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Select Insert > Page Number, and then choose the location and style you want.
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If you don’t want a page number to appear on the first page, select Different First Page.
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If you want numbering to start with 1 on the second page, go to Page Number > Format Page Numbers, and set Start at to 0.
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When you’re done, select Close Header and Footer or press Esc.
Tip: To get back to a header or footer to make changes, double-click in the header or footer area.
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On the Insert tab, click the Page Number icon, and then click Page Number.
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Select a location, and then pick an alignment style. Word automatically numbers every page, except designated title pages.
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To change the numbering style, select Format and then choose the formatting you want to use.
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Select OK twice to close both dialog boxes.
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Adding page numbers in Microsoft Word is easy! Whether you’re writing a 10-page essay or a thesis paper, there are a variety of ways to customize the page numbers. Use the Insert tab to quickly add page numbers. From there, you can change the formatting and numbering options. This wikiHow guide will show you how to add page numbers to your Microsoft Word document on Windows and macOS, as well as in the Word mobile app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.
Things You Should Know
- On desktop or mobile, go to the Insert tab, then select «Page Number» to add page numbers.
- Double-click the page number to make changes to the font, color, or style.
- Double-click the header or footer, then go to Page Number > Format Page Numbers for additional options.
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Click Insert. This is in the tab menu bar at the top of Word. Alternatively, double-click the top or bottom of the page to open the Header or Footer editing menu.
- Don’t forget to save your work as you go!
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2
Click Page Number. This opens a pop-up menu for choosing where to place the page numbers.[1]
- In the Insert menu, Page Number is near the center.
- In the Header & Footer design tab, Page Number is on the left.
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Choose a page number position. This can be in the header or footer, and located left, center, or right.
- You can also toggle the option to include the page count in the page numbering (e.g. 1 of 3).
- Selecting a page number position will open the “Header & Footer” tab.
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Double-click a page number. This will select it and show a pop-up menu with options for changing the font, color, and style. This change will edit every page number automatically.
- You could even cross out the page numbers if that’s your style.
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Start numbering on the second page. If you want the first page to have no numbering, and start at 1 on the second page, follow these steps:
- Double-click the header or footer to open the Header & Footer design tab.
- Check the “Different First Page” checkbox.
- Click Page Number then Format Page Numbers.
- Select “Start at” and change it to 0.
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Restart page numbers by using page breaks. If you want to start a new numbering later in the document, you’ll need to use a page break.
- Place your cursor at the beginning of the page you want to restart the numbering on.
- Go to the Layout tab, then click Breaks.
- Select Next Page in the Breaks options menu.
- Double-click the header or footer in the second section. This will open the Header & Footer design tab.
- Click Page Number then Format Page Numbers.
- Select the radio button labeled «Start At,» then select «1» to restart the page count at 1.
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Use «Format Page Numbers» for additional changes. This can be located by going to Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers. You can change:
- The number format. You can change this to Roman numerals, letters, or another style.
- The chapter number.
- The starting number.
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Click Close Header and Footer. This will return you to editing the body of the document. Alternatively, press Esc to close the header and footer editor.
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Open your Word document on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. It’s easy to use Word on your phone or tablet to insert page numbers into your document.
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Tap the more button. While in Edit mode in the Word mobile app, tap the more button (three horizontal dots).
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Tap Home. Then, select Insert to switch to the Insert menu.
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Choose Page Numbers. Then, select the placement location for the numbers.
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Format the page number. After selecting the placement, double-click the page number. Then, tap the text edit button (the icon with the letter A and a pen). You can change the font, size, color, and more!
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Go to Headers and Footers. This is in the Insert menu. You can set a different first page, change how odd and even pages look, or remove the page numbers entirely.
- When working in Online mode, any changes made in the app will appear on your desktop version of Word.
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In the insert box, the page number icon is grayed out and not available for use. How do I activate it?
Kyle Smith is a wikiHow Technology Writer, learning and sharing information about the latest technology. He has presented his research at multiple engineering conferences and is the writer and editor of hundreds of online electronics repair guides. Kyle received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
wikiHow Technology Writer
Expert Answer
The page numbering feature isn’t available in certain layouts. Go to View and select Print Layout. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, try restarting and/or updating Microsoft Word.
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If you plan on creating a complex header or footer (like your name, or a title), try and add the page numbers first. They will be much easier to work with.
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1. Click Insert.
2. Click Page Number.
3. Select a position.
4. Choose a style.
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Microsoft Word offers an easy way to add different styles of page numbers to your document. If you’ve got a simple document, it works well enough. But if you’ve worked with Word for a while and use it to create more complex documents, you know page numbering can get a little flaky. So let’s take a closer look.
