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Participant
October 21, 2025
Answered

Change the last page number

  • October 21, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 181 views

Hi, I'm learning InDesign and I'm having trouble changing the last page number in a document where the "x of y" style is used for numbering. Currently, the document displays an incorrect y value that I'd like to change, but I haven't found a way to do so yet. The original document has been edited, and the y value remains the same, no longer valid after the changes. Can you offer any suggestions?

Thanks.

Correct answer Randy Hagan

Sure.

 

  • Hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys (on a Windows system) or Cmd+Shift keys (on a Mac) and double-click on the compound page number. This releases the content from the parent page and places the content on your document page. It also changes your Arrow/Selection tool cursor to a Text tool cursor.
  • Highlight the first page number in your X of Y compound page numbering and change it to the number you want it to be.

 

Realize that as you do this, you will break the internal coding that automatically determines the page number in your document. If the page count changes in your document, or in any other document that has combined with this document into an InDesign book file, your edited page number will not change and you will have to manually correct the number again.

 

It's a bit of a rude cure, but it's one that will work for you — with limitations.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

2 replies

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
October 21, 2025

Sure.

 

  • Hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys (on a Windows system) or Cmd+Shift keys (on a Mac) and double-click on the compound page number. This releases the content from the parent page and places the content on your document page. It also changes your Arrow/Selection tool cursor to a Text tool cursor.
  • Highlight the first page number in your X of Y compound page numbering and change it to the number you want it to be.

 

Realize that as you do this, you will break the internal coding that automatically determines the page number in your document. If the page count changes in your document, or in any other document that has combined with this document into an InDesign book file, your edited page number will not change and you will have to manually correct the number again.

 

It's a bit of a rude cure, but it's one that will work for you — with limitations.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

Participant
October 21, 2025

Thank you for the answer, this is very useful

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 21, 2025

My pleasure. And if you get stuck with InDesign — or any other Adobe program, for that matter — feel free to come back to the appropriate forum here and sound the alarm. There are lots of sharp folks around here happy to lend a hand.

 

Randy

Peter Kahrel
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 21, 2025

The 'x of y' style is probable handled by the standard page number variable followed by 'of' and an instance of the 'last page number' text variable (Type > Text variables). To get the last page without the 'of y', create a new parent page, base it on the parent page used for the pages, and change the appearance of the page number by removing 'of ' and and the text-variable instance.

Participant
October 21, 2025

Thank you for the answer