master documents in Word

Question

I am using the master document feature of Word quite successfully, but for the page numbering. There are 12 separate chapters which all load properly, show all edits, etc. and generally behave as expected. However, the numbering is not continuous across the whole 12 chapters. I use the "link to previous" in the header and footer sections when I want the numbering to be continuous, and turn it off when I don't; e.g. after the headings, contents pages, etc. of the bits preceding the main body of text. This seems to work in some  instances, e.g. in the first 6 chapters are all linked with continuous page numbers, but then it seems to break down and I have to set the number from which the first page number of the next section must start.

Is there a secret way of getting the numbers to be continuous across the whole combined master document?

Thanks to anyone who may be able to help.

David

Answer 1

"Link to previous" is actually a red herring in this case, since headers/footers don't need to be unlinked to restart page numbering. What you do need is to have "Continue from previous section" selected in the Page Number Format dialog for every section in the document, including sections that may begin and end in the middle of a page (and consequently have no associated header or footer). It is helpful to add the Section Number display to your status bar so you can keep track of what section the insertion point is in. Then go through the document one section at a time* and use Insert | Header & Footer | Page Numbers | Format Page Numbers... to get to the Page Number Format dialog.

*In Word 2010, you can easily skip from one section to the next (or previous) by setting the Browse Object to Browse by Section. The Select Browse Object button is the round one between the double arrows at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar. Once you have selection "section" as the browse object, you can use the up and down arrows to move through the sections.

Answer 2

I am using the master document feature of Word quite successfully.

There's a well-worn adage- There are two types of master document: (1) those that are corrupt; (2) those that are about to corrupt. See:

http://wordmvp.com/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm

http://www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm

If you value your work, avoid Word's master document 'feature' like the plague. There is little they provide that can't be achieved via the consistent use of Templates & Styles in conjunction with INCLUDETEXT and/or RD fields.

Answer 3

Do you have any Continuous Section Breaks in the document where the page numbering falls over?  

As it can be difficult to access the format page number dialog for appropriate section of the document in such cases, it can be easier to use a macro such as

Dim i as Long, j as Long

With ActiveDocument

    For i = 1 To .Sections.Count

        With .Sections(i)

            For j = 1 To .Footers.Count

                .Footers(j).PageNumbers.RestartNumberingAtSection = False

            Next j

        End With

    Next i

End With