A comment such as Check line 24 is useful only when everyone is looking at the same numbering scheme and document revision. Word line numbers follow the laid-out text; they are not permanent paragraph identifiers and do not count every visible line inside every object.

Create a review copy and decide whether references will use a continuous line number or a page-and-line pair. Include the revision date in the file name or review notes so a later edit cannot silently change the meaning of an earlier reference.

Choose the numbering convention

In desktop Word for Windows, use Print Layout view to see line numbers. Under Layout, Line Numbers, choose Continuous, Restart Each Page or Restart Each Section. Microsoft notes that a document containing several sections should be selected first when applying numbering throughout it. The options also allow selected-section scope and numbered intervals.

Inspect a page boundary and a section boundary to confirm the chosen restart behaviour. With per-page numbering, record the page alongside the line reference. With continuous numbering, check that the visible margin has room for the longer numbers later in the document.

Understand what the count leaves out

Microsoft states that a table or figure counts as one line. Lines inside a text box are not counted; an inline text box itself counts as one line. Footnote, endnote, header and footer text are also outside ordinary body-line numbering. The absence of numbers beside individual table rows is therefore not necessarily a fault.

For a table comment, identify the table and the row or value instead of inventing a body-line number. For a note, use its note identifier and a short quotation. Choose references that actually locate the intended content.

Make a sample comment on ordinary prose and another on a table. Ask a reviewer using the same copy to find both passages. This checks the reference convention, not merely whether numbers are visible.

If further wording or layout changes are made, issue a clearly identified new review copy and revisit references affected by reflow. Keep the earlier copy while its comments are still being resolved. The purpose is a shared route to the text under discussion, rather than numbers that appear stable only on the author's screen.

Sources: Microsoft: Word line numbers.