To add page numbers to your Word document, switch over to the “Insert” tab on the Ribbon and then click the “Page Number” button in the “Header & Footer” section.
A drop-down menu shows several different options for where you’d like the page numbers to appear—top of the page, bottom of the page, and so on. The last couple of options let you format your page numbers more precisely (something we’ll look at a bit later in this article) or remove page numbers from your document.
Hover over one of the first four options and a page number gallery appears. Each option in the gallery gives you a general idea of how the page numbers will look on your page.
Once you find an option you like, go ahead and click it to have Word automatically number all the pages of your document in that style. In this example, we’ve selected the “Accent Bar” style in the “Page X” format.
RELATED: How to Insert Page X of Y into a Header or Footer in Word
If you inserted page numbers at the top or bottom of the page, the header or footer area of your document automatically opens up, and you can make any addition you like around your new page numbers. When you’re ready to get back to your document, you can tap the “Close Header & Footer” button on the Ribbon or double-click anywhere in your document outside the header or footer area.
That’s the simple version of adding page numbers, and it works well enough if you’ve got a simple document—one where you want all the pages numbered, and you want them numbered using the same convention.
For some documents, though, you’ll want to get a little fancier. For example, what if you don’t want the page number to appear on the first page of the document (or on the first page of each section)? Or what if you want the page number placement to be different on odd and even pages, the way it is in a book? Or what if you have different sections that you want to be numbered differently—like an introduction or table of contents where you want Roman numerals instead of the Arabic numerals used in the rest of your document?
Well, Word has a way to do all of that.
How to Make Page Numbering Not Appear on the First Page of a Document or Section
When your first page is a title page, you might want to use a different footer or header for it than you use in the rest of your document and you might not want the page number to show up on that page. When you open your header or footer section by double-clicking somewhere in those areas, Word opens a new “Design” tab on the Ribbon in a section named “Header & Footer Tools.”
On that tab, you’ll find a “Different First Page” option.
The critical thing to know here is that this option applies to the section of the document where your insertion point is currently placed. If you only have one section in your document, selecting the “Different First Page” option makes the current header and footer disappear from the first page of your document. You can then type in different information for your header or footer on the first page if you want.
If you have multiple sections in your document, you can change the header and footer for the first page of each section. Say you were writing a book with different chapters and you had each chapter set up in its own section. If you didn’t want the regular header and footer (and page numbers) showing up on the first page of each section, you can just place your insertion point somewhere in that section and then enable the “Different First Page” option.
How to Number Odd & Even Pages Differently
You can also set up page numbering so that the position of the page numbers is different on odd and even pages. You’ll find that most books take this approach so that the page number appears toward the left side on the left (even) pages and toward the right side on the right (odd) pages. This prevents the page numbers from being obscured by the book’s binding and makes them easier to see as you flip through pages.
Word also has an option for that. On that same “Design” tab in the “Header & Footer Tools” section of the Ribbon, just click the “Different Odd & Even Pages” option.
Word automatically formats the page numbers to appear the way they would in a book, and you can then make any manual adjustments you want.
How to Add Different Numbers and Formats to Different Sections
Most documents use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) in the main body of the document and some use Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) for different sections like the table of contents, introduction, and glossary. You can set up your document this way in Word, too.
The first thing you’ll need to do is create different sections in your document for these different parts of your document. So, for example, if you wanted your table of contents and introduction to be numbered differently than the main body of your document, you’d need to create a different section up front to hold those parts.
To do this, place your insertion point at the very beginning of your document (if you haven’t already created that preliminary content) or place it right before the first page of your main content (if you have already created the preliminary content).
Switch over to the “Layout” tab on the Ribbon and click the “Breaks” button.
In the drop-down menu, click the “Next Page” option. As the description says, this creates a section break and starts the new section on the next page.
Now that you’ve created the separate section, you can change the format of the page numbers there. The first thing you’ll want to do is break the link between your new preliminary section and the next section where the main body of your document starts. To do that, open up the header or footer area (wherever you have your page numbers) in the main section of your document. On the “Design” tab in the “Header & Footer Tools” section of the Ribbon, click the “Link to Previous” option to break the link to the previous section’s header and footer.
Now that you’ve broken the link, you can fix the page numbering the way you want it. This takes a few steps.
Start by opening up the header and footer area of any page in that preliminary section. You’ll see that the page numbering persists from before you created the new section break.
Right-click the page number and choose the “Format Page Numbers” command from the context menu.
In the Page Number Format window, select the type of numbers you want to use for the section from the “Number Format” drop-down menu. Here, we’ve gone with standard lowercase Roman numerals. Click “OK” when you’re done.
And you can see that our page numbering in that section has changed to Roman numerals.
