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 Page Numbers.

Adding Page Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 30, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you are creating documents that are more than a page or two in length, you will probably want to include page numbers so you can keep your document, when printed, in order. Word supports automatic numbering of pages in your document and you can control the type of page number, the starting number, and the placement of the page number. In addition, you can include page numbers in the headers and footers on your pages. To add page numbers, follow these steps:

Since page numbers are an attribute of sections, position the insertion point in the section of your document that you want to include page numbers.
Choose the Page Numbers command from the Insert menu. You will see the Page Numbers dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Page Numbers dialog box.

Using the Position drop-down list, specify where you want the page numbers to appear. For instance, you can choose Bottom of Page (Footer) to cause the page number to appear at the bottom each page.
Using the Alignment drop-down list, specify how you want the page numbers to appear in relation to your page (left, right, center, inside or outside).
Click on OK.

Inserting page numbers in this way adds a frame to your header or footer, and the page number is contained within the frame.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (175) 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 Page 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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