CreativePro Forum

Return to Member Forum

• Author
  Posts
• • December 28, 2014 at 3:47 pm #72378
    Gus Wah

    Member

    I have a 300-page book. Page numbering works like a charm. It’s the chapter numbers that are giving me grief.

    A master page contains a frame for each page with “Chapter” … and then the text variable for a chapter number. Great. So now every single page in the book reflects Chapter 1.

    I’ve tried whatever I can find for Chapter 2 to reset this but without luck. Ditto for all chapters, of course.

    I’ve tried setting “Numbering & Section Options”. But apparently the settings in there apply to the entire book, so that didn’t help me either.

    What am I missing? There has to be a way to advance the number at the beginning of each chapter!

  • December 28, 2014 at 9:12 pm #72379
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    You set the Numbering & Section Options dialog box to “automatic numbering”? And the documents have been added to a book panel?

  • December 28, 2014 at 10:07 pm #72381
    Gus Wah

    Member

    Actually the Numbering & Section Options are not available in the Master page setup which is where the page numbering was set (so that I can have the chapter number appear on all odd-numbered pages). The Numbering & Section Options are, however, available on the normal pages. So that’s where I’ve set the automatic numbering, but of course nothing changes — the book is chapter 1 throughout. As for the setting in the “book panel”, this is something I can’t find. I don’t appear to have a “book panel”. I do have pages panel that seems to fit the description, but there is no add-document setting.

  • December 28, 2014 at 10:43 pm #72386
    Gus Wah

    Member

    I’ve just watched the pertinent part of Michael Murphy’s InDesigner tutorial on book basics. I note that he edifies for CS2, and since I have CS6 it’s likely that there are discrepancies.

    He begins the tutorial with the pages panel and a small arrow icon above the page 1 icon. When I click that icon I do not get the Numbering & Section Options as he does, so I presume that the version difference is too wide to make this a useful video for me.

    • December 29, 2014 at 8:29 am #72408
      David Blatner

      Keymaster

      Gus: Actually, that still works. But you need to double-click the little black triangle. There are not too many changes between CS2 and CS6, actually! (I mean, there are, but not in the area of long documents.)

  • December 29, 2014 at 8:27 am #72407
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    I’m afraid I won’t be much help, as I don’t use chapter number variables. Since most of our books go to ebook afterwards, we actually have the chapter title typed.

    Maybe this link will be of help so far as your problem:

    https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/numbering-pages-chapters-sections.html

  • December 29, 2014 at 10:14 am #72417
    Gus Wah

    Member

    Well, these suggestions are all meant to help, but none has fixed the problem.

    1. I must (and I do) create the chapter number in a text frame on a master page because I want it to repeat throughout the book. The text frame simply says Chapter and then I insert the section marker. Accordingly, all document pages appear with a red + sign in that spot.

    2. There is no access to the Numbering & Section Options in the master page, at least not after the section marker has been set.

    3. Back on the document pages I notice that the Numbering & Section Options begins with a greyed-out checkbox for Start Section. So something must be up with that. I just don’t know what it is. The other items all appear to be settable, but I imagine that I first need to set the Start Section.

    The only suggestion I’ve found that I can’t actually try is D. Blatner’s above where he refers to the “book panel”. There doesn’t seem to be any reference for the book panel. I do have a page panel, but I doubt that it’s one and the same.

    • December 29, 2014 at 10:19 am #72418
      Dwayne Harris

      Member

      I don’t use the book feature as my clients prefer one large file.

      To use the book, you need to create it first.

      With InDesign open, go to “file” and “new” and scroll to “Book.” A new book will be created.

      Then with that book panel open, you can add your documents to that book.

  • December 29, 2014 at 10:36 am #72421
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    Gus: I think chapter numbers only work when you have multiple documents in a book panel. You need to use File > New > Book to create a book panel. I strongly urge you to read up about how books and long documents work before you go any farther. I have a number of movies at lynda.com on this subject. If you don’t have a subscription, you can watch 7 days for free with this link: https://www.lynda.com/trial/indesignsecrets

    The fact that there is a red + symbol is an indication that the text is overset, so it may simply not be fitting inside the text frame. Again, check out my Essential Training course or read a good book on InDesign for more information about overset text, long docs, and variables.

  • December 29, 2014 at 12:56 pm #72423
    Gus Wah

    Member

    Well, no, I didn’t say that I’ve been trying to use chapter numbers. What I’ve been saying is that I’m trying to insert new SECTION numbers. Because according to the official site, InDesign only allows a single chapter per document. For this reason, InDesign offers the workaround of placing and renewing the section marker in multiple locations, even if the word before it is “Chapter”.

    And that’s all I’m trying to do.

    Others say they do it all the time. I’m just trying to figure out how.

  • December 29, 2014 at 1:05 pm #72424
    Gus Wah

    Member

    Okay, hold it right there.

    I looked at your advice that the red + indicates an overset. While it doesn’t make sense because the text frame has plenty of room for several digits, I found that if I widen it enough to contain the word “Section”, then everything works as it should.

    So thanks for all of your efforts. We’re finally solved.

    • December 29, 2014 at 2:03 pm #72428
      Dwayne Harris

      Member

      Sorry for the confusion. But I thought you were referring to chapter numbers (while using the section variable) because the title of the thread is Chapter Numbers, and you talk about chapter numbers.

      I’m glad that David noticed the overset indicator and you have it figured out.

  • September 19, 2016 at 5:43 pm #88497
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    David,

    Is there a way to make a new Chapter start on the next page? I have been working on this for the last three days and scouring forums. Is in Sections? GREP? Other? I do not have it in Book design yet it is still in Document.

    Help!

• Author
  Posts