How to Create Page Numbers in InDesign (i, ii, 1, 2, 3)

[@MichaelBullo]

As of InDesign 2022, Master Pages are now known as Parent Pages.

[@naughteedesign]

i don't know this sounds a little racist... no wait THAT's why they changed the "master pages" LOL this woke nonsense is absolutely everywhere! what a joke... "parent pages" though i'm sure is also _problematic_ as children should belong to the state not their parents.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@naughteedesign This could be one of those areas that gets revised every few years ;)

[@naughteedesign]

@@MichaelBullo i have no doubt you're onto something here... as an individual who was involved in the transition from paste-up to digital platforms for graphic design (where a majority of terms used in reprographics/printing were adopted by the software)... some terms i reckon they'll be working on in the near future: "trapping", "bleed", "negatives" and "right-reading"... and that's before we get to typography :)

[@MichaelBullo]

@@naughteedesign You definitely know your terminology. I've seen people discussing a couple of the terms you mentioned but not all of them. Will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out.

[@abaniahmadbani]

This is the type of tutorial video that I really like! Straight forward and well-explained!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you mate. I appreciate that.

[@luizcarloscairesdearaujo3988]

I just loved the way you teach. Simple, straight to the point and really organized workspace so we can see everything perfectly. Thanks!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Hey thank you so much. That's much appreciated. Cheers.

[@MysticalFun333]

Bravo for the super easy manner of explaining things. Exactly what I needed.

[@MichaelBullo]

That's very kind of you to say. Thank you.

[@rebeccabyrdarthur2632]

I’ve been designing books for years and years and today you showed me how to do i, ii, etc as a section so I can start pg 1 where the author wants it. THANK YOU THANK YOU

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you for posting this. It makes me happy to know this will help you out. Have a great day.

[@moon20ful]

God bless you, one of the best InDesign tutorials

[@MichaelBullo]

That's quite the compliment. Thank you very much.

[@sergejkrynycky728]

I'm sorry. Here's a critique. I think this video was counter intuitive. I was really hoping to see how do you do the "i, ii, 1, 2, 3" on document with facing pages too but instead we got a semi-random paragraph style trick. I have a standard doc with 32 facing pages. I want the counting to start on page number two. When I create a new section in attempt to make the second page numbered with number 1, the indesign then rearanges the pages and the doc is messed up. This was my sixth video and it finally looked so promissing until the paragraph style trick came in. Face palm. Otherwise it's a great video tutorial and great delivery.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks for the comment and the critique. I always appreciate some constructive feedback. InDesign, be default, does not like making right facing pages even page numbers. It really wants them to be odd page numbers which is the industry standard. However, it is possible to override this behaviour. Go to the menu in the upper right corner of the Pages panel and turn off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle". You might want to do this first and then start creating your sections. Also note that it's possible to drag the thumbnails around within the Pages panel. This allows you to manually move pages anywhere, including changing which side of the spine they sit (left or right). Does this solve your problem?

[@andreahorton8569]

@@MichaelBullo I had the same issue and that fixed it perfectly. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@MichaelBullo]

@@andreahorton8569 Thank you Andrea. I appreciate the comment. Hope you're having fun with InDesign :)

[@annaabrams8738]

@@MichaelBullo omg this comment is a god send 🙌 many tears were had because of this lol

[@MichaelBullo]

@@annaabrams8738 Hi Anna. Great to hear this solved your problem. Best of luck with all your designs.

[@sylvaranti5046]

Thank you so much! Adobe had a tutorial for it on their Indesign help page, but I couldn't make heads or tails of the instructions since I wasn't understanding parent pages very well. This made it so much easier. I really appreciate your help.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. That's high praise indeed. Best of luck with all your designs.

[@karynsmith8447]

4 minutes in and my questions were answered. Thanks!

[@MichaelBullo]

Best of luck with those long documents :) Cheers.

[@tabithajoy7931]

Great tutorial, thanks. I tried three different videos and yours was the only one that worked for me.

