[Issue] Format automatically inserted pages?

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hmunn
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[Issue] Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by hmunn »

I use use Right Page format for the first page of a chapter, followed by a Left Page page. This works well, and I have no problem with page numbering.

When the last page of a chapter happens to be a Right Page, I am aware of two options, both of which have challenges.

Option 1: I instruct OpenOffice to automatically insert an extra page when printing. The printing works fine, but the problem is that I cannot format that inserted printed page - OpenOffice simply instructs my printer to print a blank piece of paper. This works great, except that I want a page number to appear at the bottom of that sheet, so this option doesn't meet my need.

Option 2: I manually go through my document looking for the first page of each chapter, and then look at the page number of the immediately preceding page. If the preceding page has an odd number, then I manually insert an additional page. That page will have a footer with the correct page number as desired. However the challenge is that this is cumbersome, and since there is no way (at least I can't find a way) to highlight those instances where there are two odd-numbered pages in a row there is a chance that I may miss one by accident.

So: is there a way to have OpenOffice automatically insert into my text a new page when there are two odd-numbered pages in a row? That way I can be sure of not having accidentally un-numbered pages.

Thanks.
Last edited by Hagar Delest on Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: tagged [Issue].
Harold
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John_Ha
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Re: Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by John_Ha »

It works OK for me.

1 Write several pages of text
2 On page 1, Format > Page ..., and set to Mirrored with a footer. Add page number to the footer. Page 1 is now a Right, Page 2 is a Left etc.
3 Go to the end of page 3 and Insert > Manual > Page break. Choose Right to forcer a RIGHT page after the previous RIGHT page.
4 Go to page 4. Format > Page ..., and add a footer and page number.
5 Go to the page after the forced Right and Format > Page > Mirrored ..., to set back to normal.

In single page view, page 4 (the blank page) is not shown, and the page numbers jump from 3 to 5.

In book view, the blank page has page number 4.

Are you using MIRRORED as your "normal" page format, and only adding a RIGHT when you want to force a RIGHT?

See Chapter 4 - Formatting Pages and Chapter 7 - Working with page styles in the OOo v3.3 Writer Manual.
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acknak
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Re: Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by acknak »

@John_Ha: I think your document illustrates the problem: page four is empty, missing the footer with the page number that OP is looking for.

As far as I know, the auto blank pages are always completely empty.

There is an open issue for it, here:
Issue 47111: Auto-inserted empty page should honour page layout
You can register there and add your vote (up to two) or comment.

The workaround described in the comments there is pretty ugly:
... I have to check my end of chapters to see if there is a blank page, if
so, i have to manipulate my master document in such a way that i insert blank
lines to force an "empty" page with proper headings and footers.
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John_Ha
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Re: Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by John_Ha »

acknak wrote:@John_Ha: I think your document illustrates the problem: page four is empty, missing the footer with the page number that OP is looking for.
Oops :oops: I misread the post as the page numbering was wrong following the blank page.

The best workaround is therefore to add the blank page with Insert > Manual Break > Page break ..., as a normal page as it will then get the page number (or add extra text before so as to spill onto the required page).

I can see the logic for the page not having the number - the page carries a note "blank page" and the page would not be blank if it had a number.
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acknak
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Re: Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by acknak »

I can see it both ways. I've seen books with numbered pages that are entirely blank, but in more technical or legal situations, it may be important to put a number on every page. It would be a useful option.
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hmunn
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Re: Format automatically inserted pages?

Post by hmunn »

Thanks, all.

Acknak, your reference to Issue 47111 nailed it. This is exactly the functionality needed. As comments in Bugzilla point out, in some documents it's necessary not to have totally blank pages.

I've just noticed another glitch related to this problem: when I have manually inserted a page in order to get a page number on it, and then subsequently do some editing which adds enough text to produce an additional page, then I get two blank pages! - the one I manually added and then the additional one that was required because my new text needed more space! Can't win! Let's hope the issue gets attention soon - it's been up for 12 years!
Harold
OOO 4.1.3 on Windows 10 home.
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