There’s one more step you’ll need to take, though. Scroll down to the first page in your next section (the one with the main body of your document). You’ll see that the page numbering likely doesn’t start off at page one. That’s because it maintained the same numbering it had before you created that additional section.
It’s an easy fix, though. Right-click the page number and choose the “Format Page Numbers” command from the context menu.
In the Page Number Format window, select the “Start At” option and then set the box at the right to “1” to start the section off on page one.
That’s all there is to it. Now you should have two sections with different numbers and formats.
Controlling Page Numbers Using Fields
Word numbers all your pages, but those numbers remain hidden unless you tell Word to display them. By inserting a field code anywhere on the page, you can tell Word to reveal the page number. This option gives you fine control over page numbers. It also lets you put numbers anywhere you need and not just in the headers, footers, and margins. For example, you could put them in a text box if you wanted to.
Place your insertion point where you’d like to insert page numbers and then press Ctrl+F9 to insert a pair field brackets, which look like this: { }. Then, type “PAGE” inside the brackets like this:
You can also use a few switches along with the PAGE command that gives you some control over the style in which your numbers appear. Use one of the codes below to give your numbers the look you need.
{ PAGE * Arabic }
{ PAGE * alphabetic }
{ PAGE * ALPHABETIC }
{ PAGE * roman }
{ PAGE * ROMAN }
To finish, right-click anywhere between the brackets and choose the “Update Field” command from the context menu.
Here’s an example of a page number we’ve inserted into a text box at the bottom right of our page.
Fixing Broken Page Numbers
If your page numbers are broken in a document—maybe they appear non-sequentially or restart seemingly at random—it’s almost always because of problems with sections.
For Word, a document isn’t really a thing when it comes to formatting. Word breaks things down into sections, paragraphs, and characters—and that’s it.
To fix broken page numbering, start by identifying the sections in your document. The easiest way to do this is to switch over to the “View” menu on the Ribbon and then click the “Draft” button to enter draft view.
In draft view, Word shows you exactly where section breaks occur and what kinds of breaks they are.
When you’ve identified the location of your section breaks, switch back over to the Print Layout view (so you can see headers and footers easier). This is where you’ll need to start doing some detective work.
Make sure that that the sections where you want continuous page numbering have their headers and footers linked together and that sections where you don’t want continuous numbering have that link broken. You can also use the methods we’ve covered in this article to make sure the page numbering of sections start at the right number
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This tutorial shows how to add page numbers in Microsoft Word. Then, we will format page numbers, remove page numbers from the first page, and start the second page with page number 1.
Table of Contents
- How to add page numbers
- How to format page numbers
- How to remove the page number from the first page
- How to start the second page with page number 1
Do you want to start your page numbers on a specific page? Please see “How to Start Page Numbers on a Specific Page in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac).”
This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps will also work in Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010. However, your interface may look slightly different in those older versions of the software.
Are you on a Mac? Please see “How to Add Page Numbers in Word for Mac.”
Important Note: Page numbers added to the top of the page or the bottom of the page will be inserted into the header or footer. The page numbers will replace any existing text placed in the same location within the header or footer. Therefore, you should add page numbers before adding other elements to the header or footer.
- Select the Insert tab in the ribbon.
- Select the Page Number button in the Header & Footer group.
- Select a location to insert the page numbers from the drop-down menu:
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- Top of Page (in the header)
- Bottom of Page (in the footer)
- Page Margins
- Current Position
The Current Position option is the current location of your cursor in the header, footer, or body of the text. If the current position is in the body of the text, the page number will only appear on the current page. It won’t appear in the same location on other pages.
- Select additional location and style options from the submenu. (The options will depend on the selection made in step 3.)
Your page numbers should appear immediately.
How to Format Page Numbers in Microsoft Word
This section shows how to change the number format, include chapter numbers, and start on a specific page.
- Select the Insert tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Page Number button in the Header & Footer group (see figure 2).
- Select Format Page Numbers from the drop-down menu.
- Select the options you want from the Page Number Format dialog box.
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- Number format (e.g., numerals, letters, Roman numerals)
- Include chapter number (This option only works if you already established heading numbers.)
- Continue from previous section (When this option is selected, your sections will be number continuously. If you do not want the page numbers to continue from the previous section, select Start at.)
- Start at (This option will default to page 1. However, if you enter another number, such as 5, the page number 5 will appear on the first page of the document or first page of the section.)
- Select the OK button.
Your page number formatting should be applied immediately.
How to Remove the Page Number from the First Page in Microsoft Word
You may want to remove the page number from the first page because it is a title page or a cover page.
- Select the Insert tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Header or Footer button in the Header & Footer group. (Choose the location where your page numbers are located.)
- Select Edit Header or Edit Footer from the drop-down menu.
- Select Different First Page in the Options group in the Header & Footer tab.
