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Word keeps referring to Page 1 as Page 2 when I try to insert page numbers in my documents.

Anonymous
2012-09-26T03:00:11+00:00

Hello out there,

My OS is MSO Vista Ultimate and I have been trying since last night to insert page numbers in a six page Word document in MSO 2007, but it keeps referring to page I as page 2 and page 2 as page 3 etc.

I have selected the Different First Page option and I have formatted the number to begin at 2 on page 2, but it continues to class page 1 as page 2.  I am at my wits end. Does anyone out there have a solution?

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Charles Kenyon 167.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2012-09-26T12:23:40+00:00

Good morning Suzanne,

 

Thank you again for your help. I followed your instructions, but, regrettably, the problem persists.

 

Kind regards

Pilgrim4

The format page numbers is a section property. If you inserted a  section break you may have formatted the wrong page numbers. You want the page numbering in the first section to start at page 1 and the page numbering of all subsequent sections to continue from previous section.

Sections / Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word 2007-2010

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2012-09-26T11:56:51+00:00

    Well, it's a long shot, but the only explanation I can think of: On the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog, make sure that "Section start" is set to "New page" and not "Even page."

    The easiest way to get to the Page Setup dialog is to double-click the top of the horizontal ruler, but if you can't make that work (it evidently requires some practice to hit just the right spot, as many users report difficulty), then you can use the dialog launcher (small arrow) in the bottom right corner of the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab.

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  2. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2012-09-26T04:13:04+00:00

    Hello out there,

    My OS is MSO Vista Ultimate and I have been trying since last night to insert page numbers in a six page Word document in MSO 2007, but it keeps referring to page I as page 2 and page 2 as page 3 etc.

    I have selected the Different First Page option and I have formatted the number to begin at 2 on page 2, but it continues to class page 1 as page 2.  I am at my wits end. Does anyone out there have a solution?

    If you want the second page to be numbered 2, you should NOT use the Format Page number facility.

    Set it back to Start at 1 and everything should fall into place.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-09-26T03:18:22+00:00

    Hello Suzanne,

    Well that was a very speedy response.

    I have just selected the 'Continue from previous section', but page 1 is still being referred to as page 2.

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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2012-09-26T03:03:44+00:00

    Are there any section breaks in the document? If so, you probably have set the numbering to start at 2 in both sections. But it should not be necessary to set a starting number on page 2 if it is to be numbered 2, as that will happen automatically. You should have all sections set to "Continue from previous section."

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