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers Tabitha. Happy it helped.

[@KittenParadise]

I like how he keeps on reassuring us by saying 'nothing is wrong here' , just the assurance I needed...!!! hahahaha

[@MichaelBullo]

I like to do my best not to freak out my viewers. Have a great day :)

[@amandam4883]

BIG BIG thank you's for this video!! Saved our whole day.

[@MichaelBullo]

Great to hear. Thank you. Hope you're having fun with InDesign :)

[@phyllisnunn2061]

Fabulous! Just what I needed plus a couple tiny tricks! Thanks!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Phyllis. Great to hear.

[@rebeccabyrdarthur2632]

Curious… why do we turn off facing pages? I have a 400 pg book that I need to change the page numbering. Do you have a video with pages facing? Or is it impossible to do? Help! Many thanks in advance

[@MichaelBullo]

Based on your other comment I'm assuming the end of this video solved your problem.

[@Warstub]

Here's a question I can't find the answer to: How do I have no numbering at all on the previous section (instead of Roman Numerals, nothing)? At the moment using A-Master to add automatic page numbering, it also adds them in previous section, and then starts again at new section. A tutorial on setting up a book (novel specifically)'s pre-text pages would be really useful. Often they start with a "Bastard Page", or just a short author bio, sometimes there's Roman numerals where content page is, etc... I can't seem to find a way to have no numbers at all. Thanks for this tutorial though, helped me to figure out the section aspect.

[@MichaelBullo]

You can create your own Master page with no page numbers and apply that to specific pages. Or, there is also a Master page of None that you could apply. Let me know if you need more detail and I'm happy to elaborate.

[@simbamaengera9417]

Thanks for this , great tutorial!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you very much. Best of luck with all those long docs.

[@hildabes9210]

Very helpful video. Thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Hilda. Happy to have helped.

[@AnonymousSita]

Thank you!!! you really saved me.

[@MichaelBullo]

Happy to hear this helped you out. Thank you.

[@ninaj84]

This was helpful but still doesn't solve my problem of creating blank pages before numbering starts. How do you avoid using any numbers on the cover and 2 inside pages before the content starts being numbered? I can't seem to find a good solution and don't want roman numerals in place. thanks!

[@MichaelBullo]

In my example I apply the page number to the A-Master. The page number then shows up on every page because, by default, the A-Master is applied to every page within an InDesign document. Note that within the Master Page section of the Pages panel is an entry labelled [None]. Drag and drop the thumbnail for [None] to the thumbnail for any page that you don't want a master page applied. The page number should now be gone.

[@nadiahardisurjo1194]

It works! Thanks a lot for the tutorials!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Nadia. Best of luck with those InDesign long documents.

[@JanetteHeffernan]

Oh dear! This does not work for me as the Master Number ends up into the middle of the page. Maybe it is Adobe and I reboot the Mac and try again. I find numbering just so hard.

[@MichaelBullo]

Hi Janette. Are you putting the text box in the middle of the page on the Master Page? Are you using centre aligned text? If you are doing things perfectly, yet InDesign is acting weird, you could see if resetting the preferences helps… Launch InDesign while holding down the following keys... Mac: Command + Option + Shift + Control Windows: Control + Alt + Shift How to reset Preferences in InDesign kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6bRf5d-e92getk

[@tjgrafiks]

when I go to type insert special characters markers the options are grayed out. can't select anything 🤷‍♂

[@MichaelBullo]

Do you have a flashing cursor inside of a text box?

[@MrHillingdon1]

Nearly! When adding the page numbers for facing pages I follow the instructions but don't get 'A' appearing but the actual page number. When I copy across to the opposite page I again get the page number of the relevant page. Nothing appears on following pages either. At least I can get page numbers now but I have to do each page manually.

[@MichaelBullo]

Hi Paul. I'm pretty confident you are just adding the page numbers to the pages themselves when you need to be adding them to the Master Pages. Review the section of the video that starts at 2:34 and let me know how it goes.

