Word for Microsoft 365 Word 2021 Word 2019 Word 2016 Word 2013 Word 2010 Word 2007 More…Less
Word can automatically count the lines in a document and display the appropriate number beside each line of text. This is useful when you need to refer to specific lines in a document, such as a script or a legal contract.
By default, Word numbers every line in a document (except those in tables, footnotes, endnotes, text boxes, and headers and footers). However, you can choose which line numbers to display. For example, you can display line numbers in all or part of the document. Or you can display line numbers at intervals, such as every tenth line (10, 20, 30, and so on).
What do you want to do?
-
Add line numbers
-
Remove line numbers
Add line numbers
You can add line numbers to all or part of a document. To view line numbers, you must be in Print Layout view (click the View tab to check).
Notes:
-
A table is counted as one line.
-
A figure is counted as one line.
-
A text box is counted as one line if it is positioned inline with the text on the page. If text on the page wraps around the text box, the lines of text on the page are counted. Lines of text inside a text box are not counted.
Add line numbers to an entire document
-
On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
Note: If your document is divided into sections and you want to add line numbers to the entire document, you first need to select the document. Click Select in the Editing group on the Home tab, and then click Select All. Or press CTRL+A.
-
Do one of the following:
-
To number consecutively throughout the document, click Continuous.
-
To start with number 1 on each page, click Restart Each Page.
-
To start with number 1 after each section break, click Restart Each Section.
-
For more advanced line numbering options, such as numbering at different intervals, click Line Numbering Options, and then click Line Numbers on the Layout tab.
-
Add line numbers to a section or to multiple sections
-
Click in a section or select multiple sections.
-
On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
-
Click Line Numbering Options, and then click the Layout tab.
-
In the Apply to list, click Selected sections.
-
Click Line Numbers.
-
Select the Add line numbering check box, and then select the options that you want.
Top of Page
Remove line numbers
You can remove line numbers from the entire document, from a section, or from a paragraph.
-
Click in the document, or click in the section or paragraph from which you want to remove line numbers. If you want to remove line numbers from multiple sections, select the sections.
-
On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
-
Do one of the following:
-
To remove line numbers from the entire document or section, click None.
-
To remove line numbers from a single paragraph, click Suppress for Current Paragraph.
-
Top of Page
What do you want to do?
-
Add line numbers
-
Remove line numbers
Add line numbers
You can add line numbers to all or part of a document. To view line numbers, you must be in Print Layout view (click the View tab to check).
Notes:
-
A table is counted as one line.
-
A figure is counted as one line.
-
A text box is counted as one line if it is positioned inline with the text on the page. If text on the page wraps around the text box, the lines of text on the page are counted. Lines of text inside a text box are not counted.
Add line numbers to an entire document
-
On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
Note: If your document is divided into sections and you want to add line numbers to the entire document, you first need to select the document. Click Select in the Editing group on the Home tab, and then click Select All. Or press CTRL+A.
-
Do one of the following:
-
To number consecutively throughout the document, click Continuous.
-
To start with number 1 on each page, click Restart Each Page.
-
To start with number 1 after each section break, click Restart Each Section.
-
For more advanced line numbering options, such as numbering at different intervals, click Line Numbering Options, and then click Line Numbers on the Layout tab.
-
Add line numbers to a section or to multiple sections
-
Click in a section or select multiple sections.
-
On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
-
Click Line Numbering Options, and then click the Layout tab.
-
In the Apply to list, click Selected sections.
-
Click Line Numbers.
-
Select the Add line numbering check box, and then select the options that you want.
Top of Page
Remove line numbers
You can remove line numbers from the entire document, from a section, or from a paragraph.
-
Click in the document, or click in the section or paragraph from which you want to remove line numbers. If you want to remove line numbers from multiple sections, select the sections.
-
On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
-
Do one of the following:
-
To remove line numbers from the entire document or section, click None.
-
To remove line numbers from a single paragraph, click Suppress for Current Paragraph.
-
Top of Page
Need more help?
Want more options?
Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.
Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.
Add line numbers to a section or to multiple sections
- Click in a section or select multiple sections.
- On the Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
- Click Line Numbering Options, and then click the Layout tab.
- In the Apply to list, click Selected sections.
- Click Line Numbers.
