Paging Dr. McWordy: We need help numbering our document pages, stat!

Thursday, 11 August 2011 00:00

Dear Larry,

I’m trying to control automatic page numbering in a Word document of mine. In some parts, I need to start numbering pages at 1 again but Word insists on numbering sequentially from the beginning. Is there a way I can manage this without creating separate documents?

—M.R.

Dear M.R.,

Most Word users are accustomed to turning on page numbering and letting the program completely handle the counting of pages. As pages are added, deleted, or moved around, Word ensures that page numbering remains undisturbed. But what if you want different portions of your document numbered differently? In some cases, you may want to alter the format or location of the page numbers. And, in other cases, you may want to start page numbering over. Accomplishing this is more straightforward than you probably think.

Let’s first bring everyone up to speed. The simplest way to have Word number the pages in your document is to use the Insert, Page Numbers command. In the menu bar, click Insert, then click Page Numbers (or use the ribbon in newer versions of Word). In the window that follows, you’ll be asked to indicate the positioning of the page numbers (top or bottom); the alignment (left, center, or right), whether or not to display “1” on the first page (you wouldn’t want to if it’s a title page, for example), and certain aspects of the formatting of the numbers (e.g., “1, 2, 3” or “i, ii, iii” or “a), b), c),” etc.).

Once you’ve established the basic format and location of your page numbers, you can customize them further by clicking View Header and Footer (if you selected “top” for the page number position, you’d want to access the document’s header and if you selected “bottom,” you’d want to edit the footer). Once you’ve located the page number, you can customize it in any way you see fit. For instance, you might change “1, 2, 3” to appear as “-1-, -2-, -3-” or you might prefer “Page 1 of 5, Page 2 of 5, Page 3 of 5,” and so forth.

But suppose you want to change page numbering 10 pages into your document. In that case, you’d want to start a new section of your document. First, go to the beginning of the page that will contain the newly formatted page number. Chances are, you’re at the top of a new page. If so, press backspace to move the cursor back to the bottom of the previous page. Then, to begin a new document section, click Insert, Break, and under the heading Section Break Types, click Next Page and OK. Doing so will restore the page break and put your cursor back at the top of a new page. More importantly, however, you’ll be in a new “section” of your document. Different sections can contain different formatting: A new method of page numbering, an alteration in the page layout (portrait vs. landscape), a change in the number of columns, and so forth. It’s all up to you!

This is Larry Schneider, logging off.

Larry Schneider is the owner of Accent on Computers, a Greenwich-based consulting firm. Call 203-625-7575, visit Accentoncomputers.com, or send e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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