Pro Tip: The Header & Footer tab only appears while you are working in headers or footers.
The page number on the first page should disappear. If the page number does not disappear, select it and press the Delete key to remove it manually.
How to Start the Second Page with Page Number 1 in Microsoft Word
After removing the page number from the first page, as shown in the previous section, you can force the second page to start with page number 1.
- Select the Page Number button in the Header & Footer group.
- Select Format Page Numbers from the drop-down menu (see figure 5).
- Enter the number 0 into the Start at menu in the Page Number Format dialog box.
- Select the OK button (see figure 7).
The page number on the second page should be changed to number 1.
- Select the Close Header and Footer button.
Related Resources
How to Adjust Page Margins in Microsoft Word
How to Adjust Line Spacing in Microsoft Word
How to Insert Page Breaks in Microsoft Word
How to Use the Editor in Word for Microsoft 365 (Spelling & Grammar Check)
Updated April 05, 2023
How to Add Page Numbers in Word
Create page numbers in Word 2013, 2016, 2019 and Microsoft 365
Updated on October 16, 2020
What to Know
- Go to the Insert tab > Page Number > Page Number > Top of Page (Header) or Bottom of Page (Footer).
- Under Alignment, select Left, Right, or Center > OK.
- To format the page numbering, click Header or Footer > Format > choose format. Double-click anywhere in the document.
This article explains how to add pages numbers to documents in Word 2019, 2016, 2013, and Word for Microsoft 365.
If your Microsoft Word document is long (or book-length), you might want to add page numbers to the header or footer. When you print a document, the headers and footers can be printed as well.
The steps for adding pages numbers is basically the same for Word 2019, 2016, 2013, and Word for Microsoft 365.
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Place your cursor at the first page of your document or where you want page numbers to begin.
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Select the Insert tab.
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Select Page Number in the Header & Footer group.
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Select Page Number again from a drop-down menu.
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Under Position, select Top of Page (Header) or Bottom of Page (Footer) to indicate where to place the numbers on the page.
Under Alignment, select Left, Right, or Center.
Select OK to save the selections and exit the menu.
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Select Header or Footer on the toolbar to format the page numbering.
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Select a format from the menu options.
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Double-click anywhere in the document to hide the header and footer areas.
Customize Headers and Footers
You can also customize the headers and footers in all versions of Microsoft Word. You do that from the same area where you added page numbers.
To begin, select Header or Footer to see your options.
In recent editions of Word, you can also get additional header and footer styles online from Office.com.
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In this chapter, we will discuss how to add page numbers in MS Word. Microsoft Word automatically assigns page numbers on the pages of your document.
Typically, page numbers are printed either in the header or footer, but you have the option of displaying the page number in the left or right margin at the top or bottom of a page. To learn more about header and footer, see our previous tutorial.
Table of contents
- What is Page Number in MS Word?
- What is the purpose of page number?
- How to Simply Insert Page Number
- How to Add Different Page Number
- Steps to Hide the Page number on the first Page
- How To Add Page Number to an Existing Header or Footer
- How to Insert page number from Current Position
- Summary
A page number is the particular page number within a document, often abbreviated as page no. The document may be printed or electronic, such as a Microsoft Word document or an e-book.
Furthermore, they came in many different ways to show numbers and changed them to fit your needs. Page numbering lets you start over with page numbering if you need to number some pages differently.
In addition, you can automatically number each page of your document using page numbers. They are available in a variety of numerical formats, and they could be done to your specifications.
Page numbers typically appear in the header, footer, or side margin. Read our article to learn more about header and footer and how to adjust the page margin.
What is the purpose of page number?
The purpose of page numbers is it helps you keep your document organized, makes it easy to refer back to specific parts of your paper, and make things look more professional and well-done.
So, if you want your table of contents and introduction to be numbered differently than the main body of your document, you would have to put them in a separate section at the beginning.
Moreover, most documents use Arabic numerals in the main body, but some use Roman numerals for different parts like the table of contents, introduction, and glossary. Word also lets you set up your document this way.
How to Simply Insert Page Number
Here is the simple way How to Insert Page Numbers in an MS Word document.
- Start by Clicking the “Page Number” button in the “Header & Footer” section of the “Insert” tab on the Ribbon.
- A drop-down menu displays various possibilities for where you would like the page numbers to appear, such as at the top, bottom, etc.
The final two options allow you to format page numbers more accurately.
- When you hover over one of the first four options, a gallery of page numbers appears.
Each choice in the gallery provides a broad representation of how your page’s page numbers will appear.
- Click the desired option to have Word automatically number all of your document’s pages in that format.
In this example, the “Accent Bar” style has been applied to the “Page X” format.
- Tap the “Close Header & Footer” button on the Ribbon or double-click outside the header or footer section to return to your document.
