Page x of y problems

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Guest

I know there's a fix for this, but my searches are finding it.

I have a problem where the total number of pages is being reported
incorrectly ... so I end up with Page 24 of 21.

There's some code that I need to add, but I can't find it. Can someone
point me to it ... please and thanks.
Diana
 
Cowtoon said:
I know there's a fix for this, but my searches are finding it.

I have a problem where the total number of pages is being reported
incorrectly ... so I end up with Page 24 of 21.

There's some code that I need to add, but I can't find it. Can
someone point me to it ... please and thanks.
Diana
Click to expand...

Hi Diana,

The thing that there's a fix for is when the total pages (a NumPages field)
shows the same number as the current page (a Page field). That's described
at http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/PageXofY.htm, but it doesn't sound
like what you're seeing.

Are you sure you don't just need to update the fields? Either select the
field and press F9, or (after making sure Tools > Options > Print > "Update
fields" is checked) go to Print Preview and back.

If that isn't it, right-click the field and select Toggle Field Codes. Is it
really a NumPages field, or is it maybe a PageRef field pointing to a
bookmark that's on page 21? Or a SectionPages field?
 
Jay, I'm aware of that problem ... the problem that I'm experiencing is where
the total numbers in the sections is picking up extra pages and reports the
"total" pages wrong. I know there's a fix for it. Perhaps someone else has
it. Thanks for the response.
Diaina
 
Why don't you respond to the other part of the post? What are the actual
field codes in your document?

Also, what is the composition of your document?

Did you try updating the fields?
 
Sorry.
When I get back to work, I'll send you what what the field is when I toggle
(Alt F9). I'm pretty sure it reads numpages (as the y value), but I can't
say that I remember it exactly. To create the field, while in the
header/footer area, I simply inserted the built-in "page x of y" field (while
in footers). It's not a PageRef field.
I'll send the field codes tomorrow. I hope it will help.

I'm not sure what you are asking when you ask for the composition. It's
made up of several sections and in most instances, I have the section restart
the page number from 1. The first section that I want the numbering to work
properly has only a few pages, however, it's reporting all of the sections
that preceed it, totalling 15. It's a strange bug, that's for sure.
Diana
 
Hi Diana,

If you used the built-in "page x of y" (that's actually an AutoText entry),
then the y value is indeed a NumPages field. By definition, that evaluates
to the total number of pages in the document.

Looking back at your original post, you said you were seeing a result like
"Page 24 of 21" -- where x is greater than y. Is that really the case, or
are you actually seeing something where x is much less than y when they
should be nearly the same? For example, on the last page of the document,
you might see "Page 3 of 15"? That would be caused by restarting the page
numbers (the x) from 1 in each section, but still using the NumPages field
for y. You should be able to fix that by replacing the NumPages field with a
SectionPages field.
 
Jay ... that did the trick. I inserted that field (in place of the "y"
field) and it worked. I'm surprised that it puts in a merge field, but it
works. Thanks so much. That's much better than the work around that I used
before. I'm surprised that microsoft doesn't have that as an option with
their autotext. The resulting field code is this: Page { PAGE } of {
SECTIONPAGES \* MERGEFORMAT }
Thanks again. Diana
 
Good, I'm glad that worked.

The SectionPages field isn't really a "merge field", at least not in the
sense of being useful mostly in mail merge documents. The \*MERGEFORMAT
"switch" tells the field that each time it updates, it should use the same
formatting (bold, italic, etc.) that the previous value had. That switch is
applicable to most of Word's fields. For more information about this and
other switches that are available, see the Help topic on "Format (\*) field
switch".

One more thing: You can add that set of text and fields as your own custom
AutoText. Select the whole phrase in your existing header or footer, press
Alt+F3, and enter a name for the AutoText entry -- for example, Page X of
SectionPages. When you exit Word, if you're asked to save changes in
Normal.dot, say yes.
 
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