Adding different numbering types into a Word document

Probably one of the last things you will do when your dissertation is near completion is to add page numbers. You will quickly realise that for your dissertation, adding the page numbers is a bit more difficult than it is for a straight forward essay. That's because 1. You don't want a page number on the very first page, 2. The contents area should be numbered as numerals, and 3. The main text should be shown as numbers.

Its very simple to do this.

Step 1
First add two section breaks to your document. Section breaks similar to page breaks and are added in a similar way.

Place the cursor at the end of the first page (the Title page). Add a section break by selecting the Insert menu and choosing Break. Then choose the Section Break type - Continuous and click OK.

Now place the cursor at the end of the introductory section (contents page and acknowledgments etc). Add the second section break as you did previously.

You should now have two section breaks in your document. One section break between the title page and the contents (so between page 1 and 2) and the other section break between the end of the contents page and before the main text.

The section breaks are invisible elements of the page so you wont actually see anything change as you add them. However you can view the section break but clicking the Show/Hide button on the Standard toolbar.

Step 2
Next start adding the page numbers. Place your cursor anywhere between the first and the second section breaks you created in step 1. Then go to Page Numbers in the Insert menu. Set up the page numbers as required i.e. bottom and middle of the page.

Then press the Format button. Click on the Format Number pop down menu and select the number type (numerals). Click OK to add the page numbers.

Step 3
Now place your cursor anywhere in the main text section of your dissertation. Add page numbers as you did in step 2 this time choosing the standard number type. Click OK.

You should now have two different numbering types in your document. Scroll through the pages to see. There should be no number on the very first page. Roman numerals in the intro section and numbers in the main text.

Setting margins in Word

To set the margins correctly first open your document (your dissertation).
Go to the File menu and select Page Setup.
In the Page Setup window the Margins tab should be viewable, if not click the Margins tab.
You should now see the Margins options.
Either type the correct measurement in each box or use the arrows to increase or decrease the size.
Then click OK.
The margin changes will be applied to your document.

Once the margins change you may notice that the layout of your pages changes ie page numbers. You should now check through the document to check that everything looks ok. If you have manually created the table of contents some page numbers may have changed.