Home
> Desktop User > Insert Page Numbers in Openoffice Writer
Insert Page Numbers in Openoffice Writer
Nothing is more frustrating than needing to change something very simple only to find yourself waste precious time figuring out where to find it or how to do it. If you want to insert page numbers into your OpenOffice Writer document you came to the right place. I’ll be using OpenOffice 3.0 RC1 to explain page numbering in a few quick steps.
Step #1
First turn footers on by clicking Format — Page and select the footer tab.
Step #2
Click on the “footer on” check box.
Step #3
Now that the footer has been inserted at the bottom of the page click inside the footer.
Step #4
Click on Insert — Fields — Page Number
Finished! Page numbers will be added to every page you create now.
Categories: Desktop User
formatting, openoffice 3.0, page number
BeginLinux 
thanks! saved me time and effort with my essay!
Smooth and perfect explanation. Many thanks!
(Might want to mention that you can do the same thing with headers though for completeness; and note that the step #3 image appears to be broken.)
Thank you very much. although I don’t understand why it is so freakin’ complicated!!!! I spent like 20 minutes trying to figure it out before I found this. Now I’m almost too tired and frustrated to finish my seminar paper. Grrrr!
Thanks a lot
that’s great, but, I want to have page numbering to all the pages, but not at the last two pages! how can i do that?!?
Thanks for this tip. I agree with the comment above. I deeply appreciate the openoffice suite, but somethings do seem a little complicated.
Quick and easy – thank for the help! OpenOffice is an excellent application, but like MS Word, finding little things can be difficult at times.
Thank u so much :o)
If you want to start the page numbering to show page 1 on the third page:
After you do the add page number stuff, Click EDIT > FIELDS
A window will open allowing you to define an OFFSET which has a default value of zero. Change the offset to -2 to start page numbering on the third page.
My Sympathy! Putting page numbers on my document has been extremely frustrating. Writer will try to play games with you, and it wins!
Michael,
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! I have spent at least one hour trying to figure out how to make my page numbers start at 1 on the second page. I could not find a simple explanation ANYWHERE! Writer sometimes seems so complicated that I feel like giving up and going to my university’s library to use a computer with MS Office on it (which would not be much more enjoyable).
Thanks for the excellently simple (or simply excellent) explanation. Has saved me a lot of bother and time 🙂
Thank you my friend. I was about to uninstall openoffice just because of this numbering issue.
It supplies raw material only. ,
Thanks, I spend hours trying to find ways of puting pages in my assignment, I finaly give up and thought I will try google, here we are I have done it in seconds, a million thanks to you.
glad to help.
I’m so so happy to be able to fix the page no. following the instruction. However, what about not wanting the last page have page no.?
Anybody got a clue how to begin numbering on a specific page with that page’s number? I need to start the document on page 13 with number 13. Thanks for any help.
Christine
It doesn´t work for me…………..! I have spend 2 hours trying to fix this now, but it just won´t happen……….! Why doesn´t it work???????
If you want pages without a number and then numbering in the following pages, this is what you do:
FORMAT – STYLES – FORMATTING. But it is much quicker to click the F11 key on the keyboard.
In the window that opens choose the fourth icon along the top (Page Styles). In a blank area right-click and choose ‘new’.
In the new window that appears click the organizer tab. Now you have to give your page style a name. Make something up that reflects it. I called my page style ‘Intro’. Type your chosen name in the first bar. In the bar beneath click the down arrow and highlight the name of your style. So ‘Intro’ and ‘Intro’. Click OK.
Now right-click a blank area of the Styles and Formatting window and click the word ‘new’. Now you are creating a page style for the pages of your document with footers and numbers.
Click the organizer tab and name the style. I named my style ‘Body’. As previously, type the name in the bar and use the arrow in the bar beneath and highlight the name. ‘Body’
‘Body’.
Now click the Footer tab, click the check box and click OK.
Go to a page in your document that you want without a number. Click the F11 key. Find the name you’ve given the style and double-click it. The style (Intro) without a number will be applied to the entire document.
Put the cursor at the very end of the page before the page you want a number in. INSERT – MANUAL BREAK. In Style find the name of your page style with footers and numbers in. Mine was ‘Body’.
