page numbering oddity

users
#1

Hi. I'm using LO 5.0.1.2 on Mint.

There's an oddity about page numbering, in which differing page styles change the start page number and total page count.

So, I start LO and make, say, a fresh 3-page document, no manual page breaks, rather just letting the text flow across page boundaries. On each page, I add the page number and page count fields. Comfortingly, the pages now say 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3. That's good.

However, I go to the first page, bring up the stylist, and double-click "Left Page". The embedded page counts now say 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. And the page indicator on LO's lower bar reflects this, saying I have a 4-page document when it's only 3. (The pages have the correct alternating Left/Right styles after this)

If I go back to the top, and select either "Default Style" or "Right Page", the numbering corrects itself.

If instead, I try to use a First Page style, leading to Right, then Left, I get numbering that looks like 1/4, 3/4 and 3/4. No page 2, and just plain weird!

I know it's slightly perverse starting with the left page, but I have a good reason, and surely this shouldn't make the counts wrong. It looks from here that LO has a hard-wired opinion that page 1 is on the right of a double-page spread.

The killer is that I can't find an obvious way to fix things up manually - can anyone help please? I'm hoping I'm just missing something glaringly obvious.

Thanks.

#2

I'm using LO 5.0.1.2 on Mint. There's an oddity about page numbering, in which differing page styles change the start page number and total page count. So, I start LO and make, say, a fresh 3-page document, no manual page breaks, rather just letting the text flow across page boundaries. On each page, I add the page number and page count fields. Comfortingly, the pages now say 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3. That's good.

However, I go to the first page, bring up the stylist, and double-click "Left Page". The embedded page counts now say 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. And the page indicator on LO's lower bar reflects this, saying I have a 4-page document when it's only 3. (The pages have the correct alternating Left/Right styles after this)

Professional printers always use odd page numbers on rectos (right pages) and even ones on versos (left pages). If your first page is a verso, you have left a blank recto before it. LibreOffice is regarding that as page 1.

o Ensure that Tools | Options... | LibreOffice Writer | Print | Other

Print automatically inserted blank pages is ticked.

o Go to File | Page Preview.
You should see the actual structure of your document and why the numbering is behaving as it does.

If I go back to the top, and select either "Default Style" or "Right Page", the numbering corrects itself.

Because there no longer needs to be a missing page secretly numbered 1.

If instead, I try to use a First Page style, leading to Right, then Left, I get numbering that looks like 1/4, 3/4 and 3/4. No page 2, and just plain weird!

(Is that last page actually "4/4"?) That's not weird: you now have page 1 on a recto, an invisible page 2, and your second page numbered 3 as you have asked for it also to be on a recto.

I know it's slightly perverse starting with the left page, but I have a good reason, and surely this shouldn't make the counts wrong.

Since you are keeping your "good reason" a secret, I'm not sure what you mean by a "left page" here. Do you mean that you want to print double-sided with a blank front page? If not, I don't know why you need to use the Left Page page style.

It looks from here that LO has a hard-wired opinion that page 1 is on the right of a double-page spread.

It's hard-wired in printers' brains!

The killer is that I can't find an obvious way to fix things up manually ...

Can you tinker with the page styles or create your own to achieve what you need? What does each page style have for its Next Style? What do they have for "Page layout" under "Layout settings" on their Page tabs?

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#3

I'm using LO 5.0.1.2 on Mint. There's an oddity about page numbering,
in which differing page styles change the start page number and total
page count. So, I start LO and make, say, a fresh 3-page document, no

...

However, I go to the first page, bring up the stylist, and
double-click "Left Page". The embedded page counts now say 2/4, 3/4
and 4/4. And the page indicator on LO's lower bar reflects this,

...

o Ensure that Tools | Options... | LibreOffice Writer | Print | Other |
Print automatically inserted blank pages is ticked.
o Go to File | Page Preview.

Indeed; that shows the problem exactly; many thanks.

Making my first page a "Left Page" style forces a blank page in front of the document.

.....

I know it's slightly perverse starting with the left page, but I have
a good reason, and surely this shouldn't make the counts wrong.

Since you are keeping your "good reason" a secret, I'm not sure what you
mean by a "left page" here. Do you mean that you want to print
double-sided with a blank front page? If not, I don't know why you need
to use the Left Page page style.

What I'm doing is printing songs - lyrics plus chords (I've pretty well sorted out my previous query, modulo workarounds). If I have an even number of pages, it makes a deal of practical sense (you try turning a page with two hands on a guitar :slight_smile: to use a double-page spread all through, which puts odd pages on the left. Odd pages on the right may be standard for books, but shouldn't be compulsory. (My 3-page example was just that, btw; not a real document)

Can you tinker with the page styles or create your own to achieve what
you need? What does each page style have for its Next Style? What do
they have for "Page layout" under "Layout settings" on their Page tabs?

And after a bit of tinkering I've even found the cure - another twiddly I didn't properly understand - the Left Page style was set to left pages only, similarly for Right. Setting both to 'left & right' stops the blank page generation.

I trust this helps.

Hindsight being perfect, the answer was blindingly obvious. Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction to see it!

#4

Oh, indeed!

Brian Barker