Page numbers with multiple sections breaks on the page

[Terry]

I have set up a Word document (in Word 2007 but originally a Word 2002
document) with one and two column settings on many pages to create two-column
text and single-column tables and figures. Each change from one to two
columns or the reverse results in an automatiic insertion of a continuous
section break.

When I try to get page numbers to link from one page to the next (so I get a
page number series like i, ii, iiii....) the page number linking breaks down
at the point where I have multiple section breaks on a page. For example, the
last page with the correct number is "v" and the following automatic page
(which has multiple section breaks) is "ii" and other than "restarting" it at
"vi" cannot get the correct page number.

Is there a way to fix this?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You need to use Format Page Number to change the numbering to "Continue from
previous section" in the "landlocked" sections in the middle of the page.
Luckily Word 2007 makes the Page Number Format dialog easily accessible from
anywhere in the document. Place the insertion point in one of these
multi-column sections, select the Insert tab, and, in the Header & Footer
group, click on Page Number and then Format Page Numbers... If the dialog
shows a "Start at" number, change the setting to "Continue.." Repeat for all
sections till it's all straightened out.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Terry]

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for the help.

I had tried the approach you suggested but went back to the "test" document
to check. There were a couple of "landlocked" sections that were not linked
(i.e., the page number format was set at "start from....". This still did not
solve my problem.

But my problem may be different than I stated.

To explain, I am experimenting with a front section of a report that
includes several pages with no "landlocked" sections such as table of
contents, list of figures, etc. These number correctly within one section
from "i" to "iv". The first page with text and multiple "landlocked" sections
is the first page of a summary and it numbers correctly at "v". The next page
of the summary, which also has several "landlocked" sections, numbers as "ii"
as does the following page.

The page numbers seem to be linked: if I delete a number on one page, the
page numbers in the whole front section disappear. This happens if I delete
the number on the correctly-numbered Page i or the incorrectly-numbered sixth
page which is numbered "ii". Deleting these numbers does not affect the page
numbers in the main body of the report, which has a different number format
(1, 2, etc.) but also has the same general page number problem as the front
section.

Any ideas?

I am experimenting with report formats by starting with an old Word 2002/XP
report which contains a lot of tables and graphics as well as text. Once I
get a format we are happy with I plan to create a Word 2007 template for it.
But I would like to be sure there are no snags in the formatting approach -
such as this page number issue - before I go to the next stage.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This is a different issue; this is Word insisting on putting an odd/even
page number on an odd/even page. If you want a section to start at page i,
then you need to use an Odd Page section break, which will insert a blank
even page.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[PamC via OfficeKB.com]

A good thing to remember about breaks is that when you insert a section break,
Word keeps the settings of the previous section's header in the new one--
whether the new break is next page or continuous. So, for example, if the
section 1 header type is "different first page" and the page numbers are set
for no number on the first page and the second page starting at 2, the
continuous section break will duplicate that. Such as situation could account
for page vi showing up as page ii.

With this information and the advice form Suzanne, you should be able to
troubleshoot your section breaks and headers.

PamC

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for the help.

I had tried the approach you suggested but went back to the "test" document
to check. There were a couple of "landlocked" sections that were not linked
(i.e., the page number format was set at "start from....". This still did not
solve my problem.

But my problem may be different than I stated.

To explain, I am experimenting with a front section of a report that
includes several pages with no "landlocked" sections such as table of
contents, list of figures, etc. These number correctly within one section
from "i" to "iv". The first page with text and multiple "landlocked" sections
is the first page of a summary and it numbers correctly at "v". The next page
of the summary, which also has several "landlocked" sections, numbers as "ii"
as does the following page.

The page numbers seem to be linked: if I delete a number on one page, the
page numbers in the whole front section disappear. This happens if I delete
the number on the correctly-numbered Page i or the incorrectly-numbered sixth
page which is numbered "ii". Deleting these numbers does not affect the page
numbers in the main body of the report, which has a different number format
(1, 2, etc.) but also has the same general page number problem as the front
section.

Any ideas?

I am experimenting with report formats by starting with an old Word 2002/XP
report which contains a lot of tables and graphics as well as text. Once I
get a format we are happy with I plan to create a Word 2007 template for it.
But I would like to be sure there are no snags in the formatting approach -
such as this page number issue - before I go to the next stage.