Contents
- 1 How do I add line numbers in Word for Mac?
- 2 How do I number every 5th line in Word?
- 3 How do you get line numbers on every 5 lines?
- 4 How do we show line numbers next to the code?
- 5 How many lines are in a Word document page?
- 6 How do I change line number in Word?
- 7 How do you display line numbers in VS?
- 8 How do I find line numbers?
- 9 How do I count the number of rows in word?
- 10 Does Word Count Count Lines?
- 11 How do you insert a line across the page in word?
- 12 Why can’t I see line numbers in Word?
- 13 How do I move line numbers to the right?
- 14 How do I change line number font?
- 15 How do I show line numbers in IntelliJ?
- 16 How do I show line numbers in vim?
- 17 How do you number lines in a text file?
- 18 How do I show line numbers in less command?
- 19 How do I show line numbers in nano?
- 20 How do I copy line numbers in Word?
How do I add line numbers in Word for Mac?
In your Word document, click the “Layout” tab in the ribbon bar and then click on the “Line Numbers” button. Select “Restart Each Section” from the drop-down menu. If you want to add a new section break, click the “Breaks” button. This is just above the “Line Numbers” button in the “Layout” tab.
How do I number every 5th line in Word?
How to number every nth line in Word 2013
- On Page Layout tab, click on Line Numbers and click Line Numbering Options…
- Page Setup opens.
- Line Numbers windows opens.
- You can start numbering at a specific number (Start at), control number position (From text) and number every nth line (Count by).
How do you get line numbers on every 5 lines?
Add line numbers to a section or to multiple sections
- Click in a section or select multiple sections.
- On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers.
- Click Line Numbering Options, and then click the Layout tab.
- In the Apply to list, click Selected sections.
- Click Line Numbers.
How do we show line numbers next to the code?
Display line numbers in code
- On the menu bar, choose Tools > Options. Expand the Text Editor node, and then select either the language you’re using or All Languages to turn on line numbers in all languages.
- Select the Line numbers checkbox.
How many lines are in a Word document page?
The standard number of lines per page tends to be 46.
How do I change line number in Word?
Simply follow these steps:
- Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
- Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Styles group.
- Hover the mouse pointer over the Line Number style.
- Click on the drop-down arrow and choose the Modify option from the resulting menu.
How do you display line numbers in VS?
1 Answer. On the menu bar, choose Tools, Options. Expand the Text Editor node, and then select either the node for the language you are using, or All Languages to turn on line numbers in all languages.
How do I find line numbers?
You can find out the phone number for your local phone company by looking at your monthly bill or dialing “411” from your phone line. Verify your identity.
How do I count the number of rows in word?
Right-click on the selected table and select Table Properties from the shortcut menu. Click on the Row tab — the number of rows selected is listed at the top of the dialog box.
Does Word Count Count Lines?
Word counts the number of words in a document while you type. Word also counts pages, paragraphs, lines, and characters.
How do you insert a line across the page in word?
Press Ctrl+A to select all the text in your document. Click Home > Shrink Font one or more times. As you click Shrink Font, Word decreases the size of every font in your document.
Why can’t I see line numbers in Word?
To use line numbers in Word, you must be in Print Layout view. Go to the View tab and click Print Layout in the Views section of the ribbon. Next, insert the numbers by heading to the Layout tab. Click the Line Numbers button in the Page Setup section of the ribbon.
How do I move line numbers to the right?
Remember though, it is not section alignment alone. For line numbers to appear in the right margin you must set the section alignment to right to left “and” have a right to left script language enabled.
How do I change line number font?
Process
- Go to the Home tab of the Ribbon after enabling line numbering.
- Under Styles, click the Dialog Box Launcher arrow to open the Styles pane.
- In the Styles pane, click Options.
- Under “Select styles to show” in the Options window, select “All styles”.
- Click OK to exit out of the Options window.
How do I show line numbers in IntelliJ?
IntelliJ IDEA 15
- File > Settings… > Editor > General > Appearance > Show line numbers.
- Hit Shift twice > write “line numbers” > Show Line Numbers (that one that has the toggle) > change the toggle to ON.
How do I show line numbers in vim?
How to display line number in vim
- Press the ESC key.
- At the : prompt type the following command to run on line numbers: set number.
- To turn off line numbering, type the following command at the : prompt again: set nonumber.
