columns](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/columns-property/llms-full.txt) is 1 by default, and [ColumnWidths](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/columnwidths-property/llms-full.txt) and [ColumnDistances](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/columndistances-property/llms-full.txt) are read only: new widths and distances need a new `SectionFormat`. - [ColumnLineWidth](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/columnlinewidth-property/llms-full.txt) draws a line between the columns, in twips; 0, the default, draws none. [ColumnLineColor](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/columnlinecolor-property/llms-full.txt) is its color. - Assigning the object to [Section.Format](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/section/format-property/llms-full.txt) formats the section with the input position, which `Sections.GetItem()` returns. - The [PageBorder constructor](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pageborder/constructor/llms-full.txt) takes the line width in twips, the distance from the edge of the page and the color of all four lines. [OmitFirstPage](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pageborder/omitfirstpage-property/llms-full.txt) leaves out the first page of the section, and `FirstPageOnly` draws the border on that page alone. With [MeasureFromText](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pageborder/measurefromtext-property/llms-full.txt) set to `true`, the distances are measured from the text instead of the edge of the page. [SectionFormat.PageBorder](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/pageborder-property/llms-full.txt) assigns the border to a section. A [PageBorder](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pageborder/llms-full.txt) can also set each line on its own, with properties such as `TopLineWidth`, `LeftLineColor` and `BottomDistance`. #### Columns of Different Widths For a narrow column beside a wide one, such as a sidebar next to the main text, the second overload of the constructor takes one width per column and one distance per gap, in twips. The widths and distances must add up to no more than the text area of the page, which is the page width less the left and the right margin; a larger sum throws an exception. The following method starts a two-column section at the input position with a first column of a given width and gives the second column the rest of the text area: ```csharp private void InsertColumns(int firstColumnWidth, int columnDistance) { textControl1.Sections.Add(TXTextControl.SectionBreakKind.BeginAtNewLine); TXTextControl.SectionFormat format = textControl1.Sections.GetItem().Format; // PageSize is always given in portrait orientation double pageWidth = format.Landscape ? format.PageSize.Height : format.PageSize.Width; double textAreaWidth = (pageWidth - format.PageMargins.Left - format.PageMargins.Right) * TwipsPerPageUnit(); int secondColumnWidth = (int)textAreaWidth - firstColumnWidth - columnDistance; textControl1.Sections.GetItem().Format = new TXTextControl.SectionFormat( 2, new int[] { firstColumnWidth, secondColumnWidth }, new int[] { columnDistance }); } // Twips per unit of TextControl.PageUnit private double TwipsPerPageUnit() { switch (textControl1.PageUnit.ToString()) { case "Millimeter": return 1440 / 25.4; case "StandardWPF": return 1440 / 96.0; case "Twips": return 1; default: return 14.4; // CentiInch, 1/100 inch } } ``` `InsertColumns(2880, 360)` creates a first column of two inches and a gap of a quarter inch. The code works as follows: - [Sections.Add](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectioncollection/add-method/llms-full.txt) with `BeginAtNewLine` starts the section on the same page, and `Sections.GetItem()` returns it, because the input position is now inside it. - [PageSize](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/pagesize-property/llms-full.txt) and [PageMargins](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/pagemargins-property/llms-full.txt) are in the unit of [PageUnit](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/pageunit-property/llms-full.txt), while column widths and distances are in twips. `TwipsPerPageUnit` converts with the factor of the unit that is set: millimeters, 1/100 inch, 1/96 inch or twips. - [PageSize.Width](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagesize/width-property/llms-full.txt) and [PageSize.Height](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagesize/height-property/llms-full.txt) always describe the page in portrait orientation, so a section with [Landscape](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/sectionformat/landscape-property/llms-full.txt) set uses the height as the width of its text area. - The width array holds exactly one element per column, and the distance array one element less. This constructor sets `EqualColumnWidth` to `false`. ### Remove All Section Breaks A document from Word can consist of many sections, each with its own page format and headers. To give it one layout, remove the section breaks. The following handler loads a document and removes the break at the start of each section after the first, as the blog article [How to Delete All Section Breaks in a DOCX Document using C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/11/21/how-to-delete-all-section-breaks-in-a-docx-document-using-csharp/) shows: ```csharp private void removeSectionsButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { textControl1.Load("report.docx", TXTextControl.StreamType.WordprocessingML); // Sections.Count goes down with each removed break for (int section = 2; section <= textControl1.Sections.Count;) { // The input position in front of the break that starts the section textControl1.Select(textControl1.Sections[section].Start - 2, 0); // Insert a paragraph, select its end and delete it together with the break textControl1.Selection.Text = "\r\n"; textControl1.Selection.Length = 1; textControl1.Selection.Text = ""; } } ``` [Section.Start](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/section/start-property/llms-full.txt) is the one-based position of the first character of a section. The loop doesn't count up, because every removed break lowers `Sections.Count` until one section is left. The document then has one page orientation, one set of margins and one set of headers and footers. ### Let Users Edit Headers and Footers In the editor, the user activates a header or footer with a click or a double click, as [HeaderFooterActivationStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/headerfooteractivationstyle-property/llms-full.txt) sets, and your code does the same with [HeaderFooter.Activate](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/headerfooter/activate-method/llms-full.txt). [Control How Users Edit Headers and Footers](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/headers-footers/#control-how-users-edit-headers-and-footers) shows these members and the events that follow the user between header, footer and main text. ### Work With the Pages of a Document [TextControl.Pages](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/pages-property/llms-full.txt) is the number of pages, and `GetPages` returns a [PageCollection](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagecollection/llms-full.txt) with a `Page` object for each page. It returns the collection only in page view, when `ViewMode` is `ViewMode.PageView`; in the other view modes it returns `null`. A page has read-only properties such as [Number](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/number-property/llms-full.txt), [Section](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/section-property/llms-full.txt), [Start](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/start-property/llms-full.txt) and [Length](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/length-property/llms-full.txt), and [Header](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/header-property/llms-full.txt) and [Footer](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/footer-property/llms-full.txt) return the header and footer the page shows. [InputPosition.Page](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/inputposition/page-property/llms-full.txt) is the page the user is on, in page view. [Page.Select](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/select-method/llms-full.txt) selects the text of a page, without its header and footer, so that `textControl1.Selection.Text` returns it. #### Render a Page as an Image [Page.GetImage](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/getimage-method/llms-full.txt) renders a page as an image, for thumbnails, previews or an export. The following handler shows a thumbnail of the first page in a `PictureBox` named `thumbnailBox`: ```csharp private void thumbnailButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { TXTextControl.PageCollection pages = textControl1.GetPages(); // 20 percent of the original size, with headers, footers and main text System.Drawing.Bitmap thumbnail = pages[1].GetImage(20, TXTextControl.Page.PageContent.All); thumbnailBox.Image?.Dispose(); thumbnailBox.Image = thumbnail; MessageBox.Show($"{textControl1.Pages} pages in {textControl1.Sections.Count} sections"); } ``` The code works as follows: - The indexer of the `PageCollection` takes a page number from 1. - `GetImage(int, PageContent)` returns a bitmap in screen resolution with the zoom factor in percent. Other overloads return an enhanced metafile or a string in SVG format. The values of [PageContent](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/pagecontent/enumeration/llms-full.txt), written as `Page.PageContent` in code, select the parts of the page: `Background`, `HeadersAndFooters` and `MainText`, and `All` for these three. - The previous image of the `PictureBox` is disposed before the new one is assigned. To export the pages as SVG files, which stay sharp at any size, call the overload with a maximum resolution for embedded pixel images: ```csharp private void saveSvgButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { foreach (Page page in textControl1.GetPages()) { // Images of the page are embedded as PNG with at most 150 dpi string svg = page.GetImage(TXTextControl.Page.PageContent.All, 150); File.WriteAllText($"page-{page.Number}.svg", svg); } } ``` The blog article [Convert MS Word DOCX to SVG in .NET C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/12/30/convert-ms-word-docx-to-svg-in-net-csharp/) shows what the SVG contains. #### Save the Pages as a Multipage TIFF The pages of a document can also be saved as one TIFF file with a frame for each page. `GetImage` renders each page as a bitmap, and the TIFF encoder of `System.Drawing` adds the bitmaps to the file as frames. The handler needs `using System.Drawing;`, `using System.Drawing.Imaging;` and `using System.Linq;` at the top of *Form1.cs*: ```csharp private void saveTiffButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { // The TIFF encoder of System.Drawing ImageCodecInfo tiffCodec = ImageCodecInfo.GetImageEncoders() .First(codec => codec.MimeType == "image/tiff"); using (EncoderParameters parameters = new EncoderParameters(2)) { parameters.Param[0] = new EncoderParameter(System.Drawing.Imaging.Encoder.Compression, (long)EncoderValue.CompressionLZW); Bitmap firstPage = null; foreach (Page page in textControl1.GetPages()) { // 100 percent, with headers, footers and main text Bitmap bitmap = page.GetImage(100, TXTextControl.Page.PageContent.All); if (firstPage == null) { // The first page creates the file firstPage = bitmap; parameters.Param[1] = new EncoderParameter(System.Drawing.Imaging.Encoder.SaveFlag, (long)EncoderValue.MultiFrame); firstPage.Save("document.tif", tiffCodec, parameters); } else { // Each further page is a new frame of the file parameters.Param[1] = new EncoderParameter(System.Drawing.Imaging.Encoder.SaveFlag, (long)EncoderValue.FrameDimensionPage); firstPage.SaveAdd(bitmap, parameters); bitmap.Dispose(); } } if (firstPage != null) { // Close the file parameters.Param[1] = new EncoderParameter(System.Drawing.Imaging.Encoder.SaveFlag, (long)EncoderValue.Flush); firstPage.SaveAdd(parameters); firstPage.Dispose(); } } } ``` The first bitmap is saved with `EncoderValue.MultiFrame` and creates the file; every further page is appended with `SaveAdd` and `FrameDimensionPage`, and `Flush` closes the file. The bitmaps are in screen resolution, scaled by the zoom factor in percent. `Encoder` is written with its namespace because `System.Text` has an `Encoder` class as well. #### Remove Empty Pages Documents assembled from several parts, or edited by users after they were created, can end up with pages that hold nothing but a page break or a section break. Such a page has a [Length](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/length-property/llms-full.txt) of 1, because the length counts the break at the end of the page. The following handler deletes these breaks: ```csharp private void removeEmptyPagesButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { PageCollection pages = textControl1.GetPages(); // From the last page to the first, so that the positions of earlier pages stay valid for (int number = pages.Count; number >= 1; number--) { Page page = pages[number]; // A page that holds nothing but its page or section break if (page.Length == 1) { // Page.Start counts from 1, text positions from 0 textControl1.Select(page.Start - 1, 1); textControl1.Selection.Text = ""; } } } ``` [Page.Start](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/page/start-property/llms-full.txt) is the one-based number of the first character of the page, so `Start - 1` is the text position of the break. `Page.Select` doesn't help here, because it leaves out the page break characters. ### Next Steps - [Headers and Footers](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/headers-footers/llms-full.txt): how users add headers and footers in the editor. - [Sections and Page Layout](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/sections/llms-full.txt): page setup, columns and section breaks in the user interface. - [Fields and Subtext Parts](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/fields/llms-full.txt): other fields of a document. - [Printing](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/printing/llms-full.txt): print the pages of a document. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Charts and Barcodes](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/charts-barcodes/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Fields and Subtext Parts](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/fields/llms-full.txt)