If you place page numbers at the top or bottom of the page, the header or footer of your document opens so you can add whatever around them.
That’s the easy way to add page numbers, and it works fine if you have a simple document in which you want all the pages to be numbered and numbered in the same way.
How to Add Different Page Number
In adding Different Page Number in MS Word, you will need to divide your document into distinct sections for each component.
To do this, put your insertion point at the very beginning of your document or right before the first page of your main content if you haven’t already made that preliminary content.
- Start on the Ribbon, click the “Breaks” button on the “Layout” tab.
- Then, click “Next Page” in the drops down menu. This makes a new section start on the next page.
- Break the link between your new introduction and the main body of your work. To do so, open your document’s header or footer where page numbers reside.
- On the Ribbon’s “Header and Footer” tab, Click “Link to Previous” to break the link to the previous section’s header and footer.
- Now that you’ve broken the link, you can change the page numbers to how you want them.
- Next, open the header and footer area of any page in that first section. You’ll see the same page numbers before you made the new section break.
- Right-click on the page number and select “Format Page Numbers” from the menu that appears.
- In the Page Number Format window, use the “Number Format” drop-down menu to choose the type of numbers you want to use for the section.
- Here, we’ve used standard Roman numerals with lowercase letters. When you’re done, click “OK.”
- As you can see that the Roman numerals have been used to number the pages in that section.
- Next page below you’ll notice that page numbering doesn’t start at 1. It kept the same numbering before you added the section.
- But it’s easy to fix. Right-click on the page number and select “Format Page Numbers” from the menu.
- Select “Start At” in the Page Number Format window and type “1” in the box to the right to start the section on page one.
That concludes the discussion. You should now have two parts with distinct numbering and formatting.
Steps to Hide the Page number on the first Page
In some documents, you may not want the first page to show the page number. You can hide the first page number without affecting the rest of the pages. Here are the steps to do it.
- Double-click the header or footer to unlock it.
- From the header and footer tab, place a checkmark next to Different First Page. The header and footer will disappear from the first page. If you want, you can type something new in the header or footer, which will only affect the first page.
If you’re unable to select Different First Page, it may be because an object within the header or footer is selected. Click an empty area within the header or footer.
If you already have a header or footer and you want to add a page number to it, Word has an option to automatically insert the page number into the existing header or footer. In our example, we’ll add page numbering to our document’s header.
- Double-click anywhere on the header or footer to unlock it.
- On the Header and Footer tab, click the Page Number command. In the menu that appears, hover the mouse over Current Position and select the desired page numbering style.
- Page numbering will appear.
- When you’re finished, press the Esc key.
How to Insert page number from Current Position
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Go to the first page for which you want to have numbered pages.
- At the top of the page, before the first line/word, click on the document to place your curser.
- Then choose Layout from the top menu. Next select Breaks – Next Page.
- Now choose Insert from the top menu and then select Page Numbers and then choose how you want them to appear in the document.
- Now highlight the page number at which you want to start the numbering. From the Header & Footer Tools menu, unclick Link to Previous.
- With the number still highlighted, choose Page Number from the top menu, then select Format Page Numbers. Under Page Numbering, choose Start At and then select a starting number.
- The last step is to go to the top of the document and click on the first page number, and then hit delete. This will remove the beginning numbering sequence, and you will be left with the numbering sequence you created later in the document.
Summary
In summary, we’ve learned how to add page numbers in a word document as well as what those terms mean. In addition, we know why we need a page number in our document to look presentable and creative. Furthermore, we have many options to apply for page numbers in different ways.
Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about formatting text, see the previous tutorial on how to add header and footer and how to adjust page margin in Microsoft Word, which are still part of formatting your documents. You can browse those guides if you are having a hard time exploring your documents.
We hope this tutorial helps you as you format your documents in MS Word.
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If you’re publishing and using print-on-demand to sell your book, you know the pain and frustration page formatting causes. Today, we’re going to cover one of the more annoying and (unnecessarily) challenging steps when using Microsoft Word: adding page numbering to your file.
Here’s a tl;dr version, for those of you in a hurry:
Adding Page Numbers in Microsoft Word
- Finishing Writing and Editing
Finalize the content before you do any page layout. You should also add any styling and general formatting before you mess with page numbers.
- Add Breaks
Use Page Breaks for controlling where content appears on the page and Section Breaks to control section-by-section headers.
- Format Header and Footer
Each section break defines a new Header and Footer. Check the settings for all your sections before inserting page numbering.
- Insert Page Numbers
Add the Page Numbers and review each section for proper linking and accuracy.
Step 1: Finish Your File
Do not, under any circumstances, add page numbers before you have finished editing and revising your book. It’s a waste of time and energy. Book formatting is best approached in a thoughtful order; page numbering being among the last steps.
