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: Repaginating in a Macro.

Repaginating in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 26, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Macros are often used to process documents. I have written macros that have done quite a bit of processing, such as replacing information, adding new page breaks, and moving text around. Doing this much processing obviously means that the pagination of the document changes. Normally, Word doesn't repaginate a document until it can do so in the background, which means the macro needs to be finished running.

You may want your macro to force Word to repaginate, however. Why? Perhaps later steps in the macro rely on a freshly repaginated document. For instance, your macro may look for information on a page number, and you won't know the proper page number until repagination is complete.

To force Word to repaginate, simply use the Repaginate method, as follows:

ActiveDocument.Repaginate

In this usage, the active document is repaginated. You should realize, of course, that repagination can take a while, based on the size and complexity of the document.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13053) 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: Repaginating in a Macro.

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

Resetting to Factory Defaults for Bulleted Lists

If you use bulleted lists a lot in your documents, you might notice that the formats have changed over time. Resetting ...

Discover More

Using Go To to Jump to a Chart Sheet

Create a chart on its own worksheet, and you can display it by simply clicking the tab at the bottom of the Excel work ...

Discover More

Capitalizing the First Letter of a Cell

If you need to make everything in a cell lowercase except the first character, you may wonder if there is a formulaic way ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Determining the Day of the Month

When writing macros, you may need to know which day of the month a particular date represents. Here's how to use the Day ...

Discover More

Determining the Number of Paragraphs in a Document

When using a macro to process a document in some way, you often need to know the number of paragraphs in the document. ...

Discover More

Determining the Number of Pages in Your Document

If your macro needs to know how many pages are in your document, you can use the Information method to get the desired ...

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 nine more than 8?

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.