You need to use Format Page Number to change the numbering to "Continue from
previous section" in the "landlocked" sections in the middle of the page.

[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]

 

[Terry]

Thanks very much to you two for the advice.

To explain further, the original single-column Word XP document was in four
sections: cover (no header or footer), front pages from Table of Contents to
Executive Summary (with a footer with page numbers i, ii, etc.), the main
report (with a footer with page numbers 1, 2, etc.) and an appendix (with a
footer but no page numbers). I simply took this document and formatted it to
a mix of one and two columns, and encountered the page number issues
discussed below.

I did have success with the second section: it now has the correct page
numbers on nine pages of which five pages have mixed one and two column
formats of text, tables and graphics. To get to this, I put the text (the 5
pages) into a separate document without headers or footers, made the
two-column formatting changes and saved it as a Word 2007 (docx) file. I also
started a new Word 2007 file for the overall document and entered four
next-page section breaks as in the original document. I then copied and
pasted in the cover (worked fine), copied and pasted in the Table of
Contents, List of Tables, etc pages but excluding the Executive Summary
(worked fine) and finally the Executive Summary which to my great pleasure
also worked fine.

I then tried to repeat the exercise with the main text, which didn't work.
The page numbers are still typically 1, 2, 2, 2, .... I suspect I did not
follow exactly the procedure I used with the previous section - unfortunately
I did not keep notes on the exact steps I followed. I have one more idea to
try.

But in the meantime I would be grateful for any suggestions. And for a
recommendation for an advanced book (or whatever) on Word 2007 that deals
with complex documents.

My objective is to develop a highly-readable, comprehendible and attractive
report format that we can use as a template for all our reports. Our last
template format dates back about a decade and there must be some features of
Word 2007 that we can use to enhance what we do. The template also has to be
sufficiently straight forward that we can just use it and focus on the
content and not the format.

A good thing to remember about breaks is that when you insert a section break,
Word keeps the settings of the previous section's header in the new one--
whether the new break is next page or continuous. So, for example, if the
section 1 header type is "different first page" and the page numbers are set
for no number on the first page and the second page starting at 2, the
continuous section break will duplicate that. Such as situation could account
for page vi showing up as page ii.

With this information and the advice form Suzanne, you should be able to
troubleshoot your section breaks and headers.

PamC

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for the help.

I had tried the approach you suggested but went back to the "test" document
to check. There were a couple of "landlocked" sections that were not linked
(i.e., the page number format was set at "start from....". This still did not
solve my problem.

But my problem may be different than I stated.

To explain, I am experimenting with a front section of a report that
includes several pages with no "landlocked" sections such as table of
contents, list of figures, etc. These number correctly within one section
from "i" to "iv". The first page with text and multiple "landlocked" sections
is the first page of a summary and it numbers correctly at "v". The next page
of the summary, which also has several "landlocked" sections, numbers as "ii"
as does the following page.

The page numbers seem to be linked: if I delete a number on one page, the
page numbers in the whole front section disappear. This happens if I delete
the number on the correctly-numbered Page i or the incorrectly-numbered sixth
page which is numbered "ii". Deleting these numbers does not affect the page
numbers in the main body of the report, which has a different number format
(1, 2, etc.) but also has the same general page number problem as the front
section.

Any ideas?

I am experimenting with report formats by starting with an old Word 2002/XP
report which contains a lot of tables and graphics as well as text. Once I
get a format we are happy with I plan to create a Word 2007 template for it.
But I would like to be sure there are no snags in the formatting approach -
such as this page number issue - before I go to the next stage.

You need to use Format Page Number to change the numbering to "Continue from
previous section" in the "landlocked" sections in the middle of the page.

[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]

Is there a way to fix this?

 

[Terry]

A brief postscript. I experimented further with parts of the document and
found some approaches that worked.

In the end, I went back to the earlier single-column version of the
document, saved it as Word 2007 file (in case this mattered) and formatted
the two main text sections. This time I changed each section to all
two-column and then returned to convert tables, figures, etc. to single
column. I started the editing of tables, etc. at the end of the document and
watched the page numbers carefully to ensure that they were in sequence. I
then edited the document from the front for general formatting.