[@LillyHope11]

Best tutorial. Thanks for sharing!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. Much appreciated.

[@juliet8076]

Hi, how do you switch page numbering when it's read from right to left? page 2 to the right, page 3 to left?

[@MichaelBullo]

Are you using a language other than English? The following page might help... Page numbering from right to left for Arabic Document community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/page-numbering-from-right-to-left-for-arabic-document/td-p/9283770

[@abhijeetdeolekar]

Very well explained. Thank you. I’m going to try inserting page numbers in local language. Hopefully this will work.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. I appreciate that. Best of luck with your project. Please let me know how it goes.

[@MichaelBullo]

@Karthik Balasubramaniam A couple of options within InDesign that may help… 1. Open up the Character panel and change the Language option. Window > Type & Tables > Character 2. If you are using Paragraph Styles the Language option can be found within the Advanced Character Formats section. Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles

[@loadedsun6940]

For some reason, it inserts extra blank pages in my document. Does anyone know why? I tried with another document. Same thing.

[@MichaelBullo]

A couple of things to explore in InDesign in terms of automatically creating/deleting pages and pushing content to new pages... 1. In the Type page of the Preferences is a "Smart Text Reflow" section with an "Add Pages To" option. 2. In the "Keep Options" of a "Paragraph Style" is a "Start Paragraph" option.

[@saniainez]

Hello. I'm having problems with facing pages. If I start section on page 2, it would be a right page, instead of left...

[@MichaelBullo]

InDesign, be default, does not like making right facing pages even page numbers. It really wants them to be odd page numbers which is the industry standard. However, it is possible to override this behaviour. Go to the menu in the upper right corner of the Pages panel and turn off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle". You might want to do this first and then start creating your sections. Also note that it's possible to drag the thumbnails around within the Pages panel. This allows you to manually move pages anywhere, including changing which side of the spine they sit (left or right).

[@saniainez]

@@MichaelBullo ah it works, thank you so much!

[@MichaelBullo]

@@saniainez Excellent. Thank you.

[@writereditor6083]

Why did my page number on right hand page magically jump from the outside of the page to the inside, near the spine, when I made a PDF? So I have both page numbers printing on the left of their pages...

[@MichaelBullo]

Are you saying… 1. Your InDesign document is changing when creating a PDF, or 2. The page number position is wrong in the PDF but the InDesign document remains correct?

[@writereditor6083]

@@MichaelBullo It changed when I created a PDF. However, I just ran a new PDF and the page numbers on right pages stayed in place. That is probably because of you! Like when you take your car to the shop and it doesn't do the thing because the mechanic is standing there..... Thank you! I really appreciate your taking time to respond.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@writereditor6083 Thank you and great to hear it fixed itself. I've been in those situations many times. Best of luck with all your designs.

[@syedirtazahassan1080]

Hi There, watched your video the first time, found it very informative. I liked the video and subscribed to your channel for obtaining more and more benefits from your experience.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks for the sub. Happy to hear that the channel is helping you out. If you have any ideas for videos I'm always keen to hear them.

[@LlLUZVlVERT]

did you say how to take away from first page and second page?

[@MichaelBullo]

Do you want to apply no page numbers to the first and second pages? If so, apply the Master (Parent) page of None to those pages. Do this by dragging the None thumbnail at the top of the Pages panel onto those pages.

[@freemanfreeman5248]

fantastic video!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@Yousifalzoubi]

Amazing piece of information! ... Thank you sir!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. That is most appreciated.

[@fz4design]

Sorry but when I make Page number it appears as (ss) instead of letter A and the numbers didn't appear in the other pages just the letter ss appear in all pages

[@MichaelBullo]

I haven't personally seen this but I found a post on the Adobe InDesign forum that should help you. This is apparently a known bug that is easily fixed by updating InDesign. community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/page-numbering-issue/td-p/11214292?page=1

[@pavlis014]

I cerated page numbers with facing pages but when I switch to single pages, numbers are gone :( what am I doing wrong?

