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: Repaginating Your Document in a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 2, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
It is common to use macros to modify documents in some way. For instance, you might use a macro to insert text or to insert page, column or section breaks. Doing any of these actions can affect the pagination of a document, sometimes dramatically. If you modify the document using a macro, and then try to determine the page count of the document (using the BuiltInDocumentProperties property), Word will not return the proper number of pages. Instead, it will return the page count before the changes were made.
The solution is to always make sure that you force Word to repaginate before trying to determine the page count. The following method will do the repagination:
ActiveDocument.Repaginate
After this method has been executed, you can safely (and confidently) use the BuiltInDocumentProperties property to determine the current page count.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (352) 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: Repaginating Your Document in a Macro.
Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!
Need to create a directory from within a macro? You can do it using a single command line, as detailed in this tip.
Discover MoreYou can make running macros very easy if you assign a shortcut key to the macro. This tip demonstrates how easy it is to ...
Discover MoreSometimes it is helpful to know how often a particular phrase appears within a document. If you need to know such a ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments