Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

Hi,
My name is Rick.
I write about this 'n that.
I'm bust with something that running into more chapters than i imagined.
Each chapter starts anew, with pagination beginning at page 1: so chap1 has 22 pages; i want chap2 to start with page 23, however, a page break gives me a huge vacant page and does not start the second chapter with page 23.
The current pagination system is complex and requires a PhD, which I don't have at present.
Any advice for someone with my simple mindset...bullet points please, because I'm a bit slow at following complex directions (hahaha!)...I don't emojis and AI!
Regards everyone!

With what Paragraph Style do you commence each Chapter Page?

It's really much like going on a wild goose chase, making suggestions based on so little information. For instance, if the first page of chapter 2 is not numbered as 23, then what number does it get? The best things is to upload a small sample file that shows the problem, then we can set our teeth into it and fogure out what's the problem. Because, the default behavior of the pagination routine is that it simply numbers on and on, and if the numbering breaks, it's because somebody told it to do so.

If each chapter is renumbering from 1, then the first paragraph style used in text on each chapter page is set to tell the numbering to restart. At a guess such style might be Heading 1 or Heading 2; that style needs to be modified so that on its Text Flow tab the "Page Number" value is set to 0 which indicates "don't restart page numbering"

This tutorial on Page Numbering is worth reading (and re-reading)
Page Numbering

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

ilikepizza wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 9:35 pm Any advice for someone with my simple mindset

This tutorial has helped many people get started with Writer. It will help you learn to use Writer's features so you can create and structure your document more effectively. The discussion about page formatting begins on page 12, but there is important material before that which I suggest that you do not skip.

It will be best to enter your entire content first, or at least a first draft, before starting to concern yourself with formatting. Then make a separate backup of that content (copy the Writer file My Great Novel.odt to a new one My Great Novel Backup Text.odt) so that you can later recover (copy from backup and paste to current version) what you wrote if it becomes damaged later.

Writer for students

Thanks for the quick responses. Appreciate the time taken by members to help an old fuddy-duddy!
I like to keep things very simple, a six-year old can understand.
My page begins with chapter 1, and a heading, then I write my stuff.
In a footer I place subject, author, then page number and page count. The first chapter, as indicated, ends on page 22. I'd like chapter 2 to begin on page 23. The next chapter will probably start on page 45, etc.
At the moment each chapter is written separately, which starts at page 1. I tried to change the page number for chapter 2 to 23, and no go! It won't take, neither will page count work after the first chapter.
I'm going to read Writer for students mentioned by MrProgrammer above, though I don't have PhD!
Let you know how the reading goes!
Rick

I understand that you write the chapters in separate files, correct?
If so, you need a master document and then insert each file as sub-documents.
If you write all the chapters in a single document, then you should not have any problem at all with the tutorials provided.
See: https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Docume ... _Documents

Hi Everybody,
Thanks for the suggestions.
Read Writer for students! Nice for people 16 years old who have lots of time left in life to do something!
For octogenarians that much technical stuff is headache inducing!
Surely in this age of computers, there must be a simpler way of doing things, as one would do it with pen and paper!
Hagar Delest: give me more of your master document stuff, please! I there's something I can plug my chapters into and make the pagination flow that'll be great!
Regards,
Rick

If you are easily confused, don't touch master documents! With modern computers, even if several (a decade?) years old, they should be able to handle a document of several thousand pages,

Many of the volunteers on this forum are of advanced years.

The few hours reading the reference from MrProgrammer will be well spent.

To better enable us to help we need a description of your current situation.

Have you one file of many chapters, or a number of files, each of one chapter? How is each chapter commenced - do you use a heading style (such as Heading 1 or other number), to hold an identifier such as, "Chapter 4" or a Title "My Wedding"?

Don't worry too much about formatting like correct page numbering when your story/book is not yet ready. If you don't like working in a large file with hundreds of pages, keep your chapters in separate files until you are sure that you have finished writing and editing. Only then, you can save a copy of the first chapter with a new name, like completebook.odt. Then, keep that document open and copy the content of each chapter and paste it at the end of the open document. The page numbering will then work as you want it.

copy the content of each chapter and paste it

Or more simply, place your cursor at the end of the first section and use Insert | File.

Hi everybody,
I've come to the same conclusion as floris v, above.
I'll have to write each chapter the way I'm doing, and when finished, then copy and paste each chapter in succession to chapter one!
Pagination currently is set to initialize default to page 1. tried the offset...didn't work because of the default setting it seems.
No choice is given to initialize at 1 = x, then plus1; or 11 =xx, then plus 1; or xxx or 111, then plus 1 to keep the counter going.
In fact, I don't know if choice of pagination initialization can be made a programming reality. Seems it would demand 3 separate for statements, one for each kind of initialization. Not being a programming genius, I leave that up to those so blessed!
If this nutty suggestion cannot be executed in code, then I guess I have to mark this exercise as solved pending further review by brilliant programmers.
How do I do that, because solved doesn't exactly cover things!
Appreciate the effort, e3veryone!
Rick

Do not use Offset in connection with page numbering. it has a completely different purpose.

If you uploaded a short sample file, we might quickly sort your problem. Without a sample file we are trying to cope with some misunderstanding or mistake on your part.

ilikepizza wrote: ↑Mon Dec 08, 2025 10:02 pm No choice is given to initialize at 1 = x, then plus1; or 11 =xx, then plus 1; or xxx or 111, then plus 1 to keep the counter going.

Yes there is. It is in the properties of the first paragraph of the page where you need to change the pagination.

Write your text sequentially in one file. For each chapter, set the first line of the text in Style Heading 1. How do you want your Chapters to start? On a Right Page (option 1), or on the next new page (option 2)?

Now use /Edit /Styles and Formatting, click on the first icon from left (the list of paragraph styles). Right click on Heading 1, choose Modify. Go to the Text Flow tab; insert Page, Before, with page style Right Page (for Option 1) or Default (for Option 2) and make sure Page Number is set to 0 (means continue page count)

If the first chapter is now showing a page number other than 1, Go to the Heading 1 on that page. Select /Format /Paragraph; yoiu should get the above settings on Text Flow tab. Make one change; set Page number to 1 (or the desitred page number).

All should now be well.

Having done the above, and hopefully having got a good result, when you want a new chapter, go to a new line, enter your desired chapter heading, which could be something like "Chapter" or a subtitle "The Butler did it" and select Heading 1 Style (or press the Ctrl 1 shortcut) and your chapter heading should now move to the correct new page. Just continue with your text in style Text Body.
,

Edit:  An afterthought I should point out: Editing a Style in /Format /Styles and Formatting edits the master definition of that Style. Editing in /Format /Paragraph edits only that particular instance of the style.