Why there is a First Page Header -Section 4- after specif page in MS-Word

I couldn't understand why there is a

First Page Header -Section 4-

after Page-7 of my MS-Word 2016 document.

What I want to accomplish:

1. Page Number Counting will be begin from the 3rd page. ie, The 3rd page will be treated as 1st page.
2. 1st page (ie: 3rd page) will not show the page number. So, I have used "Different First Page" option, so that the 4th page will show Page-2.
3. I want different header and footer for odd and even page

All things went well except that peculiar First Page Header -Section 4- after the page-7 and I can't actually add a new page which will show "8 AP STYLE BOOK". Instead it is showing "1" after page#7.

Here is the dropbox link of the file as this forum does not have an attachment option:

Anybody please explain the cause it is happening and the solution?

Additional information after answer:

@Charles Kenyon ... What I have figured out myself that if I create (two or more) columns by selecting some texts, then a section break is automatically created before the columns.

That newly created section restarts page numbering after the previous section and new page numbering follows the previous section page numbering format (if First page is different selected at previous section, the new section will follow the same First page is different method).

What I have to do-

1. click the Header/Footer section >
2. right-click the page number on that newly created section page >
3. select "Format Page Numbers" >
4. and then select "Continue from the previous section".

that's all, that will solve the problem of restarting page counting from newly created section where the columns begin.

I have seen your edited document but there is restarting of the page number (which is 0) occurrence after page-7 for the same above cause.

Anyhow, creating a content table automatically was new learning for me (I really did not know about this option of MS-Word) although I did not try it yet! What I could not understand clearly, is the Page Break Before...When is it used normally? Again Thanks for your efforts.

2 Answers

Here is the page on creating documents like this: Numbering Front Matter by Suzanne Barnhill, Word MVP

Not on point to your question, but important:

In your Table of Contents, you show Capitalization as being on Page 1, not Page 3, the current location. You should use the automatic generation of a Table of Contents. How to Insert a Table of Contents by Shauna Kelly.

Back to your queston:

Different First Page and restarting numbering are both attributes of sections. A page break has nothing to do with these. Anytime you add "Different First Page" to a section and then create a new section beginning in or at the end of that section, the new section will also be set for "Different First Page." You can change that. The same is true if you restart numbering in a section.

Different Even and Odd settings, like mirror margins, are by document, rather than by section.

When you want parts to start on an odd-numbered page, you should use the Odd-Number Section break, not successive page breaks. When you want something to start at the top of a new page, the first paragraph should be formatted to have a page break before. This is often done as part of a heading style definition.

Here is a temporary DropBox link to your 1953 Stylebook with my changes. I turned on Tracked Changes to assist you.

Here are some of the changes I made:

• Removed 2 page breaks and inserted odd-page section break before “Contents”.
• Removed Link to Previous in First-Page header.
• Checked – already set to restart page numbering at 1
• Changed the paragraph formatting of “Contents” to Page Break before.

Because you had multiple section breaks on one page I ran my Continuous Page Numbering Add-In to make all page numbering continuous and then restarted at your page 3. This uses a variation on the following macro:

Sub ContinuousPageNumbersMacro() ' ' ContinuousPageNumbersMacro Macro ' This macro makes page numbering continuous througout document. This is for multisection documents where it may be hard to find page breaks and figure out page numbering changes. ' ' Jay Freedman ' ' Can be used as straight macro or attached to keyboard shortcut ' modified to preserve track changes status - idea from Graham Mayor 25 Oct 2017 ' Dim secNum As Long Dim btnCancel ' give user chance to cancel Dim bTrackChanges As Boolean Dim strVersion As String strVersion = ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("Version").Value btnCancel = MsgBox(prompt:="Do you want to reset all of the page numbers in this document to number continuously?", _ Title:="Continuous Page Numbering Version " & strVersion & " Are you sure?", _ Buttons:=vbYesNo) If btnCancel = vbNo Then MsgBox prompt:="Reset of continuous page numbering cancelled by user!", Buttons:=vbExclamation, Title:="Page Number Reset Cancelled!" Exit Sub End If ' Proceed with reset bTrackChanges = ActiveDocument.TrackRevisions 'Graham Mayor ActiveDocument.TrackRevisions = False ' Graham Mayor With ActiveDocument For secNum = 2 To .Sections.Count .Sections(secNum).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary) _ .PageNumbers.RestartNumberingAtSection = False Next End With ActiveDocument.TrackRevisions = bTrackChanges 'Graham Mayor MsgBox prompt:="The Continuous Page Numbers macro has run.", Title:="Page number reset macro finished!"
End Sub

Further reading that would help you:

• Why Use Word's Built-In Heading Styles? by Shauna Kelly, Word MVP
• How to create [automatically] numbered headings or outline numbering by Shauna Kelly, Word MVP

For further reference, here is my writing on:

• Different First Page
• Different Even and Odd
• Page Numbering
• Header and Footer Settings
• Importance of Styles in Word

Response to further information:

Use of Page-Break-Before formatting.

I use this in a style where I want this paragraph to always be at the top of a page. Usually this is the Heading 1 style that I will use to start a new paragraph. Use of heading styles when combined with use of the StyleRef field can avoid many section breaks.

Restart at 0 in the sample

I missed that. I have fixed it in the sample. Again, the command to restart is a section property and when a new section is created it copies the setting from the current section. The method you outline is the one I use. I use the macro when I can't get at that dialog for a particular section.

Using the Odd-Page Section Break

Any extra pages automatically added will be completely blank but will count in the page numbering. They will show up in print preview but not in print view. If you absolutely need a number on the blank pages (in contravention of publishing norms) it can be done.

@Charles Kenyon ... What I have figured out myself that if I create (two or more) columns by selecting some texts, then a section break is automatically created before the columns.

That newly created section restarts page numbering after the previous section and new page numbering follows the previous section page numbering format (if First page is different selected at previous section, the new section will follow the same First page is different method).

What I have to do-

1. click the Header/Footer section >
2. right-click the page number on that newly created section page >
3. select "Format Page Numbers" >
4. and then select "Continue from the previous section".

that's all, that will solve the problem of restarting page counting from newly created section where the columns begin.

I have seen your edited document but there is restarting of the page number (which is 0) occurrence after page-7 for the same above cause.

Anyhow, creating a content table automatically was new learning for me (I really did not know about this option of MS-Word) although I did not try it yet! What I could not understand clearly, is the Page Break Before...When is it used normally? Again Thanks for your efforts.

I answered my own question as it may be helpful for someone in resolving the same issue in the future.