TOC page numbers all zero

[Mike Miller]

Using Word 97.

Every time I open this document, all of the page numbers in the TOC are set
to zero. If I update the table, the page numbers are corrected, but if I
save, close and re-open, they are all set to zero again.

If I open the same document in Word 2003, update the TOC, save, close and
re-open in Word 97, the page numbers remain correct until I update the table
again in Word 97. At that point, the numbers go back to zero the next time I
open the doc.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/PageNumber0.htm for one possibility.

 

[Mike Miller]

None of that applies in my case. Just to be sure, I deleted all graphics
from the document and deleted everything in all headers and footers - the
page numbers are still set to zero every time I open the document.

 

[Mike Miller]

Some additional information:

I pressed ALT-F9 to display the field codes, then saved the document while
the field codes are displayed. I then closed and re-opened the document. At
this point, the field codes are still displayed as they were when I saved the
doc. I then pressed ALT-F9 to display the actual TOC, the page numbers
displayed immediately.

If the document is saved with the TOC information being displayed, the page
numbers will be zero when I open it again. If the document is saved with the
field codes displayed, they will still be displayed when I open the doc, but
if I press ALT-F9 to display the actual contents, the page numbers are
correct.

 

[Mike Miller]

I have also found that if I turn on the paragraph marks, update the page
numbers, save the document and close it, the page numbers will be correct
when I next open the document. If I do the same thing but turn off the
paragraph marks, the page numbers are back to zero the next time I open the
document.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi Mike

Have you tried doing a *full* update on the TOC, not just the page number
update? I think I've found in the past that this may clear the problem
(presumably because it recreates the heading bookmarks). It's probably best
to do this in 2003, because bookmark tidying has got better in more recent
versions - if you do it in 97 you may get a build-up of hidden bookmarks
(can't remember when this was fixed).

 

[Mike Miller]

Margaret,

I've done both the full update and numbers only updates, both in 2003 and in
97. Either way, the numbers are back to zero as soon as I save and re-open
in 97.

I've found the problem is related to the styles used in the document. I
copied all of the text into a new document (unformatted) and re-formatted
everything, not using any of the styles from the doc that was having
problems. After doing this, I inserted a TOC into the new doc and the page
numbers are now retained when I save and re-open.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi Mike

For future reference, it sounds like maybe this was after all a 'simple'
case of file corruption and the classic fix (copying all into a fresh
document) therefore fixed it - I would hazard a guess that the styles and
reformatting probably weren't necessary, though you never know ;-)