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 in a Macro.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 20, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Macros are often used to process documents. I have written macros that have done quite a bit of processing, such as replacing information, adding new page breaks, and moving text around. Doing this much processing obviously means that the pagination of the document changes. Normally, Word doesn't repaginate a document until it can do so in the background, which means the macro needs to be finished running.
You may want your macro to force Word to repaginate, however. Why? Perhaps later steps in the macro rely on a freshly repaginated document. For instance, your macro may look for information on a page number, and you won't know the proper page number until repagination is complete.
To force Word to repaginate, simply use the Repaginate method, as follows:
ActiveDocument.Repaginate
In this usage, the active document is repaginated. You should realize, of course, that repagination can take a while, based on the size and complexity of the document.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1472) 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 in a Macro.
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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:
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