SUMMARY: Quickly add line numbers to a Word 2010 document so text can more easily be referenced.
If you need to distribute Microsoft Word 2010 documents to others for reviewing or editing, or if you need to create documents containing large sections of data, it might prove useful to add line numbers. Referencing a particular line number may be much easier than “the third line of the fourth paragraph on page twelve”, for example…
1. Click the “Page Layout” tab in the Ribbon.
Document (taken from the Word 2010 examples) with line numbers added
2. In the “Page Layout” section, click the “Line Numbers” pull-down.
3. From here you can choose:
* “None” – turn off line numbering for a section where line numbering has been applied
* “Continuous” – turn on line numbering for the whole document
* “Restart Each Page” – start line numbering over on each page break
* “Restart Each Section” – start line numbering over on each section break
* “Suppress for Current Paragraph” – turns off line numbering for the current paragraph only; line numbers will not be displayed, and the current paragraph’s lines will not factor in the count
If you need to access advanced options, click “Line Numbering Options” from the pull-down. This displays the “Page Setup” dialog box. Click the “Line Numbers” button near the bottom-right.
The “Line Numbers” dialog box appears. From here you can modify:
* “Start at” – the first line number
* “From text” – how far from the text should line numbers appear (note that if you make it too far, some printers may have difficulty printing them and you may not see the numbers onscreen)
* “Count by” – 1 displays every line number, 2 every other number, and so forth…
* “Numbering” – choose whether to restart line numbering after each page, after each section, or to allow for continuous line numbers