I cannot insert page numbers to word document although I used to be able to

Sharon Shortland 45 Reputation points
2025-07-16T08:00:40.0166667+00:00

When i try to insert page numbers, it gives the normal options, Top, Bottom, Side etc but whichever I click on it then says 'Get more page numbers from office.com' and when i click that I get (greyed out) no online content available. What is happening and how can I get page numbers again.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Thomas4-N 22,825 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-07-16T12:51:04.3833333+00:00

Hello Sharon Shortland,

Welcome to the community.

I understand you're having trouble inserting page numbers in your Word document, even though it worked for you previously. This usually happens when the built-in building blocks template in Word is missing or corrupted. Here are a few steps you can try to fix the issue:

Insert a page number manually

  • Double-click in the header or footer area of your document.
    • Press Alt + Shift + P to insert a page number field directly. This bypasses the gallery and uses the { PAGE } field code.

Rebuild the building blocks file

  • Close Word.
  • Press Windows + R, then type:
%appdata%\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks\
  • Open the folder for your language (for example, 1033 for English).
    • Delete or rename the file named Built-In Building Blocks.dotx.
    • Restart Word. A new version of the file will be created automatically.

Repair Office

  • Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
  • Select Microsoft 365, click Change, and choose Online Repair. This will repair all Office components and often resolves deeper issues.

Let me know if this helps fix the issue.

Best regards,

Thomas

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  1. Stefan Blom 355.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-07-18T07:30:42.53+00:00

    Following up on suggestions made by Thomas Ngg and Marc Vernon, note that the user profile folders are often hidden folders. You can change the display in File Explorer to display hidden files and folders.

    However, you can do the following to go directly to the folder that contains your building block templates: Hold the Windows logo key as you press R; in the Run dialog box, type (or paste) %Appdata%\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks and then go to the appropriate subfolder, which is 1033\16 for US English installations (shortcut: %Appdata%\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks\1033\16).

    See the screen shot below.

    User's image

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  2. Stefan Blom 355.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-07-17T16:49:34.56+00:00

    So I did the Office Repair online, now all my word documents need to be opened in Cool File Viewer Premium for which I have to pay. Surely this is not right.

    Sharon,

    After an Online Repair you usually have to reinstall Office. You should be able to do that via your account at https://account.microsoft.com/services.

    For more info, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/download-install-or-reinstall-microsoft-365-or-office-2024-on-a-pc-or-mac-4414eaaf-0478-48be-9c42-23adc4716658 .

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  3. Marc Vernon 9,470 Reputation points
    2025-07-17T07:24:28.28+00:00

    Hi there, Sharon! This is Marc.

    Word uses a special template file to manage page numbering and similar content. Try these steps below.

    • Close Word completely and in File Explorer, go to: C:\Users<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Document Building Blocks\
    • Inside the folder, you'll see a version number (like 1033 for English), Delete or rename this folder to 1033_old.
    • Next is Reopen Word and the file will be regenerated automatically.

    Let me know how it goes.

    Best,

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  4. Peter McKerchar 0 Reputation points
    2025-09-29T14:51:04.46+00:00

    User's image

    Despite following the suggested solutions, for which I am grateful, this the outcome

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