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Newbie struggling with having page number 1 on Page 2

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
May 1, 2024
3 replies
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Hi there... please can someone help me? Page 1 is my front cover I need page 2 (the first page of text) to be numbered page 1.
I have a [None] Master page applied to the front cover (page 1, that I want to show NO number) and Parent A applied to pages 2 onwards (where I want the numbering to start). I have the numbers working ok, but they start from 2, (even though there is no number on page 1, where [None] is applied).

When I go Layout > Numbering and "start new section from page 1" I am shown a box that says "A Page in this section already exists in another section. Click Cancel and specify an unique section prefix (which is NOT what I want)..." etc.
I have followed along with various youtube videos that just say to do the above and "great job! Your page 2 now starts at Page 1!" I'd be congratulating myself if this were indeed the case, but alas NOTHING I have tried has worked and my head is itchy from scratching it in wonder.

If someone could please be kind enough to shed some light on what this newbie is doing so epically wrong, I would greatly appreciate it! Many thanks!

How to

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Correct answer James Gifford—NitroPress

Hi Eugene, please can you tell me how you got this to be "i" and then Page 1, 2 following etc? If you could lay out the steps for me? I'm so sorry to ask, but I'm at my wit's end and about to just let it all start from page 2 and hope nobody notices!

I have tried to do this: from page 1 (Numbering > section prefix is (but should it be automatic or start numbering from page 1?) I don't think I'm getting it right because nothing changes. Page 2 is STILL marked as page 2 and not page 1.

🙏

You control page numbering by assigning sections. Each section can have its own numbering scheme and start at any defined number, from "Continue Automatic Numbering" to "Restart at 1" or"Start at 37."

If you create or assign no sections, the whole document is "Section 1" and numbers from the first page.

The very simple solution to make your first right-hand text page start at 1 is to assign that third physical page a new section start — select the page in the Pages panel, right-click, select Numbering and Section Options, then check the New Section box and set the numbering below to 'Start Page Numbering at 1."

rob day

Community Expert

Page 1 is my front cover I need page 2 (the first page of text) to be numbered page 1.

Hi @Carolyn32257242he70 , Also, if page 1 is your cover, page 2 would have to be the inside cover—not page 1 of the text:

When the book is bound, the spreads get imposed and folded at the spine—page 1 is the cover, page 2 is the inside cover, page 3 is the first text page, etc... Eugene is showing how to start the page 3 auto numbering at 1.

C

Carolyn32257242he70Author

Known Participant

Hi Rob... Yes I was thinking that actually the first page of actual text would be page 3... like this is where the "table of Contents" would be. It still is impossible for me to make these numbers start in any other place though than "the cover". I am in the process of deleting the whole thing and starting again to see if I've done a step wrong. I'm sure I'll look back on this one day and laugh (though this is not that day!) Thank you!

rob day

Community Expert

Ah, well now I'm confused because someone else said above that odd numbers are ALWAYS on the left and even numbers always on the right? I really am ok with whatever side InDesign wants to put the numbers - but I just want the first page with the content to be page number 1, not 2 or 3.

I'm not determined that one particular side has to be number 1 at all, I just want there to BE a page number 1 😄 Where I am, page 1 doesn't exist because InDesign is insisting that the cover is page 1, and the first page (with the beginning of the content) is page number 2.

It just looks weird. I suppose it doesn't really matter, but for a professional look I feel like page 1 should be able to be seen - somewhere in the interior after all of the other fluff has been seen to (like the "How to use this book" page or "Table of contents" or whatever else you want to put before the actual meat of the book, iykwim), THEN appears page 1.

I know for sure it's just my inexperience with this program that is the problem, I'm sure everyone else is going ok with it but I can't get it to let me have page 1 as anything other than the cover. In fact I think it would be MORE intuitive if it were more difficult to HAVE a number on the cover, than to insist that the cover be page 1.

I do really appreciate all the responses I'm getting. 🙏

Ah, well now I'm confused because someone else said above that odd numbers are ALWAYS on the left and even numbers always on the right?

That is definately wrong for a printed and bound document. Consider this case where I have forced page 1 to the left of the spine. If I export the document to a PDF and the printer binds the 12 page document, page 1 (the cover) has to be moved to the right of the spine.

If I display the PDF as 2-up continuous with a cover page, all of the spread pages get reversed when the pages are bound:

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

Please remember: we read from left to right, so a uneven numbered page can never be a left page. An uneven numbered page is always a right page and an even numbered page always a left page. You can check yourself looking at any book or magazine you have(!).

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Carolyn32257242he70Author

Known Participant

Hi Frans, Thanks so much for this 🙂 I'm going to have to try to figure out what it means. I do want the left page to be page 1 (currently now it reads as page 2), so yes that's how I would like it to be, odd number on left, even number on right). However I'm so new I can't imagine how confused I will be looking through my document as I'm trying to work through it, if all the A pages have "B" under them (I'm assuming this will carry on forward through the document).

don't know why I can't just make it start from the page that I want it to. It seemed pretty easy on the video I watched. Maybe I have to delete it and start again and actually start the numbering FROM page 2. Thank you anyway, I will try to apply what you've said and see how I go. Many thanks!

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

If you get that warning you can pretty much ignore it.

I would typically, out of simplicity, change the Cover page (your page 1 in the document) to a Numbering Section starting with A or something.
So all your Parent Pages from Section A come before Page 1
This avoids that conflict.

You're getting this (which is ok)

----------------------

----------------------
Result is this

----------------------

For Page 1 (actual at the top do this)

So it looks like this

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