How do I show the next page number on the current page? - FM7

[STL Orca]

Hey gang,

Yes, I'm back with another question.  How do you show the current page number and next page number on the same master page?  Our style guide requires that blank page numbers be noted on the previous page, e.g., "2-1/(2-2 blank)".  Showing the current page is easy: <$chapnum>-<$curpagenum>.  How do I show the second page number?  I'm assuming it's some variation on <$chapnum>-<$variable>.  Thoughts?

-terry-

[Seanb_us]

Am curious what you put on the blank page (in your example, pate 2-2, the one before 2-3 and after 2-1), such as what header and footer info?

[STL Orca]

The blank page is blank.  No header, no footer.  (I might put in a blank text box to maintain continuity for paragraph numbering.)

[Bob_Niland]

Seems like we discussed something like this lately, but I can't find it.

Basically, MPs don't know what page they are until they are used to create body page content, and even then they only know about current page and last page. They can't have Xrefs to things that vary either.

So it can't be done and here's how to do it:

1. Create named color Invisible.
   This color will be in the Invisible column in whatever Color View you use for publication. In whatever CV# you use for edit, it will be Normal.
2. Create Paragraph Format
   Name: TPIB
   Basic: Space: Below: 612 pt (or whatever pushes anything below to a new page)
   Default Font: Color: Invisible
   Pagination: Start: Top of Page
   Numbering: Autonumber Format: [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK] (so you can see the intent during edit)
3. Create Paragraph Format
   Name: Next_TPIB
   Default Font: Size: 4
   Color: Invisible
   Numbering: Autonumber Format: [Next TPIB Page:\ ]
4. Create a Cross-Reference Format
   Name: Next_TPIB
   Definition: [/(<$chapnum>-<$pagenum>)]
5. Modify System Variable
   Variable: Running H/F 5
   Definition: <$paratext[Next_TPIB]>
6. In MP footers, do your page# field as:
   <$chapnumn>-<$currpagenum>Running H/F 5

On the page before any blank page, insert a para of format Next_TPIB whose paratext is an Xref to the next TPIB para, of format Next_TPIB

On the page after any blank page, insert an empty para of format Next_TPIB, this makes the /(#-#) blank when no TPIB follows.

Use Master Page Mapping of page containing tag TPIB to make the headers & footers invisible.

[Seanb_us]

That's brilliant.

Of course, I would fix the workflow to print the page number on the blank page or to use an entirely blank page without putting the page number on the page before.

[STL Orca]

Well, we're talking about a government spec here; that's why it doesn't make sense.  Ideally, you could put "THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK" on the blank page and not worry about it, but nooooo...

[FieryPantone]

Might be to protect them from litigation – the emotional pain and stress of finding an unannounced empty page instead of (more) government-speak would be considerable :-}

[Bob_Niland]

So before this drifts any further into a discussion of government-induced insanity (one thing that governments are really good at), let me add to the hack I posted that ...

This partially manual hack only works for deliberate blank pages, where the page has some Body Flow content that can be used as the target of an Xref by pagenum.

For blank pages created by odd page count chapters, or Start:Top_of_x_Page tagging, as discussed at "Page intentionally left blank.", there will be no content, and therefore nothing to Xref.

I haven't figured out any way to get both automatic TPIBs with automatic refs to the page numbers thereof.

If FM allowed a bit more math in variable and/or Xref expressions, getting next page num would be a mere matter of "+1".

[STL Orca]

Thanks for your help, Error7103!  I'm still working on it--I get the blank page to show up and the autonumbering works perfectly (skipping blank pages), but I'm still stuck on the second #-#.  I'll try it again, more slowly this time and make sure I haven't skipped any steps.

By the way, the first thing I tried was "<$pagenum+1>".  GMTA

[Bob_Niland]

> ... but I'm still stuck on the second #-# ...

Not understood, or I might have tried to answer.

[STL Orca]

Sorry--I get "x-x/[empty space] blank"