Why won't the page numbering options work in Word? It only says "More page numbers from Office.com."

Anonymous
2025-02-14T10:21:03+00:00

The page numbering feature in Word is no longer working. Rather than listing the pagination options in the drop-down box, it states "More page numbers from Office.com" but when I try to click that, the options are greyed out and it says "No online content available." I've uninstalled and then reinstalled the 365 suite twice, but no luck. Oddly, if I open a previous document with the Page X of Y feature, it displays it just fine. Likewise, this works on the web version, but just not on any new documents that I open with Word now. Can anyone help, please?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Charles Kenyon 171.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2025-02-14T23:39:32+00:00

First, you do not need those options. They are, IMO, crutches.

However, as Suzanne said, this message means your Built-In-Building Blocks.dotx file is damaged.

In any version of Word starting with Word 2010, you can delete it and Word will build a new one for you. You want to do this even if you do not need these page number building blocks. (In Word 2007, the file is the Building Blocks.dotx file and you would want to rename the file.) The reason you want to rebuild this file even if you don't really need the page number building blocks is because this has all the building blocks supplied such as stock Tables of Contents, Cover Pages and Quick Tables.

For more, see my page on this problem: Page numbering / header / footer problems Word 2007 - Word 2024! (365).

It gives locations and instructions.

If you go to the header or footer where you want a page number, you can press Shift+Alt+P to insert a page number field. It can be added in other ways as well and formatted as you would anything else.

References:

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-02-14T12:56:56+00:00

    This usually means that the Built-in Building Blocks.dotx template is damaged. Search for that file on your hard drive and delete it. Word will recreate it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-02-15T02:54:28+00:00

    Many thanks for taking the time to send me such a comprehensive reply, Charles.

    I had booked two remote sessions with the friendly IT personnel at my University, but despite their best efforts, unfortunately, the problem remained unresolved. However, I'm happy to report that after having followed your instructions, the issue has now been fixed - thank you!

    First, you do not need those options. They are, IMO, crutches.

    However, as Suzanne said, this message means your Built-In-Building Blocks.dotx file is damaged.

    In any version of Word starting with Word 2010, you can delete it and Word will build a new one for you. You want to do this even if you do not need these page number building blocks, (In Word 2007, you would want to rename the file.)

    For more, see my page on this problem: Page numbering / header / footer problems Word 2007 - Word 2024! (365).

    It gives locations and instructions.

    If you go to the header or footer where you want a page number, you can press Shift+Alt+P to insert a page number field. It can be added in other ways as well and formatted as you would anything else.

    References:

    Was this answer helpful?

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-02-15T02:48:49+00:00

    This usually means that the Built-in Building Blocks.dotx template is damaged. Search for that file on your hard drive and delete it. Word will recreate it.

    Thank you for responding so quickly, Suzanne.

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