Page X of Y

[Jim]

I'm using Word 2003, SP3. In the footer of standard documents that I prepare
from a template, I have "Page {PAGE} of {PAGEREF LASTPAGE \* MERGEFORMAT}",
where "LASTPAGE" is a bookmark at the end of the document. I do this
because the cover page of the document is not numbered, so NUMPAGES gives one
too many pages. I don't know what "\ * MERGEFORMAT" means. Word apparently
created that when I did Insert>Field>PageRef.

Everything is fine on the screen and in print preview, but when I print, the
pages are numbered "Page 1 of 1", "Page 2 of 2", etc. There is a history of
this problem (described as the "Page X of Y" problem) that goes back to Word
2000, and is addressed in an MVP FAQ. (Thanks, MVPs Dave Rado and Suzanne
Barnhill !!) I followed the instructions there to update to the latest
Service Pack for MS Office. That fixed the problem for a week or so, but now
it's back. Any further suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[Stefan Blom]

in message

I'm using Word 2003, SP3. In the footer of standard documents that I
prepare
from a template, I have "Page {PAGE} of {PAGEREF LASTPAGE \*
MERGEFORMAT}",
where "LASTPAGE" is a bookmark at the end of the document. I do this
because the cover page of the document is not numbered, so NUMPAGES gives
one
too many pages. I don't know what "\ * MERGEFORMAT" means. Word
apparently
created that when I did Insert>Field>PageRef.

\* MERGEFORMAT is a so-called general switch, inserted unless you cleared
the "Preserve formatting during updates" in the Field dialog box. The
following explanation is from Word Help:

***********************
\*MERGEFORMAT
Applies the formatting of the previous result to the new result. For
example, if you select the name displayed by the field { AUTHOR \*
MERGEFORMAT } and apply bold formatting, Microsoft Word retains the bold
formatting when the field is updated when the author name changes.
Note When you insert fields by using the Field dialog box (Insert menu,
Field command), the \*MERGEFORMAT switch is included by default. You can
turn this option off by clearing the Preserve formatting during updates
check box in the Field dialog box.
***********************

Everything is fine on the screen and in print preview, but when I print,
the
pages are numbered "Page 1 of 1", "Page 2 of 2", etc. There is a history
of
this problem (described as the "Page X of Y" problem) that goes back to
Word
2000, and is addressed in an MVP FAQ. (Thanks, MVPs Dave Rado and Suzanne
Barnhill !!) I followed the instructions there to update to the latest
Service Pack for MS Office. That fixed the problem for a week or so, but
now
it's back. Any further suggestions?

Did you try any of the other fixes in the article?