Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Adding Line Numbers.

Adding Line Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 12, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are many types of documents that require the use of line numbers. Typically, this is done for legal documents. For instance, each line of a legal contract may need to be numbered. Word allows you to easily add line numbers to your document. This is done in the following manner:

Position the insertion point in the section that you want to have line numbers. (Line numbering can be controlled on a section-by-section basis.)
Choose the Page Setup option from the File menu. Word displays the Page Setup dialog box.
Click on the Layout tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

Click on the Line Numbers button. Word displays the Line Numbers dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Line Numbers dialog box.

Enable line numbers by clicking in the Add Line Numbering check box.
In the dialog box, specify the number at which you want to begin the numbering and the other characteristics you want used.
Click OK to close the Line Numbers dialog box.
Click OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.

You should note that you can only see line numbers when working in Print Layout view. If you are working in one of the other views, then the line numbers are hidden.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (174) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Adding Line Numbers.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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What is two more than 7?

2024-05-02 14:52:26

Wayne Harris

Want my documents to look better

2017-03-15 07:40:01

Phely

Thank you so much for this article/tip. Now I know the purpose for line numbering

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