Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Inserting Page Number Cross-References.

Inserting Page Number Cross-References

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 14, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


Word includes the capacity to add cross-references to page numbers in your document. For instance, you can insert a field that will automatically refer to a bookmark on another page. If the page number containing the bookmark changes, the page number cross-reference changes as well. To insert a page number cross-reference, follow these steps:

  1. Insert a bookmark on the page containing the information you want to cross-reference.
  2. Position the insertion point where you want the cross-reference to occur.
  3. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
  4. Type pageref followed by the bookmark name used in step 1.
  5. Press F9 to update the field information.

If you edit the document after inserting the field and you want to make sure that the field results are accurate, all you need to do is to press Ctrl+A to select the entire document and then press F9.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11463) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting Page Number Cross-References.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Locking Callouts to a Graph Location

If you add callouts using the drawing tools in Excel, you may have noticed that they don't always stay where you expect ...

Discover More

Automatically Determining a Due Date

When you are doing a mail merge in Word, you may need to calculate a date sometime in the future. Word doesn't include an ...

Discover More

Diagonal Borders in a Conditional Format

Conditional formatting is a great tool for changing how your data looks based on the data itself. Excel won't allow you ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Inserting a Document's Size

Want to insert the size of your document directly into the document body? You can do so by using one of the dynamic ...

Discover More

Inserting the Document Revision Number

Need to know how many times your document has been saved? Word keeps track of this information, and makes it easily ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Fields Inserted by Third-Party Programs

Third-party programs can be used to affect a document and change what is contained therein. Of course, getting rid of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is six more than 9?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.