Start page numbering from specific page

This is a lot harder than it should be and it is driving me crazy. My first page is my title page and my second page is my table of contents. My main text starts from the third page. I want the third page to be numbered one, fouth page to be numbered two, fifth page to be numbered three and so on. I also want these page numbers to reflect in my table of contents. How would I go about doing this? Thanks.

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Duplicate of this question, among many other similar questions e.g., How can I use Roman page numbers for first pages and Arabic page numbers for the rest?

It is not as difficult as you currently think

  • Open the Styles & Formatting Window (eg with F11) and select the Pages tab
  • Click into your first page > double click ā€œFirst Pageā€ in the Pages Styles
  • Right Click on ā€œDefaultā€ page style > New and create a new style
    ā€” On the organizer tab
    ---------give a name you like (e.g. Page3)
    -------- set Followed by ā€œPage3ā€
    ā€” Footer tab > Check: Footer On, Same left and right side, and Different for 1 page
    -------- click OK
  • Click in the 3rd page of your document, the one for which you want to have started with page number 1
  • Double click style Page3
  • Go the footer of the 3rd page
  • Place cursor in footer
  • Menu: Insert > Field > Others > Document tab > select Type = page > select Select = Page Number > Offset (bottom right) > enter -2 > OK
    and your 3rd document page has the page number 1.

If needed you still can modify the page styles

  • First page
  • Default
  • Page3 (or whatever name you used)
    and your page number will remain.

@ROSt53 The page numbers are there but they are not reflected on the index when I update the table. My index states that capter one begins on page three but after following your steps, page three is numbered one. Also, my index page has the number zero at the bottom and when I delete that, all other page numbers disapear

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After I highlight First Page, clicking on Default does nothingā€¦ Default Style remains in the name box and I canā€™t change itā€¦ Below that are two boxes, Inherit From and Category.
Iā€™m using version 4.3.1.2.

@ROSt53, note that bug fdo#35694 currently affects using the offset to adjust a page number (refer this question).

For some reason I have ā€˜0ā€™ in the page preceding the one the numbering starts on. So page 4 is numbered 1, but page 3 has 0.

How do I remove that 0?

this explanation makes no sense!!! What you write that should appear on the menu screens does not!! How the fuck is one supposed to use this??? Why canā€™t it be simple like Word was???

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I just made an account to explain this: LIBREOFFICE IS THE BIGGEST PILE OF OPEN SOURCE SHIT ANYONE HAS EVER SEEN!!!. I know itā€™s all free and stuf, but that is no reason to be like this.

I created an account to explain this: The directions above worked for me, despite being 4 years old. The only addition is that by excluding pages, the Page Count field may no longer be what you need (if doing page x of y). If you want the total count less the number of pages without a footer, place your cursor in the footer, press F2 for a formula and enter ā€œ= Page - 2ā€ or whatever offset you need. Yes, itā€™s a little inconsistent with the Page field, but was found in 1 minute of Ducking. :slight_smile:

ā€œIt is not as difficult as you currently thinkā€ followed by an 8-step list of instructions. Meanwhile, in Word, all you need to do is insert a section break before the page and unlink the sections :confused:

Really, LOā€™s UI/UX could use some improvement.

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So Iā€™m trying to format a document for publication, and with respect, ROSt52, this is PRECISELY as difficult as people currently think it is. I would encourage your developers to stop thinking like developers, and start thinking like the people that use LibreOffice. I appreciate the work that has gone into this project. I am a huge open source fan, and you have a really great piece of software, but as long as you keep dismissing the frustrations of your user base, LibreOffice Writer will always be ā€˜that fringe office tool that just isnā€™t as good as Wordā€™.

Why not have a menu option: Restart page numbering from [] Restart page count from [] ?

I agree with LinuxSysEng , A great product spoilt by small UX flaws and online help that could be a lot better. These make it harder to use and waste user time while increasing frustration.

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