Exceeded maximum number of pages on Word

Anonymous
2019-12-10T03:29:26+00:00

Just today I began receiving an error message that states "You have exceeded the maximum number of pages supported by Word or this document may be damaged..."

Opening up a tried and true file that's been in use for the last 3 months...including just fine not 3 days ago (no updates to the file, nor a related template version from which the new file was constructed) Latest version of Office 365.

Symptoms beyond the error is that the file will not display in print view. File will not save. Will not print. Will not export.

Verified on multiple Win10 machines with latest updates and patches (as of this post). Tried it on an older computer that hasn't been used or updated since September. File works fine.

Saw older posts reference this issue, but nothing since 2014. Tried all those troubleshooting steps, so please don't reply with a link to a clearly outdated KB article.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2019-12-20T07:21:55+00:00

Hi All,

Thanks for all your effort in this thread.

As this thread has multiple replies, to help the user who having the same issue, I would like to make a quick summary on this issue:

Issue symptom:


After updating your Office to the version 1911, when using Word to work on the document with multiple pages, you might receive the error: "You have exceeded the maximum number of pages supported by MS Word."

 

Issue environment:


Office 365 Business Version 1911 (Build 12228.20364 Click to Run) Monthly Channel

Office 2016 Professional Plus 1911 (Build 1228.20364 Click to Run) Monthly Channel

Solution:


Thanks for Matt's confirmation, this issue seems to be resolved after he updating his Office application to the Monthly Targeted Channel version 1912 Build 12325.20172. As this is an insider update channel, we do not suggest updating into this channel as it has certain risks.

However, since the fix has been deployed in the insider channel, this means it will be roll out to the Monthly users in the future updates, please wait patiently. Thanks for your understanding.

Note: Join the insider channel require you to be an Office 365 subscriber, so if you are using Office 2016 Professional Plus(which is an One-Time purchase product), you won't be able to join the insider channel at this time. 

Workaround:


As Renato mentioned, he was benefit from the this thread. Although this is a Mac thread, but the method could be also applied to the Windows side. Here is the workaround:

1.Open the issued document, wait until the error prompt "You have exceeded the maximum number of pages.. " prompt out.

2.Leave the error prompt alone, create a new blank document.

3.Copy the content in the issued document and paste it to the blank document we just created.

4.Save&Close the new document. And open it again, check if the issue still persist.

Again, we greatly appreciate for all your effort in this thread.

Regards,

Alex Chen

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-23T17:05:14+00:00

    I have this exact same problem.   A word document I've worked in for years and never had a problem.  Now I get the "You have exceeded the maximum number of pages..."  Its 470 pages, 500KB.  I tried copy/paste into a new document (minus the last paragraph marker), no luck.

    When will the fix be rolled out?  1912 Build 12325.20172?  I don't have Office Insider.

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-01-14T13:15:28+00:00

    Thanks for clarifying how the cure worked, Rohn.  Very much appreciated!  I understand a lot more about the structure of Word today than I did yesterday.

    Sorry for duplicating my tribute to Doug.  Live and learn!  :o)

    Marty

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-01-14T07:45:35+00:00

    If the document is not too large to attach to an email message, send me a copy of it that way, referencing this thread in the covering email message and I will see if I can recover your document.

    Alternatively, upload a copy of the document to the following folder of my OneDrive

    https://1drv.ms/f/s!AmuIXmFDy-1a8nP3RpgnYHp-5zXK

    and send me an email to the address shown in my signature to let me know that it is there.

    Doug fixed my problem.

    He put the document in draft mode and copied everything except the last paragraph marker into a new document.

    It has made the file manageable again.

    Thanks, Doug!

    Marty

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-01-14T07:42:59+00:00

    Rohn,

    Thanks.

    Doug Robbins, MVP, fixed the file for me.

    He says that he put it in Draft mode (which happens automatically with Office 365 when the error message appears), then copied everything except the last paragraph marker to a new document.

    I haven't begun to proofread the fixed file, but at least the page numbers are reasonable now and I can see it in print view, which will allow me to access the headers.

    Marty

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