MS Word —

Fix "Page X of Y" Numbering

I've put a "page 1 of 50" numbering feature in my document's header, but it's not working correctly.

This problem is most likely to occur if you're using Word 2000 without any Service Releases applied to it. Upgrading to Word 2000 SR-1 or a later Service Release should fix this problem, as should upgrading to a later version of Word.

If for any reason (for example, company policy) you can't upgrade:

  1. Press Ctrl+End to move to the end of the document and click to put the insertion point in the last paragraph. Choose Insert » Bookmark, type a name (starting with a letter and including no spaces, though underscores are okay), and click the Add button.

  2. Choose View » Header and Footer to switch to the header. Place the insertion point where you want the numbering, and type Page and a space. Click the Insert Folio button on the Header and Footer toolbar to insert the current page number, then type a space, of, and another space.

  3. Choose Insert » Reference » Cross-reference (in Word 2000, choose Insert » Cross-reference), select "Bookmark" in the "Reference type" drop-down list and "Page number" in the "Insert reference to" drop-down list, and click the bookmark in the "For which bookmark" list. Uncheck the "Insert as hyperlink" box. Click the Insert button, and then click the Close button.

This is a clumsy and ugly fix, but it works.

Tame Word's List Indentation

The way Word indents listsespecially nested listsis very frustrating. If you leave it at the default settings, you very quickly end up with very short lines. Trying to reformat a line within the list so that it aligns the way I want it to is next to impossible.

The Solution:

I doubt that this is what you want to hear, but you need to adjust the styles you use for the lists (whether they are list styles or paragraph styles) so that they have the indentation you want. Don't leave the styles at their default settings, because Word indents the lines generously, as you say.

Make Outline Numbering Work

The Problem:

I can't make outline numbering work properly. It used to number only the paragraphs that had a Heading style applied. Now it seems to number paragraphs indiscriminately.

The Solution:

It sounds as though you've applied outline levels to some of the styles in your document that don't need them. Click in one of the paragraphs that shouldn't have a number, choose Format » Paragraph, and check the selection in the "Outline level" drop-down list on the Indents and Spacing tab of the Paragraph dialog box. If it says anything other than "Body text," modify the style and set the outline level to "Body text."