Graduate School

Page numbers troubleshooting - Word 2013

The page count begins with the very first page of your ETDR, the abstract title page. Page numbers are not displayed, however, on pages preceding the Table of Contents. Lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) are displayed on the Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Tables, Acknowledgements, Dedication, and Preface pages. Starting with the first page of Chapter 1, the page count is reset to “1” and displayed in Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3 ). This sequence continues through the remainder of the document.

This system of page counting and displaying page numbers is built into the template and shouldn’t require any attention. As you work with your document, however, it’s possible that components of the page numbering scheme may be inadvertently deleted or modified. If page numbers are not displaying properly, follow the steps below to correct the problem.

Section breaks

  1. Open your document in Word. From the View tab, select Draft.
  2. You should see a section break just before the Table of Contents. If a section break is present, skip to Step 4. If the Section Break is missing, place your cursor just in front of the “T” in “Table.”
  3. On the Page Layout tab, select Breaks. Under Section Breaks, select New Page.
  4. Similarly, check for a section break just before the start of Chapter 1. If the section break is present, skip to “Preliminary pages” below. If the section break is missing, place your cursor just in front of the first word in the title of Chapter 1.
  5. On the Page Layout tab, select Breaks. On the Page Layout tab, select Breaks. Under Section Breaks, select New Page.

Preliminary pages (all pages before the Table of Contents)

  1. Place the cursor anywhere on the title page.
  2. On the Insert tab, select Footer and click on Edit Footer.
  3. If you see a page number in the footer (at the bottom of page), select the number and press the Delete key.
  4. In the top menu bar, make sure the Design tab is selected.
  5. With the cursor in the footer, click Page Number and then Format Page Numbers.
  6. In the Page Number Format window, set the Number format to i,ii,iii,…
  7. Under Page numbering, select The Start at radio button and set the number to “i.” Click OK.

Table of Contents

  1. Scroll to the first page of your Table of Contents. If you’re not in the Header and Footer view, select the Insert tab, click Footer and click Edit Footer.
  2. If “Same as Previous” or “Link to Previous” is visible just above the footer, remove it by clicking the icon Link to Previous in the Design tab (Navigation section).
  3. Make sure the Design tab is still selected. With the cursor in the footer, click Page Number and then Format Page Numbers.
  4. In the Page Number Format window, set the Number format to i,ii,iii,…
  5. Under Page numbering, select the Continue from previous section radio button. Click OK.
  6. If no page numbering is showing, click Page Number, select Bottom of Page and Plain Number 2 (for center) or Plain Number 3 (for right justify the page number).

Chapter 1

  1. Scroll to the first page of Chapter 1. If you’re not in the Header and Footer view, select the Insert tab, click Footer and click Edit Footer.
  2. If “Same as Previous” or “Link to Previous” is visible just above the footer, remove it by clicking the icon Link to Previous in the Design tab (Navigation section).
  3. With the cursor in the footer, click Page Number and then Format Page Numbers.
  4. In the Page Number Format window, set the Number format to 1,2,3,… The radio button for Start at should be selected and the number set to “1”. Click OK.
  5. If no page numbering is showing, click Page Number, select Bottom of Page and Plain Number 2 (for center) or Plain Number 3 (for right justify the page number).
  6. On the Design tab, click Close Header and Footer.

Page numbers starting over at “1”

If you see page numbers reverting back to “1” in the body of your document, it’s likely this is occurring at a section break. Follow these steps to correct the problem:

  1. Click anywhere on the page where the numbering is starting over at “1.” If you’re not in the Header and Footer view, select the Insert tab, click Footer and click Edit Footer.
  2. With the cursor in the footer, click Page Number and then Format Page Numbers.
  3. Click Continue from previous section radio button.
  4. Click OK.

Repeat these steps at each occurrence of a section break or when page numbers are reverting back to “1”.