So before you insert page numbers, see to your page layout design. That includes formatting your text, adding styles, setting your page margins, and any images or graphics. Create and add all the front matter and back matter too.
Finally, the last part of formatting your book design ties directly to your page numbering: adding breaks. That’s our next step, but first, turn on Reveal Non-Printing Characters.
Non-Printing Characters include spaces, returns, and breaks. You’ll want these revealed so you can properly add breaks to your file.
Step 2: Add Breaks
Breaks—Page Breaks and Section Breaks—divide the page dynamically, so that when you export your PDF for printing, the spacing will stay uniform.
Please, NEVER use hard returns to create space on the page.
Breaks will allow you to segment and section your file. Importantly, breaking your file into sections allows you to control which pages have page numbers.
Think about it; have you ever bought a book that has a page number on the very first page (the title or half-title usually)? Go grab a couple books off your shelf and have a look. I’ll wait.
I’m guessing you found that the front matter didn’t have any page numbering. Then you get to the first official page of the book and the page numbering begins at 1.
Create Something
Create your book and share it with the world.
Create Something
Create your book and share it with the world.
Page Break
Inserting a Page Break tells Word to stop adding content and move to the next page. Simple as that.
If your book uses the same numbering style for the entire file and you don’t have unique header content, add a Page Break at the end of every chapter to start the next chapter on a new page.
Section Break
Word has four kinds of Section Break you can use:
- Section Break (Next Page) – starts the new section on the next page
- Section Break (Continuous) – starts the new section on the current page
- Section Break (Odd Page) – starts the new section on the next odd page
- Section Break (Even Page) – starts the new section on the next even page
Use the ‘Next Page’ Section Break until you’re very comfortable with Word formatting. A Section Break (Next Page) works exactly like a Page Break with one addition—the file is split into a new ‘section’ on either side of the Break.
Use a Section Break (Next Page) to make each chapter a unique section of the document. You’ll have the control to add unique content for the Header (like chapter titles) for each section.
Word offers a lot of options to format the Header and Footer. With all of your breaks added, start with the first section and work sequentially to update the settings for the header/footer in each section.
- Link to Previous – This setting defaults to being ‘ON’ so you have to check it for all your sections. If selected, the header and footer will link to the header and footer in the previous section. If you plan to add unique content for each section, you must turn off Link to Previous for all sections.
- Different First Page – A lot of authors like to leave off the header and/or footer on the first page of a section. Check this box and you’ll be able to format the first page of the section separately from the rest of the section.
- Different Odd & Even Pages – If you want to have different content on the odd and even pages (like a title on one side and author on the other) you need to check this option.
Step 4: Insert Page Numbers
If you just used page breaks to separate chapters, you’ve got it easy.
Head to the first page you want your numbers to appear on (probably the first page of the first chapter) and double-click on the footer. While in the footer, the ribbon should swap to the header/footer menu and you’ll see the ‘Insert Page Numbers’ button.
Here we see the Page Number menu and the Format… menu opened beside it. Select the alignment for your page numbering. Also set the Start at: to 1 so that the page I’m currently on will show ‘1’ in the footer. Click ‘OK’ for both menus and your page numbering will appear in the footer.
Be sure to close the header and footer (just double-click in the body of your page) to see how the page numbering will look.
If your chapters will have unique content in the header, you’ll need to insert section breaks at the end of each chapter. With that done, add page numbering to the first section. For each successive section, you’ll need to change the formatting when you insert the page numbers: select Continue from the previous section in the Page Number Format menu.
This will link the page numbering independently of the Footer linking, allowing us free to edit the Header/Footer for other content without breaking the page numbering.
Simplifying the Complex
The best way to keep page numbering simple is to do it last. This gives you the freedom to design the pages of your file without having to set up a section and ensures once you get to that step, there won’t be any additional changes to disrupt the page numbering.
Microsoft Word’s method of page numbering is much more challenging than tools like Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher—but these publishing programs are designed for more complex book layouts. Microsoft Word is primarily a word processor and will always struggle to match tools like InDesign for page layout.
Last note: if you’re looking at Word and what you see doesn’t match the screenshots in this article, it’s likely because your version of Word and mine are not the same. Microsoft (infuriatingly) has a tendency to change the layout and location of various commands when they update the Office software. You may need to refer to their help pages for information about your version of Word.
Book Design And Print-On-Demand Services
Once you’ve got all your pages numbered and you’ve added header content, the last test is to export a PDF for printing. Most print-on-demand companies require a PDF to print. I would be very skeptical of a printer that DIDN’T require a PDF.
Finally, once you’re satisfied with your layout in Word and the PDF looks good too, you’re ready to make a print order for a proof copy to see how the book (and your page numbering!) will look in print.
