Starting pagination on page 7 of book. (So that pages 1 through 6 do not also show) Each attempt using Insert Footer with Insert Page Number results in unacceptable page numbering of all pages including the pages before page number 7. (Windows 11 on a Notebook)
A footer (or header) is a property pf a page style. Consequently, if you want to have different headers/footers (page number is just an example of what can be put in a header/footer/, you must use different page styles.
From your description, you’ll need 2 or 3 page styles:
- optionally one for cover page (this role is assigned to built-in First Page)
- one for your front material (the unnumbered pages)
- one for your main topic (a common target for built-in Default Page Style)
Start by creating/customising the page styles you need.
Then you must “structure” your document to add “boundaries” to delimit the extents of style applications. These boundaries are “special” page breaks created with Insert>More Breaks>Manual Break. The pop-up dialog allows you to choose which page style will be active after the break. You can also restart the page number to any value of your choice (I assume you’ll set 1 at start of your main topic).
If page switch can be associated with some paragraph (an example of this is the requirement to start a chapter on a new page), the properties of the page break can be stored in the Text Flow tab of the paragraph style. Then you no longer need to insert the page break manually.
I recommend you read the Writer Guide for an introduction to styles. You can also read the excellent Bruce Byfield’s Designing with LO.