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Anonymous
June 20, 2012
Question

Cannot save page numbering format

We distribute our docs as PDF. Since the page number shown in the PDF window is different from the page number showing on the actual page, I decided to bite this bullet and make my page numbering continuous throughout the docs so that there would be no more confusion about which page number someone was referring to. This is FrameMaker 9.

However, I would like to keep the page number format for the TOC and book preface as roman and switch the format to Numeric while continuing numbering in the first actual chapter.

However, when I select the Numeric format and the Continue numbering option on the Page tab of the Numbering properties dialog, and save that first chapter, Frame helpfully changes the format back to roman.

Is there any way to make this change stick? I have tried various sequences of saving the books numbering properties before and after changing the chapter's properties. The only way that first chapter's format will stay at Numeric is if I select the First Page number option, but if that first page were ever to change, I would need to manually update it. Not a great option. Do I have to use the same format throughout the book?

Anything I can do, or is this just a bug?

Thanks for your help,

John

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    3 replies

    Bob_Niland
    Community Expert
    Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 20, 2012

    > Anything I can do, or is this just a bug?

    Yes and maybe.

    Set all of the Book number dialogs (right-click to Numbering on each component file from the Book menu, all six panes) to "Read from File". Save book. Make no further numbering changes from the Book dialog.

    Then set up each file's Numbering from within the file. Format > Document > Numbering.

    This seems to be stable. We are on FM7/1/Unix, and if we allow the Book to have any numbering settings, they get out of sync on crashes. "Read from File" is our fix. And yes, we use Roman page numbers on cover and TOC, numeric from there on.

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    Anonymous
    June 20, 2012

    Thanks Error, that seemed as if it should work, but it doesn't in Frame 9. The book page settings still are set on Read From File after updating the book, but the document page setting of that first chapter where I want to change the format got changed back to roman.

    Thanks for the info, though. Seems as if this should stop the book and document page settings from getting out of sync anyway.

    John

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    Van Kurtz
    Van Kurtz
    Inspiring
    June 20, 2012

    I use FrameMaker 9 and I set my numbering properties from the book file. The easiest thing to do is to select all the files in the book that are to be arabic continuous. Then right-click, select Numbering, and select Continue from previous (or whatever the closest option is). Then right-click the file that is to start at page 1, select Numbering, and select Arabic start at 1. Do the same for the files you want Roman, but select roman of course.  The main point is to do this from the book file, not within each file, because the settings in the book file override the ones in the chapter files.

    By the way, Acrobat displays the page number NOT from the page numbering scheme in the PDF but simply counts the pages. Acrobat has no way of knowing what object on a PDF page is the actual page number. HOWEVER, you can set up the PDF so that Acrobat displays the numbering as you have it on your pages. You do this in Acrobat, the best time being when you have reached the final PDF. It is a little tedious, but can be done. Consult the Acrobat Help files. So, if you want, you can go back to your original numbering scheme and do the fixing within Acrobat.

    Van

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