i have written a long report and i'm now trying to figure how the page numbering works.

the order is as follows :

cover page
acknowledgments
abstract
TOC
Main text

i only want numbering to start from Main text (page 1) and don't want it to appear elsewhere. why is it that when i insert page numbers in main text, it appears on the TOC too?

i've already added -next page- break, but it doesn't seem to work.

now the numbering is as such :
toc 1 - page 1
toc 2 - page 2
main text 1 - page 1
...
page 80

Hi Dylan,

Word 2013 isn't doing anything unusual, compared to previous versions. Regardless of whether page numbering is used, every page has a number and you can't have a TOC that is configured to show page numbers not show them for some pages. Accordingly, you need to either:
• use two separate TOC fields, one without page numbering referring to a set of heading Styles that you use only on your un-numbered pages, the other, with page numbering referring to a set of heading Styles that you use only on your numbered pages; or
• accept the need to use a different page-numbering format (eg roman numerals) for the front matter.
The latter is the usual approach.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

do you mind elaborating on how to use method 1? i don't know how i did it, but now toc1 starts on page 0, toc2 has no number, main text 1 = page 1.

First, you'd have to create a set of heading Styles to use in your 'un-numbered' Section. You'd make these look the same as the Styles you're now using.
Then you'd replace the Styles you're now using in your 'un-numbered' Section with their new couterparts.
Finally, insert a new TOC that refers only to those Styles and configure the TOC to not display page numbers.

Exactly why you'd want a TOC that displays page numbers for some pages but not others beats me (how are users supposed to know beforehand where those items are located?), but it's your document.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

uh, i think my question is misinterpreted. i still need the TOC to display all the page numbers of relevant sections. what i meant was the TOC PAGE itself should not be numbered, and the page numbering should start from the main text instead.

That is a very different issue. See: http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/front_matter_2007.htm

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]