OK, I'm not going to tell you how much I want to strangle the last living breath out of Microsoft right now, but I need to preface this post by saying that I am angry as hell.




Adding line numbers to my MS Word documents has always been a fifteen second deal -- no hassles, no challenges, no having to Google a dozen different video tutorials that lead to nowhere.


Suddenly, I can't add page numbers to a document in Word 2019. It will number the first page and, sometimes, the third or fourth page, but nothing else. It's also adding a line that I do not want above the page number.


The tutorials start out simple and straightforward, then they inevitably lead to a step telling me to click on a menu item that simply doesn't exist -- as if I am the only person in the world with the version of Word that I own.


I cannot understand why Microsoft keeps changing simple commands to make them more and more difficult and exasperating to execute. That said, can someone please tell me why none of the MS Word tutorials or help menus can help me complete this task that should take a few seconds and has now eaten up half my evening? Better yet, can you provide step-by-step instructions for adding page numbers to EVERY PAGE in the SAME EXACT SPOT on every page and in a way you are certain will work? (In other words, please do not link me to Microsoft's useless help pages and please do not send me to a YouTube video from 2008.) Thank you very much!!!!

PapaTom

The method hasn't changed since well before 2008 so try to be a little open minded about old instructions. This has nothing to do with your current version of Word - just your current version of your document. What you need is an understanding in how and where footers reside.

Firstly, every Word document is composed of sections - separated by Section Breaks. A nice simple document contains only one section (and no section breaks). Every SECTION can be configured to have one, two or three different footers depending on the page setup settings you assign to it.

If you are demanding the same footer on every page:
1. Remove all section breaks from the document.
2. Configure the Page Setup > Layout settings for the WHOLE DOCUMENT to turn off the settings for "Different Odd and Even" and "Different first page"
Now you will have only one footer repeated on every page of the document so you can add the page number and see it on every page.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

Thank you very much for your reply, Andrew. Just to give you the flavor of why I am so frustrated, your solution, from the very first step, does not match the commands on my toolbar. I do not have an item for "Page Setup," only for "Layout." And the "Different Odd and Even" and "Different First Page" options are not within the Layout menu, but within a menu that comes up only after I insert page numbers.


Anyway, that said, I was able to insert page numbers (thank you), but now I have two other issues:


1. I do not want a line separating my text from the page number. That line is forcing text from one page onto the next, messing up the formatting and pagination that I have spent hours and hours working out. How can I get rid of it?


2. This is a book I am writing, and I do not want the numbers to begin on the first page. There was always a very simple method of doing this and now it is making me pull my hair out. Any tips?

Different first page and different odd and Even are commands that apply exclusively to headers and footers; consequently, they only display if you are editing a header or footer.


It would be much easier to understand what you mean if you were to post an example.


Assuming that you are putting your page number in either the header or footer, then
1. open the header or footer
2. Go to the Design menu
3. Select different first page. This lets you have one header/footer for the first page of a section, and a different one for the rest of the section. Once that is don, just insert the page number after the first page, and you should be good.

Page Numbers in Word 97-2003
Page numbers and headers and footers have not changed much since Word 97.

Comments like this one do not help. Trust me...I am not an idiot and I am not imagining that these solutions aren't working. In fact, I am now replying from my laptop, which has Word 2016 on it As an experiment, I opened a new Word document and inserted page numbers. Worked like a charm the very first time, like it always has for me. So something is f-ed up with the newer version of Word.


Regarding the issue of starting my numbers several pages into the document, that still isn't happening, despite having tried all the solutions offered here. Although I want to skip numbering on, say, the first six pages, I do not want the numbers to begin with Page 7; I want them to begin ON Page 7, but denote Page 7 as Page 1. Maybe I didn't make that clear. Given this info, can anybody help?

Your profile says you are using Word 2003. Here is the Ribbon version.
Page Numbers in Word 2007-2019 (365)

When you say you have tried all solutions offered here, are you saying there is now NO section breaks in the document? If so, you now need to add a section break in front of Page 7 (where you want the page numbers to start). You then need to ensure the footer in Section 2 is not set to be linked to previous. Then edit the footer for Section 1 to get it the way you desire. Then edit the footer to Section 2 to get it the way you desire.

I know you keep telling us that the issue is with the current version of Word but I'm pretty confident that the different behaviours you are seeing is related to the documents you are using rather than the version of Word. Try moving your document to your Word 2016 machine if you are still convinced that your issue lies with Word 365.

When I'm talking about Page Setup > Layout, I'm describing the dialog box that appears when you either double click the grey side areas of the ruler or hit the Page Setup dialog launcher on the layout tab.

Attached Images

2019-12-12_16-21-31.png (33.5 KB, 19 views)

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

1. Insert a section break between pages 6 & 7
2. On page seven, go to the header/footer where you want the page number to go.
3. Do NOT just insert a page number.
4. Instead, got to the menu: Insert > Quick Parts > Field
5. Insert SectionPages -- that's a page number based on the current section, not the document as a whole.

OK, so now I have the 7th page of text labeled as Page 1. How do I eliminate the page numbers that appear on the first six pages without deleting ALL the page numbers from the 7th page on? Step-by-step would be appreciated. Thank you!

1. Open the footer/header on page 7
2. In the Header/Footer tools on the ribbon, there's an option, Link to Previous. This allows you to link headers/footers to repeat across sections. Make sure that the option is turned off.
3. Once it's off, you should be able to simply delete the page number in the previous section w/o affecting the following section.

The toolbar does not give me the option to toggle Link To Previous on and off. When I click on Link To Previous, I am prompted to choose whether I want to "delete this header/footer and connect to the header/footer in the previous section." If I choose Yes, ALL my page numbers disappear, including the ones from the 7th page to the end of the book. If I click No, nothing at all happens.

If the footer in Section 2 is right then before you turn off the Same as Previous, select that content and copy it to your clipboard. Then turn it off and IF the content disappears, paste the clipboard contents back in there.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

OK. Go ahead and select link to previous and delete everything.
Then go back to page 7 and reinsert the SectionPages field.

I know you guys think you are communicating your answers well, and I appreciate all that you are doing, but none of these solutions are working and you are suggesting things under the assumption that I know how to, for example, "reinsert the Section Pages field."


Currently, my book is numbered as follows:


Pages 1,2,3,4,5,6 -- followed by Pages 1,2,3....232. If I can just delete the FIRST Pages 1,2,3,4,5,6 and let the numbering start after that, I will be OK and I'll leave you all alone.


Remember, I CANNOT toggle Link To Previous on and off. No matter how many times you all tell me to turn it "off." I can only do the "delete" thing that I mentioned above and that is deleting EVERYTHING.


Also, I am not sure what "If the footer in Section 2 is right" means.


Sorry if I sound frustrated. I think what is happening is that some of you are trying to explain this from memory and that's why you are not seeing what I am seeing on the screen. Please do not take offense to the sometimes sarcastic way I am responding!