As Suzanne advised, the main issue proved to be the continuity of page
numbering by the various sections one ends up with from this kind of
formatting. A problem is that the document contained extra continuous section
breaks, some of which were barely visible (I don't know if I inserted these
or it is a Word flaw). When I realized this, I looked carefully for
semi-hidden section breaks, removed the extraneous ones and ensured the
others continued the page numbering.

I now have an experimental document to take to the next stage. There is
probably a better way to create such documents but going through this process
was useful. Part of the learning process….

Thanks very much to you two for the advice.

To explain further, the original single-column Word XP document was in four
sections: cover (no header or footer), front pages from Table of Contents to
Executive Summary (with a footer with page numbers i, ii, etc.), the main
report (with a footer with page numbers 1, 2, etc.) and an appendix (with a
footer but no page numbers). I simply took this document and formatted it to
a mix of one and two columns, and encountered the page number issues
discussed below.

I did have success with the second section: it now has the correct page
numbers on nine pages of which five pages have mixed one and two column
formats of text, tables and graphics. To get to this, I put the text (the 5
pages) into a separate document without headers or footers, made the
two-column formatting changes and saved it as a Word 2007 (docx) file. I also
started a new Word 2007 file for the overall document and entered four
next-page section breaks as in the original document. I then copied and
pasted in the cover (worked fine), copied and pasted in the Table of
Contents, List of Tables, etc pages but excluding the Executive Summary
(worked fine) and finally the Executive Summary which to my great pleasure
also worked fine.

I then tried to repeat the exercise with the main text, which didn't work.
The page numbers are still typically 1, 2, 2, 2, .... I suspect I did not
follow exactly the procedure I used with the previous section - unfortunately
I did not keep notes on the exact steps I followed. I have one more idea to
try.

But in the meantime I would be grateful for any suggestions. And for a
recommendation for an advanced book (or whatever) on Word 2007 that deals
with complex documents.

My objective is to develop a highly-readable, comprehendible and attractive
report format that we can use as a template for all our reports. Our last
template format dates back about a decade and there must be some features of
Word 2007 that we can use to enhance what we do. The template also has to be
sufficiently straight forward that we can just use it and focus on the
content and not the format.

A good thing to remember about breaks is that when you insert a section break,
Word keeps the settings of the previous section's header in the new one--
whether the new break is next page or continuous. So, for example, if the
section 1 header type is "different first page" and the page numbers are set
for no number on the first page and the second page starting at 2, the
continuous section break will duplicate that. Such as situation could account
for page vi showing up as page ii.

With this information and the advice form Suzanne, you should be able to
troubleshoot your section breaks and headers.

PamC

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for the help.

I had tried the approach you suggested but went back to the "test" document
to check. There were a couple of "landlocked" sections that were not linked
(i.e., the page number format was set at "start from....". This still did not
solve my problem.

But my problem may be different than I stated.

To explain, I am experimenting with a front section of a report that
includes several pages with no "landlocked" sections such as table of
contents, list of figures, etc. These number correctly within one section
from "i" to "iv". The first page with text and multiple "landlocked" sections
is the first page of a summary and it numbers correctly at "v". The next page
of the summary, which also has several "landlocked" sections, numbers as "ii"
as does the following page.

The page numbers seem to be linked: if I delete a number on one page, the
page numbers in the whole front section disappear. This happens if I delete
the number on the correctly-numbered Page i or the incorrectly-numbered sixth
page which is numbered "ii". Deleting these numbers does not affect the page
numbers in the main body of the report, which has a different number format
(1, 2, etc.) but also has the same general page number problem as the front
section.

Any ideas?

I am experimenting with report formats by starting with an old Word 2002/XP
report which contains a lot of tables and graphics as well as text. Once I
get a format we are happy with I plan to create a Word 2007 template for it.
But I would like to be sure there are no snags in the formatting approach -
such as this page number issue - before I go to the next stage.

You need to use Format Page Number to change the numbering to "Continue from
previous section" in the "landlocked" sections in the middle of the page.
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]

Is there a way to fix this?