Q I hope you can help, as waiting for Microsoft to respond, well...

A In Word, page numbers formatted as "Page X of Y" are generated by combining text with two Document Information fields. They are usually represented in the header or footer of a document by the code: Page {PAGE} of {NUMPAGES}. You can add this code to a header or footer manually, or by using Word's predefined AutoText entry. Either way, the {PAGE} field keeps track of the current page number, while the {NUMPAGES} field calculates the total number of pages in your document. To see the field codes behind your page numbers, switch to the Page Layout view and press <Alt>-<F9>. Press <Alt>-<F9> again to hide the field codes.

Caption: Press <Alt>-<F9> to reveal field codes in Word documents

The problem you've experienced is caused by a bug in Word 97 which prevents the NumPages field from updating itself as you add or delete pages. Currently there is no permanent fix for this bug, but Microsoft has suggested at least three ways to get around it.

The easiest way to force Word to update the NumPages field is to print your document. Another way is to change document views by selecting ViewûNormal, then ViewûPage Layout. A third option is to update the NumPages field manually. To do this, choose ViewûHeader and Footer, select the page numbers with your mouse, and press <F9>. Each time you use one of these workarounds, the page numbers should display correctly until another page is added or deleted. You might consider waiting until your document is complete before applying them.