Page number field inserted is blank

English
, , , ,
#1

Version: 7.6.5.2 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 60(Build:2)
CPU threads: 2; OS: Linux 6.1; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-US (en_US.utf8); UI: en-US
7.6.5-1
Calc: threaded
working with .odt

Page number field inserted in footer is blank. This happens while Heading 1 paragraph style is set to: Text flow > Breaks: break type Page, before, page number offset greater 20
The problem stops to happen if to remove above formatting attributes from Heading 1 style. Document and 1st page 1st paragraph is set to Heading 1 style. It sounds like mentioned Heading formatting attributes would be under collision with same attribute types at other formatting level.
There are in document some paragraphs (eg. table cells, page header) with following behavior. If to examine paragraph formatting (DF) the text flow tab presents the Break, Insert and With page style attribute be semi-selected (dash mark, not a tick) however grayed-out. I wonder if this has something in common with described problem. Can it be a sign of formatting collision?

Which attribute in .fodt xml should one search for to find the colliding, interfering formatting?

EDIT
One more, highly interesting, observation.
Page number field inserted in document works fine only if the setting Page number in Heading 1 style definition, Text flow tab is one-digit value. From 10 on upwards page field becomes blank. What’s going on?

Document should go to reviewer today. But it is still in parts, means a series of .odt. files, one per document chapter. I merge them to a whole by means external to Writer as myself is still not ready to use for it the Writer functionalities. I want to provide reviewer with document of continuous paging numbering, hence page numbering start setting is used in Heading 1.
So far myself was lucky to achieve page numbering be working yet matching my current needs for all .odt’s but one.

#2

This is a very common error resulting from a total misunderstanding about offset.

An Offset does not change the page number. A offset is a reference to another page. With an offset of 0, you reference the current page and you get the number you expect. With an offset of 20, you reference the 20th page following the current page and you get the number of this foreign page. If the page does not exist, its number does not exist too and you get a “void” string which does not display at all, thus the illusion of blank.

Forcing a starting page number must be done with a “special” page break created with Insert>More Breaks>Manual Break where you force both the next page style and the starting page number.

This can also be done in Text Flow tab of any page style (which created the same kind of “special” page break).

EDIT:
According to the plethora of comments below, this is not the cause of the problem. I thought Offset was used witInsert>Field>(some page number field) to alter the “current” page number. Some other track must be explored.

#3

Thanks for hints.

When I use in OP the term ‘offset’ I mean only following, I am sorry if I use this term improperly. Paragraph style definition > the tab Text Flow > group Breaks > the numeric field right to Page number:.
By the way: Style Navigator calls this setting Page Number Offset.
I wish the Text Flow to be communicating this setting actual working better way. When I read “Page number: x” in settings group page break I intuitively associate it with number of first page, not as some reference. Dialog should clearly communicate it is a reference to other page.
Why is caption of field Page number: in paragraph style dialog, the tab Text Flow not using the word ‘offset’ ? I wish numeric field caption to be using word ‘offset’ if the numeric field it points to is an offset.

#4
  1. I do the same however in paragraph style definition instead of page style - as found it in Writer Guide 7.6, chapter 5, section Numbering the first page something other than 1.
  2. If I navigate to settings of my custom page style following tabs only get presented: Organizer, Page, Area, Transparency, Header, Footer, Borders, Columns, Footnote. I don’t find Text flow tab over there.
  3. How to understand “which created”? Why in past?
#5

Why isn’t possible in my Writer 7.6 to follow this way? See

I am not sure we two talk about same point.
The third chapter in third .odt file has 8 pages. Heading 1 paragraph style is set to make page break with ‘before’ as position, yet Page number: is set to 12, yet the page number fields in 3rd .odt footer work fine - 3rd .odt first page number is 12, of the next is 13, and so on. If to follow your answer it shouldn’t work.

one single .odt - one among all these .odt’s here. On every second odt opening the page number fields inserted work fine, the remaining half of .odt opening they don’t. What’s going on? If all that what @ajlittoz tells about wrong offset understanding is the reason the page number fields in this one odt should work no single time, however they work every second odt opening. That’s crazy.

I only try to follow what @ajlittoz kindly communicated. However, discrepancies get encountered, or settings @ajlittoz referred to are not present in my Writer 7.6.

#6

Something is wrong with this statement.
Neither it is possible to follow it in my Writer - the mentioned tab in mentioned Writer corner is not present.
Nor the Writer Guide 7.6 is aware of this path of proceeding - see its chapter 9, section Working with page styles

EDIT
I don’t use menu Insert > Field > More Fields… > Page Number (unstyled) in the dialog of which one finds the numeric field captioned Offset. This is not the way myself proceeded. There are ways in Writer to do insertion of page number field in a straight-forward fashion. Instead I use paragraph style dialog, the Text Flow tab. Doing it this way I run in troubles as reported here - doing the way @ajlittoz probably* means one should follow to get page numbering start number effective.

*) if it is the paragraph style instead of page style what @ajlittoz has in mind,

it is exactly the way how myself proceeded.

Myself used in OP the word ‘offset’ because I only found how Style Navigator presents it - it uses word ‘offset’ when it talks about Page number start value - the paragraph style dialog, the section Break.

#7

Myself refrains from this method as for my ongoing writing I committed to use strict style-based writing. Anyhow I tested this path few seconds ago. This way doesn’t lead to better results:

  • manual break breaks style-based writing
  • page number fields inserted in document are still blank
  • it generates one whole blank page as document first page
    I am not sure this way to be intended for use in situation where each chapter is in a separate .odt file (as presented in OP) but page numbering has to be continuous through all chapters.

How does the proceeding need to be in order to run into this case? What steps to undertake yet in what sequence to do it?

#8

@eighty2
Try to be synthetic. Or at least avoid to post several comments when everything can be stuffed in a single one.

It seems you have a fluency problem with English. And since I am not a native English speaker either, I have some difficulty to follow your “explanations”. Please, request help from a colleague to write in a more “standard” English. Or tell me which language we could use to make things easier. I can practice a few European ones.

Attach a document which experiences the problem.

#9

That number of unclear, problematic, discrepant points - you really think it can be stuffed in one? Please note, for me it is a process of gradual discovering and learning. Whether you believe me or not, I prefer not having to deal with this amount of problems and not having to be present here.

Impressum (Legal Info) | Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy Policy)   Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.