How to Fix Page numbers disappearing in Word

Follow along to discover what to do if the page numbers disappear from your Microsoft Word document. For large documents, tracking particular sections and knowing exactly how many pages comprise a document becomes impossible without page numbers. It is for this reason that Word allows you to assign a number to each page of your document. Most of the time, this will work just fine. However, there may be times when it doesn't.

A few users have experienced that page numbers at random disappear, but most have reported that all page numbers suddenly stop appearing in their Word documents. If you're experiencing a similar issue, read on to learn what to do.

Issue with page numbers in Word

Following are the steps you must take to avoid disappearing page numbers in your Microsoft Word document:

Toggle "Link to Previous" on or off.

View the Print Layout.

Display page breaks as white space.

View any changed field codes or hidden text.

Let's look at this in detail.

1) Turn "Link to Previous" on or off

You can insert alternative header and footer information in different areas of your Word document using the Link to Previous feature. It is only activated for the 'like' sections that came before it by default. But if not handled properly, it can lead to confusing or missing page numbers.

For example, if your document contains section breaks, the header and footer might accidentally link to a section without page numbers, and the page numbers will disappear.

Another scenario could be that a section might not have a header or footer or no page numbers assigned; in this case, "Link to Previous" is grayed out. This also makes Microsoft Word lose track of the page numbers.

Depending on your specific circumstance, returning the missing page numbers may involve you turning the 'Link to Previous' on or off. Let me guide you through it:

To locate the missing number page, double-click its header or footer. Under the Navigation portion of the header and footer menu, you should see the 'Link to Previous' option.

It should be noted if the page has it on. Click it to disable the feature. Once you have it off, for the page number to appear, place your cursor where you want it to be and click Alt+Shift+P.

If the "Link to Previous" option is not activated, click it to do so. It will reset the page back to its former state by importing the header and footer of the previous section onto the page.

Also, if your document is set up for odd-even pages, make sure that the page numbers are set up for both the odd and even pages. The same applies to section breaks.

2.Activate the Print Layout tab.

Another classic reason for page numbers missing in Word is the layout you are on. The five layouts available in Word include Outline, Draft, Print, Read Mode, and Web Layout. Of these, two layouts-the Read Mode and the Web Layout-do not show page numbers.

If you can't see the numbers across the full document, most likely you have opened the document in a layout that does not display page numbers. To test if the Print Layout is suitable, go to the View menu and select it. Changing Word's layout is as simple as clicking the icons in the Status Bar located in the screen's lower right corner.

Also, make sure the page numbers are turned on in the Status Bar if they aren't already. Right-click the status bar to get the options to customize the status bar. Be careful you click the "Page Number" option.

3] Show page breaks

Another effect that could make page numbers disappear if it's turned off, involves the "show white space" feature in Word. White space on a page in Word is the unused, or blank, space along the top and bottom. If you want to minimize white space appearing between pages when working in the Print Layout view, Word offers you an option to conceal it.

To make the text appear more compact, you can hide the white space between pages. Doing this, however, also covers the top and bottom margins, and the space for headers and footers where page numbers would go.

You can fix this by turning white space back on in Word.

Options can be found in File > More. The option to "Show white space between pages in Print Layout view" can be selected from the Display tab of the Word Options menu.

You may also double-click on the page border if you would like. This will allow you to see the spaces, as well as all missing page numbers.

Fourth, check for changed field codes or buried text.

Missing page numbers in Word could also be an appearance if the field codes for them were changed inadvertently. Field codes can also serve as placeholders for dynamically placing material into a document based on certain parameters.

Display the formatting marks: Ctrl + Shift + 8. To identify the page number, double-click to open the header/footer, then select it. Then, under Font dialogue Ctrl + D uncheck Hidden.

When you have finished making your changes, close the header and footer and press Ctrl + Shift + 8 again, then click OK.

If the page number is displayed as {PAGE}, press Alt + F9 to toggle the field codes on and off.

The steps above should fix the problem with the display of page numbers in the Word document. Please leave your questions or comments in the box below.