- One can set relative line numbers by typing: :set relativenumber.
How do you number lines in a text file?
4 Answers. In notepad , you can type Ctrl + g to view current line number. It also at bottom-right corner of status-bar.
How do I show line numbers in less command?
All you have to do is pass either -N or –LINE-NUMBERS option to the less command. This option forces less to show a line number at the beginning of each line in the screen.
How do I show line numbers in nano?
You can ask nano to temporarily turn on line numbers by pressing Alt-C (meaning “Hold down the Alt key and the C key simultaneously”). This will show line and column numbers near the bottom of nano’s window.
How do I copy line numbers in Word?
Assuming there is a consistent amount of space between the margin and the first desired word on each line, what you could do after pasting is to use a block cut (Shift-Alt and drag the cursor over the desired area, followed by Ctrl-X), then select all the lines, delete what’s left, then paste again – voila! the numbers
Organize your documents by numbering them
What to Know
- Select Layout > Page Setup > Line Numbers > choose option > select Apply to drop-down > Selected sections.
- Next, select Line Numbers > Add line numbering > OK.
This article explains how to add line numbers to documents in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007.
How to Add Line Numbers to a Word Document
To include line numbers in a document:
-
Go to Layout > Page Setup > Line Numbers.
If the document is divided into sections and you want to add line numbers to the entire document, press Ctrl+A to select the entire document.
-
Choose one of the following options:
- Continuous: Allows consecutive numbering throughout the document.
- Restart Each Page: Starts each page with the number 1.
- Restart Each Section: Starts with number 1 after each section break.
- Line Numbering Options: Allows more advanced line numbering options, for example, to number at different intervals.
-
To add line numbers to a specific section or to multiple sections, choose Line Numbering Options to open the Page Setup dialog box, then select the Layout tab.
-
Select the Apply to drop-down arrow and choose Selected sections.
-
Select Line Numbers.
-
Select the Add line numbering check box.
-
Select any other options you want, then select OK to close the window.
-
Select OK to save your changes.
All About Line Numbers
Microsoft Word automatically numbers all lines except for a select few. It counts an entire table as one line. It also skips text boxes, headers and footers, and footnotes and endnotes.
Microsoft Word does count figures as one line, as well as a text box that has inline with text wrapping applied. However, the lines of text within the text box are not counted.
You decide how Word handles line numbers. For example, apply line numbers to specific sections, or number lines in increments such as every tenth line.
Then, when it’s time to finalize the document, remove the line numbers and you’re ready to go.
Thanks for letting us know!
Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day
Subscribe
When submitting a manuscript to a journal, for example, it is often required to include line numbers within the document to make it easier when reviewing. In this walkthrough, I will explain how to insert line numbers to a document in Microsoft Word.
1. Open a document in Word
The first thing to do is to open a document in Microsoft Word, or create a new one for that matter. In the example below, I have created a one-page document with text denoting each line.
What I want to do here is to add line numbers, which will be placed along the left side of the document.
2. Find the ‘Line Numbers’ tab
To insert line numbers in Word, you must go to ‘Layout > Line Numbers‘ tab. You will notice a small arrow next to the button. Click the button to see the options.
The option should be set to ‘None‘ as default. Below this, there are different options to choose from, each of which are summarised below.
- Continuous: By selecting ‘Continuous‘, line numbers will be added onto every page within the document. The line numbers will be in ascending order as you go down the document, and the sequence will continue into other pages.
- Restart Each Page: This option adds line numbers into each page, however, the numbering will start at 1 again on each new page.
- Restart Each Section: If you select ‘Restart Each Section‘ the line numbering will restart after each section break, if you have these in the document.
- Suppress for Current Paragraph: The ‘Suppress for Current Paragraph‘ option can be picked alongside any of the above. You can turn off line numbering for individual paragraphs if you so wish.
For our example, I will just select the ‘Continuous‘ option. Here is what it now looks like.
3. Advanced line number settings
From the line numbering dropdown options, you will notice at the bottom it says ‘Line Numbering Options‘. If you select this, a new window will open called ‘Page Setup‘. From here, click the ‘Line Numbers…‘ button towards the bottom. A new small window will open called ‘Line Numbers‘.
This window will enable further advanced settings, such as changing what number the numbering starts and by what count.
