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: Formatting Page Numbers.

Formatting Page Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 26, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

In Word you can format page numbers just as you would format any other text in your document. (This assumes, of course, that you have already inserted the page numbers.) For instance, you can make the page numbers bold, italic, change their size, etc.

If you are working in Print Layout view, you can double-click on the header or footer, select the page number, and manually format it. If you are working in Normal or Outline view, you will have to make the header or footer visible in order to format the page numbers. This is done in the following manner.

Position the insertion point in the section whose page numbers you wish to format.
Choose Header and Footer from the View menu. You will see the Header and Footer dialog box.
Use the tools in the dialog box to display the header or footer, as desired.
Select the page number in the header or footer and format it as you would normal text in your document.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (956) 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: Formatting 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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