Page Numbers in MS Word, Step 1: Page and Section Breaks

How do I count thee? Let me explain the ways. 

Adding page numbers or "Page X of Y" is easy. Double-click into the footer or header and INSERT. But maybe you need to be more complicated than that! (Don't tell Avril Lavigne).

          

Sections

Maybe you have two 10-page sections and want them counted separately. You could make two separate documents, but that could cause other tangles. Instead, start thinking about section breaks.

A quick page break is helpful to end a chapter, place one poem per page, etc. A section break allows you to set different formatting rules (like perfecting your page counts).

Different Sections, Different Page Numbers

If you're clicked into the footer or header, you can find Format Page Numbers on the ribbon.

Instead of "continue from previous section," you can now reset the page counter!

There's also a long way to get to this pop-up. You might need it because the Header & Footer ribbon doesn't appear unless you are clicked into the header or footer. To format page numbers, you need to start at INSERT.

  

My next post will show how to clean up the problems for "Page X of Y" or if you want headers and footers to have other differences.