Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3785
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by hlewton »

I never noticed this problem and I have used this document for a few years now. There are 942 pages in it and as you can see the page count circled in red on the first attachment does not indicate that. I believe this is located on what is called the “status line” it is at the very bottom of the Word document. In an earlier thread I was told how to get to the page I last used by using “Shift + F5” keys and as you can see in the second attachment that is page 672. This seems to be a consistent problem across all 4 of my computers running Office 2016.


Any ideas what is going on and is there a solution to make this work correctly? This file is saved in the *.docx format but was created in the *.doc format originally if that matters.


Thanks
Word.jpg
Word1.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by HansV »

Press Ctrl+End to go to the end of the document.
What does the status bar indicate then?
And what happens if you then move back up?
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3785
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by hlewton »

HansV wrote:Press Ctrl+End to go to the end of the document.
What does the status bar indicate then?
And what happens if you then move back up?
That is how I figured out there were 942 pages. If I do a Ctrl + End that number displays but the word count is still the same as when I use Shift + F5. that count should be well over a million words. As I move the bar on the side back up sometimes it will display the page number I stop on and other times it won't. I have opened up the document and left it alone for 15 minutes or so but it never seems to find the end of the document count on its own no matter how long it is opened. I am testing another similar size document now and will report back on it.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by HansV »

A word document isn't divided into pages per se. Pagination is done on the fly each time you open it, as it depends on the current printer settings. Since pagination is resource-intensive, Word may not paginate the entire document the moment you open it, only the part you visit. Going to the end of the document forces Word to count the actual number of pages.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3785
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by hlewton »

HansV wrote:A word document isn't divided into pages per se. Pagination is done on the fly each time you open it, as it depends on the current printer settings. Since pagination is resource-intensive, Word may not paginate the entire document the moment you open it, only the part you visit. Going to the end of the document forces Word to count the actual number of pages.
So you think it is working as it should? I think you must mean that because I checked the "Properties - Advanced" of the document and it only showed the number of pages that the document was on at the time. When I did a Ctrl + End it updated to that amount and the other document I mentioned has 882 pages and is working the same way.

I do not change the Printer settings for this document so are you saying that no matter how long I have it opened it will never count up all the pages on its own? I will never do it but if I wanted to print the entire 942 pages of this document would I have to do a Ctrl + End first? Just curious and thanks for your replies.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
HansV
Administrator
Posts: 78232
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
Status: Microsoft MVP
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by HansV »

When you print the document, you'll get all pages, even if Word displayed a much smaller number of pages at the time. Printing, like going to the end of the document, forces Word to paginate the entire document.

It doesn't really matter that you don't change the printer settings. The cause of the problem is that Word doesn't store the document as 942 pages; it stores it as one long stream of text. Pagination is performed on the fly each time.
Best wishes,
Hans

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3785
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by hlewton »

Thanks again Hans. Not sure why little things like that drive me nuts but they do.
Regards,
hlewton

User avatar
Charles Kenyon
4StarLounger
Posts: 596
Joined: 10 Jan 2016, 15:56
Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by Charles Kenyon »

The page count in the status bar, the page count in the [advanced] document properties, the result of a { DocProperty PAGES } field and the actual page number when can all be different! The one shown in the status bar is a moving target and will be closer to accurate the longer the document has been open. As Hans pointed out, a Ctrl+End will force it to update.

It goes back to the underlying situation: Word doesn't really know about pages until it prints.

See http://addbalance.com/word/MovePages.htm

User avatar
hlewton
PlatinumLounger
Posts: 3785
Joined: 24 Oct 2010, 23:39
Location: Canton, Ohio USA

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by hlewton »

Thank you.
Regards,
hlewton

nameispalmer
NewLounger
Posts: 2
Joined: 17 May 2018, 12:13
Location: Asheboro, NC

Re: Word 2016 Not Counting Pages Correctly - Win 10

Post by nameispalmer »

Hadn't even know there is any solution to this, I thought it's just a common thing that everybody got used to