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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Counting All Characters

Need to know how many characters there are in a workbook? You can find out easily with the handy macro introduced in this ...

Discover More

Quickly Copying Worksheets

Excel provides a little-known way to copy worksheets simply by clicking and dragging. Here's how to do it.

Discover More

Calculating an ISBN Check Digit

ISBNs are used to uniquely identify books. You may need to know if an ISBN is valid or not, which involves calculating ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing the Type of Page Numbers Used in Headers or Footers

Like to have your page numbers displayed using different types of numbers? Here's how you can choose from the several ...

Discover More

Automatic Page Numbers across Multiple Documents

Word allows you to specify the starting page number for a document, which comes in handy if you have multiple documents ...

Discover More

Spelling Out Page Numbers

If your document is more than a couple of pages long, adding page numbers is a nice finishing touch. If you want, you can ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.