Adding Page Numbers in Headers or Footers

If you already have headers and footers defined for your document, you can add a page number by simply editing the header or footer and then using one of the choices available by choosing the Insert tab of the ribbon, clicking the Page Number tool, and then choosing Current Position. The page number you choose is inserted at the location of your insertion point.

If the standard, run-of-the-mill page number does not fit your discriminating tastes, you may want to add page numbers to your headers or footers yourself. These types of page numbers can be rather fancy, if you like. For instance, you may want a page number to say, "Page 37" (special formatting with the word Page before the actual page number). To add page numbers in your headers and footers, follow these steps:

1. Position the insertion point in the section of your document that you want to include page numbers.
2. Open the header or footer area of the page you are viewing. You can do this by double-clicking within the header or footer areas. You can also display the Insert tab of the ribbon, click the Header or Footer tools (as desired), and then choose Edit Header or Edit Footer (as appropriate).
3. In the header or footer, type the word Page followed by a space.
4. Click on the Page Number tool and then click Current Position. From the resulting options, select the page number format that most closely corresponds to what you want to see. (I normally just choose Plain Number since I'm going to do my own formatting anyway.)
5. Format your header or footer text as you would format normal text in your document.
6. Click on Close Header and Footer.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8379) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Adding Page Numbers in Headers or Footers.