How to make NUMPAGES show 1 less page?

Question

I want the field NUMPAGES in MS Word to show the total page number of my document, minus exactly 1 page. I am trying to change the code with Ctrl+F9, but I can't seem to get the syntax right.

Answer 1

Use a field coded as: {={NUMPAGES}-1}

Note: The field brace pairs (i.e. '{ }') for the above example are all created in the document itself, via Ctrl-F9 (Cmd-F9 on a Mac or, if you’re using a laptop, you might need to use Ctrl-Fn-F9); you can't simply type them or copy & paste them from this message.

Answer 2

Press ctrl+F9 eveywhere you want. Note that the brace pairs should be added by Microsoft Word, not by the user.

Then type =.

Again press ctrl+F9.

Type NUMPAGES.

Then, outside the brace pairs, type -1.

It should looks like this:

{={NUMPAGES}-1}

Now press F9 and you're done.

If you get an “Invalid Character Setting” error, then do the next step:

Go to customized format settings and change the settings as below: