Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Setting the Starting Line Number.

Setting the Starting Line Number

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

If you are working on a very long document that uses line numbering, you may have stored parts of the document in different files. When you print those files, you don't want the line numbers to start over at 1 for each file you print. To adjust the starting line number for a document, follow these steps:

Display the Layout (Page Layout in older versions of Word) tab of the ribbon.
Click the Line Numbers tool (in the Page Setup group) and then choose Line Numbering Options. Word displays the Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Layout tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

Click on the Line Numbers button. Word displays the Line Numbers dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Line Numbers dialog box.

Adjust the starting line number by changing the number in the Start At box.
Change the line number increment value (Count By) if desired.
Click on OK to close the Line Numbers dialog box.
Click on OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9257) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Setting the Starting Line Number.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing a Macro Description

Part of documenting macros is to provide a good, succinct description of what they do. Changing the description of an ...

Discover More

Problem with Missing Context Menu Option

When you right-click a cell, does it seem that the Context menu is missing an item or two? Here's how to get those items ...

Discover More

Documents Opening in the Wrong Program

Double-click a Word document on your desktop, and you expect Word to spring into action and load the document. What if ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Adding Line Numbers

Many types of documents, such as legal documents, require the use of line numbers to make it easier to identify specific ...

Discover More

Numbering Only Certain Lines

Need to add line numbers to a document? Word provides an easy way to add them, but some of the controls that configure ...

Discover More

Removing Line Numbering

If you've added line numbers to your document, at some point you may want them turned off. Here's how to disable line ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.