A master page defines the layout of one or more pages and includes all design elements, such as headers, footers, background text, and graphics, for every page that uses that master page. A master page allows you to define the layout of multiple pages in one place, and apply that layout to multiple pages. If you want to adjust the page layout, you need change it only in one place. Each template has at least one master page.

You can create multiple master pages, such as one for odd pages, one for even pages, and one for the first page of each chapter. To simplify page management and being able to import master pages across files, do not redefine a master page to have a different layout in different files. For example, if you want odd pages to have a different footer in the front matter than in the chapters, create a master page for each case, such as ChapterOdd and PrefaceOdd.

You may need to create many master pages for special purposes, such as Title, LegalNotice, PrefaceOdd, PrefaceEven, ChapterFirst, ChapterOdd, ChapterEven, AppendixFirst, AppendixOdd, AppendixEven, IndexFirst, IndexOdd, and IndexEven.