Once you have tweaked these, click the ‘OK‘ button and then the ‘OK‘ button in the ‘Page Setup‘ window to save the changes.
Microsoft Word version used: 2016
How to number lines and paragraphs in Microsoft Word and format the numbers with a different font, size or color.
When you’re discussing a speech or other document ‘in progress’ you might want to number the lines or paragraphs for easy reference “Please change paragraphs 6, 7, 21 and 27”. Sure, these days there’s a lot of linking and online collaboration but there’s still a place for line or paragraph numbering.
Line numbering will give you left hand line numbering like this:
Line numbering is simple. Paragraph numbering is done indirectly. As usual in Microsoft Office, there’s complications and surprising pitfalls. Office-Watch.com doesn’t just give you the simple ‘Microsoft approved’ answer but digs deeper.
Line Numbering
Line numbering is simple in Word. Go to Layout tab click on the small arrow at bottom right of the Page Setup section to reach the Page Setup dialog then Layout | Line Numbers. This dialog and option hasn’t changed for many versions of Word.
In Word the Layout tab has a Line Numbers pull down.
The full Line Numbering dialog has options for continuous line numbers or numbering for each page or section also the start number and increments. ‘From text’ controls the distance between the numbering and the document text.
Line numbering can be applied on a per-paragraph basis to selected paragraphs or the entire document. (Strictly speaking you can have line numbering for a single line but the results aren’t helpful – try for yourself).
Stop or Suspend Line Numbering
The line numbering can be stopped at any time or suspended for selected paragraphs via Line Numbering | Suppress for Current Paragraph or Paragraph dialog | Line and Page Breaks | Formatting exceptions | Suppress line numbers.
Change the look for line numbers
You can change the look of just the line numbers using the ‘Line Number’ style.
Line Number is one of those annoying hidden Word styles. It doesn’t show up in the ‘In use’ or ‘In current document’ style lists even when it’s being used in the document. You have to choose ‘All Styles’ to see the Line Number style and modify it.
Curiously, line numbering itself isn’t a formatting option in Paragraph styles. At least we can’t find it.
You can use a style to suppress line numbering at Format Paragraph | Line and Page Breaks | Formatting Exceptions | Suppress Line Numbers.
However styles can’t enable the line numbering in the first place. That’s a curious omission since Microsoft developers themselves should be aware of one common use for line numbering – in samples of computer code. These samples are usually formatted with a special style (fixed space font, indent and a special color) to which automatic line numbering would be very useful.
Paragraph numbering
Since there’s line numbering in Word, you’d expect to also find a paragraph numbering option. It’s common to find draft documents with paragraphs numbered so that people can refer to each by that number (“We mention government oversight in paragraphs 6, 7, 9 and 12”).
There’s no direct option for paragraph numbering in Word that works similarly to the line numbering feature.
The workaround is to use numbered lists instead. It’s not a good workaround but it’s what Microsoft leaves us with.
Select the paragraphs then choose Numbering to make a numbered list.
Unfortunately, the defaults for this also mess up the formatting of your document.
If the document already has numbers or lists, making this choice will override that formatting (we did say this is a workaround).
To fix the formatting, change the position of the numbers to put them in the margin as a hanging indent. You can do that by dragging the ruler markers to the left.
Or in the Format Paragraph dialog box, a Before Text indent plus a Hanging indent both of the same value.
You can create or modify a style to do this and turn on/off quickly.
Change look of Paragraph numbering
Paragraph numbering is formatted with the List Paragraph style. Or select one of the numbers so the whole column of numbers is selected, then change the formatting
Wish List
As usual, there’s features missing from Word’s numbering options that really should be present in such a long standing product. We mention these to save you the trouble of looking for options that Microsoft left out.
We’ve already mentioned there’s no real paragraph numbering option that numbers the paragraphs without changing the formatting of the document. This omission alone makes us wonder about Microsoft’s customer research and decision making process. There are plenty of ‘use cases’ for numbered paragraphs, especially in the legal profession.
Sometimes line/paragraph numbering should be on the right of the page. On the right it’s less obtrusive and would be more appropriate for ‘right-to-left’ languages.
For longer documents, it could be useful to show the line/paragraph number range in the header/footer for example “ Page 7 Paras 23-28 “ .