How to number pages in Word

How to number pages in Microsoft Word

If you want to know how to number pages in Word, in the next chapters I will explain how to do this on the desktop version of the program available for Windows e MacOS. Whether you have the classic “packaged” edition of Microsoft Office, the one with a Microsoft 365 subscription or a standalone version of Word, the steps to follow are always the same.

Windows

If you work on Word to Windows, to number the pages all you have to do is open your document and select the tab Inserisci, located in the program toolbar (top left).

Clicca, quindi, sul pulsating Page number (l'icona del sheet with the pound sign on it) and select the position and style of the numbering to insert in the document, using the menu that is shown to you.

You can choose to place page numbers in positions Up, Down, In the margin or in the Current position, that is, the point on the sheet where the mouse pointer is when the button is clicked. To select the style / font of the numbers, use the thumbnails that appear in the menu.

If, instead of the classic numbers, you prefer to use the Roman ones or letters, click on the button Page number and select the item Page number format from the on-screen menu. You can also put the check mark next to the item It starts with and, in the text field alongside, type the number from which you want to start numbering the pages of the document.

In the window that opens, then set the type of numbering you prefer from the drop-down menu located at the top right and click on the button OK, in order to save the changes.

Mac

You use a Mac? Again, the page numbering in Word it's a simple operation! All you have to do is open the document to be numbered, select the tab Inserisci Word and click the button Page number (in alto to destra).

In the menu that is shown to you, then click on the item Page number and, in the window that opens, choose from the drop-down menu Location whether to enter page numbers at the bottom (footer) o at the top (as a header).

Then expand the drop-down menu Alignment, choose whether to place the page numbers on the right, left, center, inside or outside of each page (i.e. with an alternation between the left and right corners between the pages that make up the document) and click on the button OK per salvare I modified it.

If you want to prevent the number from being displayed on the first page of the document, remove the check mark from the item Number on the first page. If, on the other hand, you want to adjust the style that the page numbers should have, click on the button Size located at the bottom left and choose the number format that suits you best (eg Roman numerals, letters and so on). From the same window you can also activate the option It starts with and choose the number from which to start the page numbering.

How to number pages in Word Online

It was used Word Online, the free web version of Microsoft's famous word processing software, you can add page numbering in a simple way as seen in the chapter dedicated to the desktop version.

All you have to do, in fact, is reach the tab Inserisci and then press the key Page numbers. At this point, choose the position where to place the numbers and that's it!

Unfortunately, as the online version of Word is very limited compared to the desktop software, you are not allowed to alter the style and formatting of the numbers.

How to number pages in Word from smartphones and tablets

Word it is also available for Android (also on alternative stores to the Play Store) and iOS / iPadOS. It is completely free for devices that have a display size of 10,1 inches or less, otherwise it requires a subscription to Microsoft 365 with prices starting from 7 euros / month (otherwise it only allows you to view the documents and not to modify them or create new ones).

If you use a iPad or Android tablet, all you have to do to number the pages of a document is to select the tab Inserisci from the app toolbar of Word. On smartphoneInstead, you have to use the drop-down menu located in the lower left corner and select the item Inserisci da quest'ultimo.

In Seguito, fai tap sulla voce Page number, distinguished by an icon of sheet with the pound sign. At this point, you can choose the position on the sheet where the numbers will be displayed and their format. Easy, right?

How to number pages in Word by skipping the first ones

The numbering on the pages up Word it can also be done by excluding some of them. For example, imagine you have a document where the first page is the cover. In this case, you can act in two ways: by not showing the page number on the cover or by starting the numbering from the page you prefer, excluding the previous ones.

Let's see neatly how to do both operations, starting from the first example, that is, in case you want to know how to number pages in Word except the first one. In order not to display the number on the first page, in Microsoft Word, after entering the numbering, go to the tab layout and click on small arrow placed next to the wording Set page.

In the window that opens, go to the tab layout, metti il ​​segno di spunta accanto alla voce Different for the first page and click on OK to save the changes. You now have a document numbered from page 2 onwards! The same operation can be performed on Word Online, clicking on the header and selecting the items Options> Different for the first page.

Now let's put the case in which you want to exclude the application of numbers on some pages. In this circumstance you have two different approaches, based on the amount of pages to exclude. If you want to know how to number pages in Word without the first, first of all, start by entering the numbering.

First, if you use Microsoft Word for Windows or macOS, go to the card Inserisci of the program, click on the button Page number and select the item Page number format from the menu that appears. In the window that opens, put the check mark next to the item It starts with, type 0 in the text field alongside and click on OK per salvare i Cambiomenti.

Once this is done, you will have a numbering that will start from number zero on the first page (the cover). What you now have to do is hide the number on this page by performing the same operation that I indicated in the previous paragraph: using the form layout, then click on small arrow near the wording Set page and check the item Different for the first page, in the tab layout of the window that is shown to you.

If, on the other hand, you want to know how to number pages in Word starting from the third page or from any other page, none of the above methods can be applied to you, but you must use the session interruptions.

This is a Word feature that allows you to set a style on one or more pages or in a part of them and make sure that this is not reflected in the rest of the document, which will have other styles instead.

First, add the page numbers, as I explained to you in this chapter. Once this is done, place the typing pointer at the end of the last paragraph that precedes the page on which you want to insert the numbering.

For example, imagine you want to start numbers from 3 page: in this case, place the typing pointer at the end of the text of the 2 page. Once this is done, click on the tab layout and premium tasto Interruptions. From the options that are shown to you, choose therefore Continue in the section Session interruptions.

As you can see, the pages before the session break are numbered, which is broken and starts over on the pages following the break. What you need to do now is remove the numbering before the break.

To do this, move to the first page where the numbering should start (in the example it is page 3), double-click on the header and, in the Planning present at the top, press the button Link to previous, to deselect it. Afterwards, go to 1 page, click anywhere in the document, go to the tab Inserisci and press on the items Page Number> Remove Page Numbers.

If you have followed the instructions I have given you to the letter, you will have removed the numbering from the pages that were before the session interruption. On those that, on the other hand, are after the latter you will see the regular numbering that continues from page to page.

Office alternatives

If you don't want to spend money on a Microsoft 365 subscription or a license for the standard version of Microsoft Office or you simply want to use a software other than Word, I remind you that there are very valid free alternatives such as LibreOffice e OpenOffice.

Both of these solutions are equipped with a document page numbering function, similar to the one I described to you in the previous chapters. If you want to know more about it, read my guides on how to number pages in Open Office and how to download LibreOffice (which I recommend more than LibreOffice, it is updated more often and works almost similar to OpenOffice, so you can put in also practice my suggestions on how to number the pages of documents in it).

How to number pages in Word