Change page number of linked section

I cannot find a way to change the page number of a section inserted as a link to another document.

Steps -

  1. Create a document
  2. Insert a section with a link to another document.
  3. You cannot change the starting page number of that section.

Normally you can change the paragraph formatting to change the page number of a page and all following pages, but when you insert a linked document, the section starts with the linked document, which is not editable.

Here are some unsatisfactory solutions I have tried -

  1. Go into the document you are inserting (not the one you are inserting into) and change the first page number. But that is unacceptable if you inserting that document into multiple other documents, each requiring that the inserted section start with a different page number.
  2. Make the section editable and change the first paragraph of the inserted section to be the correct page number. But then the next time you refresh the links in the document, you lose your edit.
  3. Insert a dummy paragraph into the section before the linked document. The first problem with this is that you now have a paragraph in your document whose sole purpose is to get around the problem with numbering. The second problem with this is, although I have done it before, I can’t seem to figure out how to do this.

Clarification -

The master documents I am creating have no intrinsic content of their own. They are simply a sequence of linked documents. Each linked-in document must have it’s own page numbering, which is not sequential with the linked-in document preceeding it, and which is also not the same from one master document to the next. So the problem is that I need to be able to say, for each master document, what page number each linked-in document starts with.

Edits in answer to questions -

Yes, when I say section I do mean a section as in LO parlance.

At first I thought you were wrong about sections not being meant to cause page breaks, because they always did for me, but then I realized that the document I was linking in started with a page break. My bad.

No, I’m not using Insert>Text, I’m using Insert>Section with the Link checkbox checked.

So you helped me solve my problem, many thanks, but I still think the solution is inelegant - adding a contentless paragraph between sections just so I have a place to change the page number.

But it works, which is what really counts. Thanks for the help.

  • When you write “section”, do you really mean a Section in LO parlance (as inserted with Insert>Section?

    Sections are not meant to cause page break but continue in the current page, maybe with a different number of columns.

  • Are you inserting with Insert>Text from File(which should not cause trouble)?

    The inserted text becomes part of the current document (this is a local copy) and the link is not kept.

  • Or have you a master document with links to subdocuments?

    This is were a link is relevant. You can’t avoid the “interim” paragraph because the page style (where the page number resides) must be “local”.

To answer my questions, edit yours. Don’t use an answer which is reserved for solutions, not additional information.

Make sure the document you are linking in does not start with a page break. Add a dummy paragraph in the master document between sections where you can change the page number. You can more-or-less hide the dummy paragraph by making the font 2 pt and eliminating all spacing above and below the paragraph. Makes it hard to click on but keeps it unobtrusive.