Chapter X suddenly stops to print page number value in page number field

English
#1

Version: 7.4.5.1 / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 40(Build:1)
CPU threads: 2; OS: Linux 5.15; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-US (en_US.utf8); UI: en-US
7.4.5-1

One .odt document with several chapters in document.
Page numbering in page footer is enabled on every page.
Page numbering works fine up to certain page where the page number field starts to be blank instead of to display page number value then it continues be this way to document last page. View > Field Names is enabled - every page shows in footer same type of field. Whole document footers include only page number field, no further content in page footers.
All pages footer includes one single page number field.

Four page styles are defined and in use.
Among those 4: two page styles for landscape pages and two for portrait pages.
Within every of those pairs of 2 pages styles one style for chapter 1st page and one style for chapter subsequent pages.

Document starts with one chapter in portrait.
Then it transits to second chapter in landscape.
Subsequently it transits back to certain number of chapters in portrait.

Every chapter starts with paragraph of Heading paragraph style - user defined but rooted at Writer built-in paragraph style Heading 2. Used paragraph heading style has page break enabled but page numbering not set that formatting settings region.
Only document first page has page number set in paragraph direct formatting - paragraph formatting window (direct one???) > Textflow tab > Breaks section > Page number setting.

As of this minute it is chapter X first page where page fields start to be blank.
However 1 hour ago it was last page of some other chapter where this was observed. Some troubleshooting measure moved very first location of problem to current one.

Where to look for problem reason?

UPDATE
If to remove page number field from header of the page of problem very first occur all document pages this page style get that field removed. If to add the field back to page all pages same page style get page number display again but starting certain chapter the field be again blank.

UPDATE
User needed also to use Chapter numbering in order to get desired heading outline it was not possible to achieve such in paragraph style definition > outline & list tab alone (no idea if this matters here). This way Level 2 Chapter numbering is used and apparently effective.

UPDATE
Document seems to have had a dirt mix of Chapter numbering and a list style was in use by paragraph style, both touched once with one single intention. Clean-up was conducted on chapter numbering that way chapter numbering to be disabled at all levels. With clean-up only list style was compiled desired way and made enabled. In end result page numbering works fine right now. No idea how durable this effect is.

UPDATE
Well, chapter numbering and list style clean-up possibly well needed. However achieved fix of page numbering was of short duration. Page numbering was fine only because first chapter had in its head paragraph the page numbering not set (paragraph formatting, not the paragraph style). Document pages need to have page numbering starting at 4, if to set it in first chapter head paragraph formatting the problem is back.
Is it possible to draw any conclusions from this observation? Conclusions which will help to find reason?

UPDATE
As next try I removed all pages from document where page number field rendered blank. As result of this removal two last pages of short document have not working page number fields. What is going on this crazy Writer? What are tools to narrow down the reason area?

#2

Are you sure you have “offset” the page number field? Using offset is different from forcing starting page number. Offset does not change page number. It causes a reference to another page and, when this page does not exist, you get a blank page number.

If you didn’t mess up with the “offqset” parameter, attach your document for analysis.

1 Like
#3

You are right me seems to had used wrong wording.
What, at that point, I referred to is: paragraph formatting window (direct one???) > Textflow tab > Breaks section > Page number setting.

#4

It doesn’t help to remove page number fields from document all pages and footer from document all pages then to add them all from scratch.

UPDATE
Right now document has following structure

  • one chapter with portrait page orientation
  • one chapter with landscape page orientation
  • one chapter with portrait page orientation

Chapter numbering ist not used in document. Only one list style is used to have 1st level heading of desired outline.

Within each chapter every first page uses own page style, pages subsequent to page 1 use second page style. For 3rd chapter in document pages subsequent to chapter page 1 get page number field placed in footer rendered to blank. Over all 3 pages this kind that chapter.

Problem disappears if to remove from document first page first paragraph the page numbering setting - Textflow tab > section Breaks (caution: it is not about paragraph style used that paragraph).

#5

This is the correct setting to use to change page number. You may have a direct formatting with changes this in your chapter X. Attach your file or send it to me via private mail if you consider it should not be made public.

I read your updates but I don't understand what you've done exactly due to your poor fluency in English. Which is your native language? Perhaps I can understand it if it's one of European languages.


Chapter numbering


Never mix list style and Tools>Chapter Numbering. You create confusion and you mess your document. Chapter numbering is done through Tools>Chapter Numbering exclusively.

Why do you start your chapters with Heading 2? Have you some special use of Heading 1?


Page numbering

It seems the more your try to fix your problem, the more your document gets messed up. So attach it or send it through private message.

#6

One yet observation: The higher the number the page number setting is set to (document first page first paragraph formatting) the more pages from document tail get page number field rendered blank. If that setting value is high enough the page number fields on document all pages get rendered blank.
Really not possible to draw conclusions based on such observations?

#7

Without seeing the file, no. What you describe looks like using Offset instead of Starting page number. I need to see what you’ve exactly configured as page number field properties. The fault may be present in several places.

#8

Thanks of feedback. I found only one place to modify page number offset: double click onto page number field. It has already been examined for all page styles in use. Everywhere: 0.

Modification was conducted for document first paragraph, that paragraph formatting setting gets identified by style inspector as “Page number offset” (Paragraph Direct Formatting entry), although modification was made in paragraph contextual menu > Paragraph > Paragraph … > Text Flow tab > section Breaks > line Page number
Hence it is not unambiguous where starting page number stops and offset starts.

Document author can’t put this setting to paragraph style as only very first paragraph in document is allowed to follow enforcement of starting page number, unless one defines dedicated paragraph style. This would be crazy solution as if such approach applied for every single problem in the end of day no one can manage navigation of overloaded list of styles.

#9

I am not sure if you have found the cause of the problem. Anyway, avoid direct formatting as much as you can. Direct formatting always plays nasty tricks on your back. Contrary to common opinion, using direct formatting requires guru expert level to succeed.

#10

Thanks for your hint. No, I try to get your understanding.
I conclude from this however the only solution is to have unmanageable long list of styles. There are lot of individual paragraph cases in course of my writing. To have dedicated paragraph style for each must result in unmanageable long list of styles.

If you would get document for examination would you use more troubleshooting measures than just style navigator?

#11

No. You must first think over the semantic architecture of your document. In my highly complex technical documents, I use ~15 paragraph styles (including 4 Heading n), ~15 character styles, 2 list styles, ~5 frame styles. The number of page styles can grow rather high depending on how many “parts” you have in the document. I use a technique involving 3 pages styles per “part”.

What should guide your design is the semantics (significance) or your paragraphs/words. Needing too many styles is a sign that you have not enough abstracted and generalised your text.

I’d first have a look at your existing styles to see how they relate or conflict with each other. Second, I use the style inspector to find direct formatting. If all these are not sufficient, I save the document as .fodt to look at the XML encoding.

Proper and clean use of document templates and formatting styles
#12

Below what me found in Writer help. I am not sure if I am right, it sounds for me to be direct formatting.
The fashion as below is also the way how me tries to do it my document.
source: Page Numbers

To Start With a Defined Page Number

Now you want some more control on page numbers. You are writing a text document that should start with page number 12.

  1. Click into the first paragraph of your document.
  2. Choose Format - Paragraph - Text flow tab.
  3. In the Breaks area, enable Insert. Enable With Page Style just to be able to set the new Page number. Click OK.

Note Icon The new page number is an attribute of the first paragraph of the page.

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