Incorrect SECTION and SECTIONPAGES Field Results

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a

SYMPTOMS

The result of the SECTION field or the SECTIONPAGES field is incorrect when the field is placed in a header or footer. The result displays correctly in the document on the screen, but it is incorrect on the printed copy.

Word incorrectly prints the result of the first SECTION or SECTIONPAGES field in the second and subsequent sections.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, upgrade to Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0 or later, or Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition or later.

WORKAROUND

If you are unable to upgrade, use the following temporary workaround.

Method 1: Use the PAGEREF Field to Obtain the Number of Pages in a Section

Page numbering starts at 1 for each section, and the PAGEREF field yields the number of pages in each section. Page numbering appears as "Page X of Y" on each page, where X is the current page in the current section, and Y is the number of pages in the current section.

To insert page numbers in the header or footer of your document, follow these steps:

1. On the Insert menu, click Page Numbers.

2. Select the desired Position and Alignment settings, and then click the Format button.

3. Select the Start At option ("1" should appear in the Start At list), and then click OK.

4. Repeat the following instructions in each section of your document to insert a bookmark at the end of the section:

   a. Select some text at the end of the last page of the

         section.
   

   b. On the Edit menu, click Bookmark.

   c. Type a Bookmark Name, and then choose the Add button.

5. In the header or footer for the section, position the insertion point after the PAGE field you inserted in steps a through c above, and insert the following field and text (include a space before and after "of"):

         of {PAGEREF BookmarkName}
   

   where BookmarkName is the name of the bookmark you inserted at the end of the current section.

   In field code view, the header or footer appear as follows:

         { PAGE  } of { PAGEREF BookmarkName }
   

   For example, if the current section contains 11 pages, the following appears in the header or footer on page 3:

         3 of 11
   

Method 2: Use this Method for Each SECTION Field in Your Document

1. Turn off the Update Field Codes option before you print the document. To do this, choose Options from the Tools menu and select the Print tab. Clear the Update Fields option and then choose OK.

2. In each section, break the connection with the preceding header or footer. To do this, position the insertion point in the header for each section and choose the Same As Previous button on the Header and Footer toolbar.

3. In each section, select the SECTION field and press F9 to update its results.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Word listed at the beginning of this article. This problem has been corrected in Word for Windows 95, version 7.0, and in Word 98 Macintosh Edition.