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Create a free Lulu account today to print and
publish your book for readers all over the world.
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Create a free Lulu account today to print and publish your book.
Paul H
Paul is the Content Marketing Manager at Lulu. When he’s not entrenched in the publishing and print-on-demand world, he likes to hike the scenic North Carolina landscape, read, sample the fanciest micro-brewed beer, and collect fountain pens. Paul is a dog person but considers himself cat tolerant.
Add Page Numbers in Word Documents using Headers or Footers
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated November 15, 2022
Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)
You can add page numbers in Word documents at the top or bottom of pages using headers or footers. When you insert page numbers in headers and footers, they should be inserted as fields so that they will automatically update as the document is edited. In this article, we’ll review page numbering in simple and more complex Word documents.
Recommended article: How to Add or Remove Page Breaks in Microsoft Word
Note: Some Ribbon tabs may appear with slightly different names if you are working on Word 365 and have a smaller screen or different display settings. Buttons on the Ribbon may appear as icons only and are also affected by screen size and display settings. The Header & Footer tab may appear as Header & Footer Tools Design if you are working on an older version of Word.
Add page numbers in a one section document
By default, Microsoft Word documents contain one section.
To insert page numbers in a one section document:
- Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Header & Footer group, click Header or Footer. A drop-down menu appears.
- Click Edit Header or Edit Footer (although you can select one of the building blocks that appear, you will have more control over your header or footer if you edit it yourself). Word displays the document in Header / Footer mode. A Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab appears in the Ribbon.
- Click in the header or footer.
- If you would like text to appear (such as the word Page), type it.
- In the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab, click Page Number. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Current Position and then Plain Number. A page number field is added to the header or footer.
- You can select the page number field by dragging over it and then apply formatting such as font size or alignment (on the Home tab in the Ribbon).
- To return to the document, double-click anywhere in the document area. You can also click Close in the Header & Footer Tools Design tab. To easily return to Header / Footer mode, double-click in the header or footer area.
The following Header & Footer Tools Design tab appears in the Ribbon when you are in Header / Footer mode:
You can also press Alt + Shift + P to insert the page number field.
Turn off the display of page numbers on the first page in a one section document
Some users may want to turn off the display of page numbers on the first page of a document.
To turn off the display of page numbers on the first page in a one section Word document:
- Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Header & Footer group, click Header or Footer. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Edit Header or Edit Footer. Alternatively, you can double-click in the header or footer area.
- In the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab, check Different First Page in the Options group. Word creates a different header and footer for the first page of the document and a regular header and footer for all other pages. You can now enter page numbers, text or images in the First Page Header and / or First Page Footer if you’d like.
- To return to the document, double-click anywhere in the document area. You can also click Close in the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab. To return to Header / Footer mode, double-click in the header or footer area.
Below is the Different First Page check box in the Header & Footer Tools Design tab:
Understand page numbers and sections
You can add different page numbers in sections in a Word document. Each section can have a different starting page number, a different numbering style (such as roman numeral) or no numbering at all. For example, you could create a document with three sections with a section for a title page with no numbering, a section for a table of contents page with roman numeral numbering that starts with (i) and another section for the main document that starts with Page 1.
Add different types of page numbers using sections
If you want to have different numbering in parts of a document (such as restarting numbering after a table of contents or using roman numeral numbering), you’ll first need to create sections.
To create a section in a Word document:
- Click in the document where you want to insert a section break.
- Click the Layout or Page Layout tab in the Ribbon and click Breaks. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select a type of section break (normally Next Page under Section Breaks).
Breaks appears in the Page Setup group:
View section breaks
It’s a good idea to click Show/Hide ¶ in the Paragraph group on the Home tab in the Ribbon so you will be able to see where section breaks have been inserted in your document:
With Show/Hide ¶ on, section breaks normally appear as follows:
You can also view section breaks by clicking the View tab in the Ribbon and selecting Draft in the Views group. To return to the default view, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Print Layout in the Views group:
Insert page numbers in a section and change numbering
If you want to change numbering in different parts of a Word document, you will need to separate your document into sections and create different headers and footers in the sections.
Typically, you will want to ensure that the header and footer in the section are not linked to the previous section’s header and footer. For example, if you have two sections, one for a table of contents and a second section for the main document, click in the second section and unlink the header and footer with the previous section’s header and footer.
It’s best not to add any text, images or page numbers in the headers or footers before you unlink the headers and footers.
To set up page numbering in a section and then change numbering:
- Add section breaks where necessary.
- Click anywhere in the section in which you want to add page numbers and restart page numbering.
- Double-click in the header or click the Insert tab and the Ribbon, select Header and then Edit Header.
- In the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab in the Ribbon, click Link to Previous to deselect it (to break the link with the header from the previous section).
