Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 31, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365
Deena has a document that is formatted to use three columns. She would like a way to display and print, automatically, a column number at the top of each column. Thus, the columns on page 1 would be numbered 1 through 3, those on page 2 would be 4 through 6, etc.
There is no way to do this automatically, but a workaround is to create a macro that will print the document with column numbers in the page header. All you need to do is make sure that the header has tab stops set to match where you want the column numbers to appear.
Sub ColumnHeaders() Dim p As Long Dim tp As Long Dim c As Integer Dim tc As Integer Dim h As String Dim ch As String ' Get total pages tp = ActiveDocument.Content.ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticPages) ' Get number of columns tc = ActiveDocument.Sections(1).PageSetup.TextColumns.Count ' Save current header ch = ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary).Range.Text For p = 1 To tp h = "" For c = 1 To tc h = h & Trim(Str(p + (c - 1) + (2 * p - 2))) & vbTab Next c h = Left(h, Len(h) - 1) ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary).Range.Text = h ActiveDocument.PrintOut Range:=wdPrintFromTo, _ From:=Trim(Str(p)), To:=Trim(Str(p)) Next p If Len(ch) > 1 Then ' Restore previous header ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary).Range.Text = ch Else ' There is no previous header ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary).Range.Delete End If End Sub
The macro actually prints out each page of the document individually. It assumes there is only a single section in the document. The number of columns for that single section is determined, and then this count is used in putting together the header for each page. The header consists of the column numbers separated by tabs. The header is constructed for each page, and then each page is printed.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12826) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.
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