How to set the page number when the horizontal and vertical versions of Word are mixed

Key points of this article

Horizontal and vertical pages must be cut with the "next page" section break, and the paper direction is set by section, and the entire article cannot be changed uniformly.
The page number is inserted in the footer, and each section defaults to "link to the previous section". You need to disconnect the links separately in sections with different directions and then adjust them.
Page number continuation is to keep each section continuous with the previous section, and only set the starting page number in this section when it needs to be renumbered from somewhere.
Different odd and even pages solve the problem of page symmetry and have nothing to do with horizontal and vertical arrangement. Do not use it to replace sections.
It is recommended to use paragraphs to center page numbers. Do not rely on tab stops, otherwise the page numbers on horizontal pages will easily deviate from the center.

When writing a document with mixed horizontal and vertical layouts, a common situation is: the main text is in vertical format, a large horizontal table or picture is inserted in the middle, and then it returns to vertical format; or the appendix is in horizontal format. After changing the orientation, you will often find that the page number of the horizontal page has moved to the left, or the numbering suddenly restarts from a certain page, or even the entire page number disappears. Most of these problems are not that the page number itself is broken, but that the header and footer where the page number is located, the paper direction and the sectioning do not correspond well.

This article is for anyone who needs to work on a paper, report, contract or tender document in Word. After reading this, you should be able to do three things: have the page numbers display correctly on both horizontal and vertical pages, make the numbering continue throughout the document, and have a section restart from 1 when needed. The entire process only uses Word's own sectioning, page setup, header and footer functions, and no additional software is required.

How to set the page number when the horizontal and vertical versions are mixed? One sentence conclusion

First use the "next page" section break to cut the horizontal and vertical pages into different sections, then set the paper direction according to sections, and finally keep the page numbers continued between sections. Different odd and even pages cannot solve this problem.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
There are only one or two pages of horizontal tables, with vertical pages before and after	Insert a next page section break before and after the horizontal page, and change only the middle section to horizontal	The orientation only affects the current section, and the front and rear vertical pages are not affected.
The entire appendix is in horizontal format, and the main text is in vertical format.	One section of the main text and one section of the appendix. The appendix is set to landscape orientation, and the page number of the appendix continues from the main text.	Fewer sections, simple management of page numbers and footers
Vertical text is sandwiched between each horizontal page	Section breaks are inserted every time the direction is switched, and the sections are divided into multiple sections alternately horizontally and vertically.	Each section can only have one direction. If you switch it once, it will be divided into one section.
Appendix needs to be renumbered from 1	Set the starting page number to 1 in the page number format of the appendix section	Only the starting point of this section is changed, and the previous number remains unchanged.
The page number is just offset, the content is fine	Check whether the footer of the horizontal section is disconnected from the vertical section and use paragraph centering instead.	Horizontal pages are wider, and page numbers that rely on tab stops will be off-center.

Before you start: Confirm these points first

If you make a clear judgment before taking action, you can save a lot of rework.

How many paragraphs does a horizontal page have and how many pages does each paragraph have? Consecutive horizontal pages can be placed in the same section; if there are vertical pages sandwiched between each horizontal section, it must be divided into several more sections. The more sections there are, the more detailed the footer management will be, so counting them first will save time rather than making changes directly.
Do the page numbers need to be consecutive, or do certain parts need to be renumbered? The main text and horizontal appendices are usually numbered consecutively; if the appendix is to use A, B or start from 1, it is necessary to set the starting page number separately in the corresponding section, and think in advance whether this meets the document requirements.
Whether the page number already exists. If there are already page numbers in the document, double-click the footer to see if there is content, and then decide whether to modify or re-insert it. The existing old page numbers may be hidden in a certain section, and adding them directly will result in two numbers being superimposed.
Whether the original file needs to be retained. Sectioning and changing direction will change the layout. It is recommended to save a copy before proceeding. You can refer to the original if problems arise.
Whether the paper size is uniform. Horizontal and vertical versions only have different orientations, and the paper size (such as A4) should remain the same. If other sizes are mixed in, the calculation of page number position and margins will be more complicated, so try to unify them first.

Steps to set page numbers for mixed horizontal and vertical documents in Word

The following takes "vertical version of the main text, horizontal version of the table in the middle section, and then back to vertical version" as an example. The sequence of operations can be copied.

Insert section breaks before and after the horizontal content. Place the cursor before the beginning of the horizontal content and insert a "next page" type section break; then insert the same section break after the end of the horizontal content. In this way, the document is divided into three sections: the vertical version in the front, the horizontal version in the middle, and the vertical version in the back.
Set only the middle section to horizontal orientation. Place the cursor in the landscape section, open the page settings, change the orientation to landscape, and confirm that the application scope is only for the current section. The front and back sections should remain vertical, check to see if they are still vertical.
Insert the page number in the footer of the first section. Double-click the bottom of the first page to enter the footer editing state, insert the page number, and select the desired style, such as "Page X" or just numbers. Since each section links to the previous section by default, subsequent sections will automatically inherit this page number.
Enter the footer of the horizontal section and disconnect the link. Move the cursor to the footer of the horizontal section and first confirm whether "Link to previous section" is turned on. When turned on, the page number will follow the vertical footer setting and cannot be adjusted independently. If you cancel the link at this time, the footer of the horizontal section can be modified independently.
Adjust the page number position of the horizontal section footer. Change the page number to center the paragraph and do not use tab stops for positioning. Horizontal pages are wider than vertical pages. The original tab stops set according to the vertical width will cause the page numbers to move to the left, and the paragraphs in the center will automatically adapt to the paper width.
Check the page number format and set the continuation. Open the page number format settings and confirm that both the horizontal section and the following vertical section are set to continue with the previous section, and the page number will continue with the previous number. If the subsequent vertical section has been disconnected before, you need to let it relink or set up a separate connection.
For the part that needs to be renumbered, set the starting page number. If the appendix or a chapter is to start from 1, place the cursor at the footer of the section and set the starting page number to 1 in the page number format settings. Note that this setting only affects the section in which it is located, and previous sections will not be changed.
View and close headers and footers page by page. After exiting the header and footer editing, use page view or print preview to flip through it, confirm that the page number position, number and direction of each page are correct, and then save the file.

After completion, check each item one by one

Whether page numbers are set correctly, just looking at the first page is not enough; it is recommended to check section by section.

Inspection items	How to see it	What should you do if there's a problem?
The orientation of the horizontal page	Flip to the horizontal page to see if the page is wide and only that section is landscaped	Find the section with the wrong direction, change the orientation to landscape again in page settings, and select the current section for the scope of application
Segment position	Check section boundaries in the draft or outline view to ensure there are section breaks at the horizontal and vertical transitions	Where section marks are missing, reinsert section breaks on the next page and check whether both sides are oriented correctly
Page number position	Compare the page numbers at the bottom of the vertical and horizontal pages to see if they are all centered on the page	After disconnecting the horizontal section, use paragraph centering and delete any unnecessary tab stops in that section
Numbering continuity	Flip through from start to finish to see if the numbering on the horizontal page increases sequentially	Check the page number format of the relevant section, and change the section to be concatenated with the previous one
Starting page number	The first page of the renumbered section shows 1 or the set starting point	Change the starting page number in the page number formatting settings for this section; do not modify it in the previous section
Footer content	Are there any residual old page numbers or duplicate digits?	Double-click the footer to delete the excess page number, keeping only one place

📊 Core Comparison

There are three common approaches to mixing horizontal and vertical layouts, each addressing different issues.

Method	What can be solved?	Nothing can be solved
Segment + set the direction by section + continue the previous section	Horizontal and vertical pages are displayed separately, with continuous numbering and positions that can be adjusted individually	If there are many sections, section by section must be inspected, making the process somewhat cumbersome
The entire text is unified in either horizontal or vertical orientation	Simple operation, consistent page numbering	Unable to achieve partial landscape layout, tables may need to be scaled, resulting in a poor reading experience
Odd-even pages differ	The page numbers on the left and right pages are symmetrical, suitable for book-style typesetting in double-sided printing	It cannot change the orientation of the paper, nor can it solve the problem of mixed horizontal and vertical pages

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why is the page number on a horizontal page shifted to the left?

In most cases, the horizontal section still uses the vertical footer tab settings. The horizontal page is wider, so the tab slot originally positioned in the center will stop at a slightly left position. After disconnecting the link, changing the page number to paragraph centering solves the problem.

2. Can using different odd-even pages solve the problem of mixed horizontal and vertical page numbers?

No. The difference between odd and even pages is that odd and even pages use different headers and footers, mainly used for left-right symmetrical layout in duplex printing. It does not change the orientation of the paper nor does it automatically handle the page number position on horizontal pages; mixed horizontal and vertical layouts must be resolved by sectioning.

3. If you only changed the direction of one page, why did the previous and following pages change too?

This is usually because section breaks are not inserted properly, and the previous and subsequent pages remain in the same section, so direction settings are applied to the entire section. Check whether there are section breaks for the next page before and after the side-scrolling page; fill in any missing ones before redirecting.

4. After deleting the horizontal page, why are the page numbers no longer contiguous?

After deleting content, section breaks may remain in blank spaces, causing a section to have only a few pages or interrupting the continuation of page number formatting. Check the section breaks and page number formatting before and after the deletion position, and if necessary, reconnect the section with the previous one.

📝 Summary

When mixing horizontal and vertical layouts, the root of page number issues is usually unorganized sections and footer links, not the page numbers themselves. First, use the next page section breaker to split the layout, then set the orientation according to the section. After disconnecting the links, adjust the page number position of the horizontal page, and finally verify the number and position page by page. This ensures the page numbers are displayed correctly and continuously throughout the entire document.

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