Tick the ‘Change Page Number’ box. Put the page number you want to start with. OK. A page break will be inserted where the cursor was and the new style applied from that page on.
Put the cursor in the footer. INSERT – FIELDS – PAGE NUMBER.
how we can insert page number but start with 45 for example
I appreciate Open office for being free but some things could be 1000 times better…I mean it would be a LOT more practical if by inserting a table of contents, Open Office also AUTOMATICALLY inserted page numbers that matched. And it isn’t like it doesn’t have both functions available…Serious design mistakes. Don’t make easy stuff difficult and allow for flexibility. Imagine how would you like to use a function as a user and THEN implement it!
Also indentation when using numbering or bullets is bugged.
Thank You Very Much!!!!!!
Shin, read item 21 that I put. Sorry it’s a bit long but I think it should answer your question.
It seems to me OpenOffice requires you to apply styles to parts of your document and give the styles names. For example, pages without numbers; pages with numbers. F11 opens the style box.
Christine
You can start page numbering from 45 in this way:
Insert ->
->Manual Break ->
->Page Break ->
->choose Style (eg. Default)->
->tick Change Page Number->
->insert starting page number at appropriate field.
This way is not 100% nice, because you get an extra empty page, but I don’t mind.
OK if you have a manuscript that is several seperate documents (chapters) each with sequential page numbering (chapter 1 ends page 12, chapter 2 begins page 13 etc) how would you do that? In MS Word it’s a simple task, with this set up it seems impossible unless you want an extra blank page. The lack of this basic facility makes OO unworkable as professional tool.
Or ham I missing something.
Anybody?
Please?
OinXX
I knew how to do this. I’ve used it. Now I can’t get it to work. When I click on Insert – Fields – Page Number what I get in my footer is NOT a number (e.g., “1”)but the actual words “Page Numbers”, with a gray background, just like I’d have gotten if I got a numeral. It’s unbelievable. I’M A PROFESSIONAL GEEK and I can’t get this thing to work. Same thing with Insert – Fields – Date. I end up with gray highlighted text that says “Date (fixed)”. Essentially, clicking on Insert – Fields and choosing a field to insert results in the insertion of the name of the field I’m trying to insert rather than the data. What is with this. I’m ready to go buy a copy of MS Word, as much as I like OO and can’t afford to spend the money for MS.
Michael, thank you so much. I was trying to work out how to start numbering the pages from the first page forever until I decided to check out the internet and came across this page. New problem, how to get the index to correspond with the actual page numbers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just reread my last comment. I already figured out how to number the pages. What I wanted to do was put the number 1. on the third page and not the actual first page.
I followed the directions on how to insert page numbers via header or footer but now the same page number is appearing on every page and I’ve spent the last two hours trying to fix it. Someone please help me!
I have open office 2.2
This was very usefull!!!! Thank you a tone!!!!
Michael, thanks a bunch! Works like a charm!
I’m afraid none of the instruction on starting no 1 on p3 work for me. The fields option is greyed out so I can’t change it, and if anyone can follow christine’s tip i award them the nobel prize for formatting
What if you don’t want to start every chapter in your novel with page 1? I’ve tried to overcome it by using the Text Flow feature but all that does is give you a blank page at the start of every document which throws out the page count and turns a 450 page typescript into a 500 page one. Can anyone give me the phone number of the person who designed Open Office as I would very much like to shoot them.
I have given up and ham getting a word processor that works. As a professional tool this is just a waste of time and the OP’s instructions do not tell you how to number separate docs sequentially.
Ever wondered why this stuff is free? Yup because no one who wanted to rely on it would pay
It seems the only option is for the numbers to be in the left hand edge of the footer/header. What if I want the numbers on the right side or center? Is that possible?
When I try to say field – page number, it doesn’t actually number the pages; it just says “page number”! All the pages are connected, so if I try to erase it and put in the actual number, all the pages change.
How can I get it to just number the pages independently?
“The page number field always displays the page number for the current page. If you see the words “Page number” instead of a number, press Ctrl+F9. This shortcut key toggles OOo between displaying the field’s contents (what the field is for) and the field’s results (what the field creates).”
i found that on wiki.services.openoffice.org