What I want to do for my book is have all double pages marked with the same number in the footer. What I mean, is that if the document is printed as a book, then when you open it, the pages on both of the visible pages will be the same.
Specifically, I want the pages to be numbered 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, etc. with alternating left and right indentation.
I was able to get the alternating indentation, and also have a’s repeat every left page, and b’s repeat every right page, but I am having trouble with making the number the same for double pages.
You can’t.
A possible workaround is to fake double pages. You define a page style for double-size sheet, e.g. if you intend to print A4, choose A3 – it will be more difficult with US formats because they don’t keep the same ratio when halved; if your format is not a stationery standard one, go for custom paper. Configure for 2-column with a wide gap to simulate inner margins.
The footer is 1-column and you can’t change it. Consequently, insert a Section in the footer to get 2-column. Configure spacing to be consistent with main text area. Don’t forget to adjust tabs in Footer paragraph style because they keep their definition relative to the whole page (first tab stop is still centred in the whole page, not in the column).
When you insert the page number field in both columns, it has the same value because you’re in the same technical page.
This workaround takes care of your specification. However, it makes printing a lot more difficult. You can’t print double-sided. You can’t print separately left and right halves to associate them differently. So, is your page numbering scheme reasonable?
There may be a hack to solve the issue but I need to have an idea about your facing pages. Do they contain a running text (a text read in continuity from page to page)? On the contrary are each pair of facing pages independent from each other? In the latter case, which “event” starts a new pair?
Depending on the design of your book, it might be that Writer is not the ideal tool. If your work is more like a collection of pages (not a text spread “automatically” on a sequence of pages), then have a look at DTP (desktop publishing) applications which are page-oriented (while Writer is flow-oriented). One such free application is Scribus.
PS: when asking here, always mention OS name, exact LO version and save format.
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And there was another question that I can’t find now.
Do you have considered to use a landscape page format with two columns?
Request
I take it that a “double page” in your book is then a two-page spread; two facing pages, so you see 1a and 1b simultaneously. That is what others have also assumed, as far as I can tell.
Some background
By established “schools of typography”, which govern the standards for printed matter, odd page numbers are on the right in a two-page spread, and even numbers are for the left pages. This is the foundation of writer’s pagination, which also connects to automated building of ToC and index/notes/bookmark referencing. If you plan on using reference tools as mentioned, a hack to create “deviant” pagination will also need to consider this.
AFAIK a “proper” way to do what you need does not exist, hence @ajlittoz’ initial response: “You can’t”.
Proceeding
Different workarounds may be feasible, depending on exactly what you need to do. The optimal solution is more likely found with Scribus and the like, as ajlittoz already explained.
If you still want to work in LO Writer, we will try to help.
For us to advise on a solution, it is useful to know e.g. how your book is structured (why is your chosen pagination useful?).
A couple of questions:
- Do the corresponding a- and b-pages logically belong together as a pair, or is the a/b just an added element of sequencing?
- Is the book content a linear flow of text from start to end, or does each page (or page pair) constitute an independent section which requires page break for next section?
- Are the a- resp. b-pages of particular categories (different languages, writing vs. graphics, code vs. decode, etc.)?
- How much content do you have, or envision? (Number of pages, or word count, as you see fit.)
Thank’s for the suggestion, but it seems a bit obstrusive.
But, I wonder, since the page number can’t be changed like that, can I make the footer different for every page, and just write the page numbers manually? It still would be printed exactly how I wanted.
Although, I don’t really know how to make the footer different for each page.
You can, but I highly advocate against.
For that, you’d have to create one page style per page. And you’ll also have to manage manually transition between page styles, defeating the flow-principle: you transform a text into a succession of manually delimited blocks jailed in a single page.
Think about the burden if your document is 100+ page long.
In addition, when you make any edit causing text reflow and possible overflow on next page, you must change all your transitions.
What you do along these lines is turn Writer into a DTP application (page-oriented) for which it is not adapted. Editing and reviewing becomes a nightmare.
Once again, answer our questions (@keme1 and myself) about the structure and outline contents of your book. You seem to fall into an inconsiderate track.
You can’t. Headers and footers are defined per page style, not “per page”. What options are available, and what properties can be set is rather clearly shown in the respective dialog. If you want to have individual settings for every visible page, you need to omit automatic page wrapping, and to define an extra style for each one of your pages. Lots of trouble!
Just think of TOC and capturing for objects ...
Better use a “publisher” software instead of a text program in that case.
The a and b pages aren’t different in contents or design, I just want to add this numbering scheme for aesthetic purposes. There are many books with weird page numbering schemes and I wanted to try my hand at it.
It’s mostly a linear text of many chapters.
Around several dozen pages.
The main problem is a header is “computed” first time the page style is met and the result is cached for future use. Only “special” fields are considered “dynamic”, e.g. pge number, and their current value will be inserted. All the rest is in the state at time of header construction.
This rule excludes the use of a list style or a number range (with auto-incrementation) to replace the page number because the number or the value will be initial one.
Leaving aside the page number issue, I can solve the a-b alternation by configuring Left Page and Right Page page styles, storing the letter in the header. Also the page numper in Right Page references the previous page to capture its number. Note that the page preceding the first one does not exist and the number is 0 (it should be void, but let it be).
Pages are numbered with every other integer (the even one because the first real page number comes from a left page.
This is the closest I can derive to allow you to print double-sided.
AskLOSamePageNumberOnSpread.odt (31.3 KB)
A bit convoluted, and involving external software (for me was Adobe Acrobat and PDF Creator).
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Create your document with two columns (you can follow @ajlittoz steps; at the footer, I tested with with just two tabs, the page field and “a” and “b”). My original document: page number and double pages LeroyG.odt (50.0 KB) with A5 paper size in landscape orientation
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Export as PDF
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Open the PDF document
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Open the Print dialog, and choose a PDF printer
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At the printer Properties, set the output paper size the same as the document (A5 in the screenshot)
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Choose to print as Poster, and set the tile scale to 140% (I am working with A size papers in which the ratio is 141%, but it must be set a bit lesser to “print” an entire page)
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“Print” as PDF: page number and double pages LeroyG PDF Creator.pdf (20.5 KB)
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Now you can print the new document double-sided or as brochure
