Odd Page Numbers Disappearing

Lourdes has a 38-page document and she noticed that after page 32 the odd-numbered page numbers disappear. She wonders how she can get the page numbers back.

It is unclear from the question whether the page numbers are disappearing but the pages are still there (in other words, only the even-numbered pages still show page numbers) or whether all the pages after page 32 have even-numbered pages (34, 36, 38, etc.). In either case, the answer must lie in your section formatting.

Page numbers are one of those things that can be modified on a section-by-section basis in Word. Examine the document somewhere on page 32 to see if there is a section break there. (You may need to turn on the display of non-printing characters to see the section break. Click the backwards P on the toolbar to display them.) Once you discover the section break you can modify the formatting of the section that follows the break so that page numbers are displayed as you want them displayed.

Assuming that your page numbers are displayed in a header or footer, you'll also want to check to see if the layout uses different headers or footers for odd and even pages. If this is the case, check the header or footer for the odd-numbered pages. Ensure that the header or footer contains a page number or, if the header or footer should be the same as in the earlier pages of the document, make sure the header or footer is linked ("Same As Previous") to the header or footer in the previous section. (All of this is controlled through the tools on the Header and Footer toolbar.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8953) 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: Odd Page Numbers Disappearing.