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• • July 25, 2024 at 10:13 am #14405154
    George Grenley

    Participant

    After over 20 years of InDesign use, I’m now confronted by a page-numbering problem I can’t seem to crack. In the past, every document Ive done has been 1 to a large number, but no sections, etc.

    Now Ihave a 250-page document that needs to have sections and subsections, and in each subsection there are serveral short documents, I want each subsection to start page numbering at 1.

    So, I will have Section I, Section II, Section III, Section IV, etc.
    In each section there will be subsection A, subsection B, etc. These could also be call parts, or chapters, or something else.
    In each subsection there will be several short documents.
    At the bottom of each page, I want it to say, for example, Section IV, subsection D, page 3 (or 4 or 5, etc.)

    How do I do this? Is it better to have each section start be its own InDesign INDD document? Any other ideas?

    Thanks!
    George

  • July 25, 2024 at 11:22 am #14405168
    David Blatner

    Keymaster

    InDesign’s sections can’t really do that. But you can use an old workaround with your own numbering system, like this:

    Use Numbered Lists Instead of Auto Page Numbering

  • July 25, 2024 at 12:51 pm #14405174
    Anne-Marie Concepcion

    Member

    Well I would just do this with section starts and parent pages. Wouldn’t that work?

    You said: “At the bottom of each page, I want it to say, for example, Section IV, subsection D, page 3 (or 4 or 5, etc.)”

    Start a new section at the beginning of Section IV, set it to start on page one. Start another section when subsection D starts (assuming that subsection needs to start at 1 as well), set it to start on page one as well.

    For the pages in Section IV (before/after any subsections), you’d create a parent page with the text “Section IV, page” in a text frame, and add the current number placeholder. Apply that parent to the Section IV pages.

    For the pages in subsection D, create a parent page that has “Section IV, subsection D, page” in a text frame, and add the current page number placeholder. Apply that parent to the subsection D pages.

    For pages in a Section that pick up after a subsection, apply the Section parent page. You’ll likely have to start a new Section and manually enter the page number there, or use the method David referred to in the article.

    Wouldn’t that work?

  • August 28, 2024 at 8:46 am #14405989
    Michel Allio for FRIdNGE

    Participant

    Simplistically, but fastidious if you do it manually! … [it could be scripted and just need “1 click”! — contact me in private]

    Considering each “Sub-section” as a “InDesign section”, you will have to type this for each first “Sub-section” page in its “Numbering & Section Options” settings:

    Section Marker = “Section I, subsection A, page ”

    Just change “I” by “II”, “I” by “III”, “I” by “IV”, …
    Just change “A” by “B”, “A” by “C”, “A” by “D”, …

    https://snipboard.io/dkgiTm.jpg

    sample PDF: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gvj5dua69j24tmn1yx2kv/CreativePro_2024-08-28_Test_2022-EN.pdf?rlkey=3squppukygruiu0uinhirrn9b&st=ivfhs4o6&dl=0

    (^/) The Jedi

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