- Click in the footer.
- In the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab, click Link to Previous to deselect it (to break the link with the footer from the previous section).
- Click in the header or footer and in Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab, click Page Number in the Header & Footer group. A drop-down menu appears.
- Choose Current Position and then Plain Number. A page number field is inserted.
- Drag over the page number field to select it.
- To change the page numbering in the section, click Page Number in the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab and click Format Page Numbers. A dialog box appears.
- Enter a number beside Start at if you want to restart numbering (such as 1).
- If you would like a different numbering style (such as roman numerals), select a style from the Number format drop-down menu.
- Click OK.
- To return to the document, double-click in the middle of the document.
The following dialog box appears when you select Page Number and then Format Page Numbers in the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab:
You can also right-click a page number field and select Format Page Numbers from the drop-down menu to access the Page Number Format dialog box:
Similar to a one section document, you can select Different First Page for specific sections if you’d like. Click in the section, double-click in the header or footer and select Different First Page on the Header & Footer or Header & Footer Tools Design tab. You can also select Different Odd & Even Pages.
Be very careful when deleting section breaks. If you delete a section break, the current section takes on the section settings from the following section and your headers, footers, page numbering, orientation and margins could change.
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Microsoft Word is used by millions on a daily basis for their document needs. There’s a variety of features the program offers that can prove to be useful. One such component that makes it more accessible in terms of navigation is page numbers, which especially come in handy for longer Word documents.
Contents
- Adding page numbers
- Other customization options
- Starting page numbers from page 2
- Starting page numbers on a specific page
We take a look at how to add page numbers in Microsoft Word.
Adding page numbers
Page numbers can be added to either the header (top) or footer (bottom), which is complemented by the option to apply different styles, as well as the ability to adjust the appearance of the page number itself.
Step 1: Click the Insert tab located at the top row next to Home.
Step 2: Click the Page Number button and choose exactly where you want it to be displayed within the document. You can choose from the following: Top of Page and Bottom of Page are the most common choices. The Page Margins option will place it within the side of your choosing, while Current Position will implement it to wherever your mouse pointer is situated.
Step 3: After you’ve selected the location of the page number, select a style of your liking. Now click the Close Header and Footer button at the top, or double click anywhere on the main body of the Word document.
A page number will now be automatically added to every page of your Microsoft Word document.
Other customization options
Step 1: Formatting page numbers: Select the Insert tab and open the Format Page Number menu. You’ll be greeted with various formatting choices, including the number format, chapter numbers, as well as page numbering.
Step 2: Customize the appearance of page numbers: Double click wherever your page number has been added to. Highlight the page number by double-clicking on it. Now go to the Home tab, after which you can change the font, style, size, and color. You can also apply different positioning for the page number.
Step 3: Removing page numbers: Click the Page Number tab within Insert. Below the Format Page Numbers field, click Remove Page Numbers.
Starting page numbers from page 2
You may wish to remove the page number from appearing on the first page as it may contain an index, an introductory image, cover, etc.
Step 1: Double click the area where you placed the page number (header or footer) on the first page or click Insert > Header or Footer > Edit Header or Edit Footer. Inside the Design tab that is now displayed within Header & Footer Tools, click the Different First Page button. Click Close Header and Footer.
Step 2: Click the second page with your mouse. Click the Insert tab, choose Page Number, and Format Page Numbers. Within the Start at box, enter 0. Click OK.
Step 3: The Insert tab should still be opened. Click the Page Number menu. Finally, select where you want to place the page number and a style.
Starting page numbers on a specific page
If you don’t want the page number to start from the first page in your document, you can start page numbers on a specific page in Word with the following process.
Step 1: If you want your page number to start from, say, page 4, click your mouse anywhere on page 3. Now click the Page Layout tab, select Breaks, and choose the Next Page button.
Step 2: The entry field should automatically be moved to the fourth page. If not, click on that page manually. Now head to the Insert tab, click Page Numbers, and add where you want to input the page number.
Step 3: By default, the page number will now be highlighted. The Link to Previous field will already be selected at the top panel. Click that button to deselect it.
Step 4: The page number will still be highlighted by default. Now go to the Page Number menu within Insert and click Format Page Numbers. On the Page Numbering field, click Start at. This should automatically enter 1 in the box. If it doesn’t, input the number 1 into it yourself. Click OK.
You will now see the page you’ve selected to start your page numbering from will showcase the number 1. In this case, the fourth page will have the page number set as 1. The 5th page will now have the page number set as 2 and so on and so forth.
Step 5: The footer sections will still be opened for editing. On the previous page, highlight the page number (in this case, the third page will have the number 3) and delete it, after which all previous page numbers before that specific page will be automatically removed.
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