I have a situation where I have conditional footers having different sizes which is creating problems if the document is a certain length.

On all pages I have a header that repeats with page x of y. On all pages that are not the last page, I have a footer with "Continued...". This is replaced with a table on the last page with a signature lines to be signed by various people. The following code is in the header:

{ if {page} < {numpages} "Continued...
"}{if {page} = {numpages}" <table is here> "}

The problem occurs when the document is a length that would fit on one page with "Continued..." at the bottom, but would require two pages with the table. The header says page 1 of 2, Continued... is shown at the bottom of the page but the document is only one page.

Pressing F9 causes the document to jump to 2 pages then back to 1 page in length.

Any suggestions on what I can do to automatically force the last paragraph onto the next page? I'd prefer not to enter a few blank lines after "Continued...." so it's the same height as the last page footer as this leaves a significant area between continued and the bottom of the page.

First, your field code should be reduced to:
{if{page}< {numpages} "Continued..." "<table is here>"}

As for the last paragraph, ensure nothing (including an empty paragraph) follows it. Then make sure your last paragraph is formatted with the 'keep together' and 'keep with next' attributes.

Even with those measures, though, you will sometimes find Word getting confused as to what to do. In such cases it's probably best to insert a manual page break before the final paragraph.

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