Is there an automatic way to create a non-blank, even-numbered page at the end of a chapter, if the chapter would otherwise end on an odd page?

Article contributed by John McGhie

Yes, there is a way: Technical Writers use a field that senses whether it is on an odd or an even page and adds a blank page as required. Since the page is part of the text, it will have a header and a footer. The syntax is:

{ IF{ =MOD({ PAGE \* Arabic },2)}= 0 " " "[page break]This page is intentionally blank." }

Where { and } are field bounding characters produced by pressing Ctrl+F9 (don't type them); where [page break] stands for a hard page break - press Ctrl + Enter to insert it; it cannot be a Section Break; and where denotes a space character (press the spacebar).

Note that there are three nested fields: Hit Ctrl + F9 three times in a row to give you your three nested sets, then fill in the rest.

Also, note the spacing carefully: the spaces or absence of spaces is critical. The critical spaces are marked in red. And note the final " } .

If you are using a non-English installation of Windows, you may also need to replace the comma in the above field with another character (for instance, in some language versions, it might be a semi-colon). To find out which character to use, select Start + Settings + Control Panel + Regional Settings; and on the Number tab, look under Digit grouping symbol.

Before printing, select all the text in the document and hit F9 (or turn Update Fields on in Tools/Options/Print). When you do and these fields update, they will add a blank page with the text This page is intentionally blank if the field lands on an Odd page. If it lands on an Even page, the field disappears entirely. If you add a page, it springs back to life. I put one on the end of every chapter by default.

How it Works

Word evaluates the formula from the inside out. 

If you are not familiar with the MOD field you can find a description of it in Word's Help; it's a good way to test whether a number (the page number in this case) is even or odd).

Note: This solution works "despite" the presence or absence of section breaks. If you use an "Odd Page" section break, the NEXT page after it will be a right-hand page. In which case, you need to REMOVE the Page Break from this field and place the field BEFORE the section break. The left page will then contain the "This page is intentionally blank" and the next page will start your new chapter. Or you may decide to use no section break, in which case, leave the page break within the field: it will produce a page throw if it needs one.

Considerations: This solution depends on the internal value of the {page} field.

If you have trouble getting it to work, download the attached example: