Office for Mac Issues

Fix Word Adding an Apostrophe After Page Numbers 1-99 on Mac

Camila Milosovich Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to remove a small apostrophe that automatically appears after page numbers 1 through 99 in a Word document.

Fix Word Adding an Apostrophe After Page Numbers 1-99 on Mac

Product: Microsoft Word for Mac
Device & OS: MacBook Air (macOS 15.2)
Scenario: Inserting and formatting page numbers in the document footer.
Observed behavior: An apostrophe appears next to page numbers 1 to 99 but disappears for numbers 100 and higher. Manually editing the footer does not resolve the issue.

Before you start

Ensure your document is saved to prevent data loss, and check if the apostrophe issue appears in all documents or is isolated to the current file.

Solution 1Recommended

Update macOS and Microsoft Office

Outdated software versions can cause rendering and formatting bugs. Updating to the latest versions often resolves anomalous behavior.

Microsoft frequently releases patches for known display issues on Mac. Ensuring both your operating system and Word application are fully updated is the first step in troubleshooting.

Update macOS

Click the Apple menu, go to System Settings, click General, and select Software Update. Install any pending macOS updates.

Update Microsoft Word

Open Microsoft Word on your Mac. Click 'Help' in the top menu bar, then select 'Check for Updates' to install the latest Office patches.

Restart Your MacBook

After all updates are installed, restart your MacBook Air and reopen your document to check if the apostrophes have disappeared.

Further Investigation: If the apostrophe still appears after updating, Microsoft Support recommends saving a copy of the document to OneDrive to provide as a sample file for their engineers.

Solution 2

Check Page Number Field Codes

Hidden characters within the page number field codes might be causing the apostrophe to render on one- and two-digit numbers.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Avoid Word Formatting Glitches with WPS Office

If Microsoft Word for Mac continues to display rendering bugs like unexpected apostrophes, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and bug-free alternative for editing Word documents on macOS.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website and download the Mac version of WPS Office.
2. Install and Launch: Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software, then launch WPS Writer.
3. Open Your Document: Open your problematic .docx file in WPS Writer to view and edit your page numbers cleanly without apostrophe glitches.

Flawlessly opens and saves .docx files with 100% format compatibility.Lightweight application optimized for smooth performance on MacBook Air.Familiar user interface requires no learning curve for migrating users.Completely free to use for daily document processing without hidden glitches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the apostrophe only appear on pages 1 to 99?

This is typically caused by a rendering bug or a corrupted field code format in Word that fails to process one- and two-digit page numbering correctly, while correctly rendering three-digit numbers.

Will saving the file as a PDF remove the apostrophe?

If the apostrophe is visible in the Word document print layout, it will likely export to the PDF. You must fix the formatting issue or update the software before exporting.

How do I share the document with Microsoft for investigation?

Save a copy of your document to your OneDrive folder, remove any sensitive personal information from the text, and generate a sharing link to provide to Microsoft Support.

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