[@MichaelBullo]

Hi Pavlína. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "switch to single pages". Are you creating a new document with single pages or are you converting a document with facing pages to single pages?

[@eugenestadnichenko8739]

Thank you!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Eugene

[@joeljones4422]

"lets step this up a notch"

[@MichaelBullo]

Indeed!

[@ishmaelsunday6238]

The number start on the first page which is the cover page that should have no number. How do we set the number to begin at page 2 with starting number as 1?

[@MichaelBullo]

InDesign, by default, does not like making right facing pages even page numbers. It really wants them to be odd page numbers which is the industry standard. However, it is possible to override this behaviour. Go to the menu in the upper right corner of the Pages panel and turn off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle". You might want to do this first and then start creating your sections. Also note that it's possible to drag the thumbnails around within the Pages panel. This allows you to manually move pages anywhere, including changing which side of the spine they sit (left or right).

[@ishmaelsunday6238]

@@MichaelBullo thanks

[@MichaelBullo]

@@ishmaelsunday6238 Cheers

[@evansmukuka5501]

Simple and clear, thanks a lot!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@peterjr5291]

How to delete page number on cover page. Thank you😍

[@MichaelBullo]

Within the Pages panel, drag the [None] Parent (Master) onto the page.

[@franky777100]

Thank You! The Tutorial Help

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Franky. Great to hear.

[@sriramsammy8787]

Nice video!!! but how to create a (i, ii, 1, 2, 3) in facing page ?

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Just start a new section like I demonstrate in the video.

[@Agency-1001]

Nice Tutorial

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@campdahms]

So helpful, Michael-thank you! The only question I have still, is how to eliminate any sort of page numbering for the cover of a book..... surely it must be something simple I'm missing?

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Kristine. Great question. We all face this issue at some point. In my example I apply the page number to the A-Master. The page number then shows up on every page because, by default, the A-Master is applied to every page within an InDesign document. Note that within the Master Page section of the Pages panel is an entry labelled [None]. Drag and drop the thumbnail for [None] to the thumbnail for page 1. Actually, drag and drop this on to any page that you don't want a master page applied. The page number should now be gone :)

[@moonh1737]

@@MichaelBullo Thank you so much! I was struggling for an hour trying to eliminate any sort of page numberings from some pages.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@moonh1737 Thank you. Happy to hear you solved the problem.

[@mohamedriyas1413]

I have 10 pg pdf page so I need to apply for crop mark all

[@MichaelBullo]

I don't understand

[@ogunkayodeoluwaseun9348]

God bless you ☺️

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@rebeccabyrdarthur2632]

Yay! Success!

[@MichaelBullo]

Fantastic. Have a great day.

[@saidilyoskhakimov2583]

Thanks, it was a great help.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Great to hear.

[@ursulabee]

Thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Ursula

[@imadeddineabderahimhassani3683]

When I try to do a second page numbering in facing pages the page jumps

[@MichaelBullo]

I'd like to help but you'll need to provide more details.

[@imadeddineabderahimhassani3683]

@@MichaelBullo Hello, When I want to add in my facing pages spread a second section that starts with a different format of numbering .The very first page of the new section act like the first page of the document .It kicks its facing page below it.So that it stays alone.I did this in a previous document but I haven't had this problem.Thanks in advance.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@imadeddineabderahimhassani3683 Could it have something to do with odd and even page numbers? The following is a copy and paste reply I made on another comment... InDesign, be default, does not like making right facing pages even page numbers. It really wants them to be odd page numbers which is the industry standard. However, it is possible to override this behaviour. Go to the menu in the upper right corner of the Pages panel and turn off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle". You might want to do this first and then start creating your sections. Also note that it's possible to drag the thumbnails around within the Pages panel. This allows you to manually move pages anywhere, including changing which side of the spine they sit (left or right).

[@imadeddineabderahimhassani3683]

@@MichaelBullo I turned off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle" before adding a section.It worked Thanks.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@imadeddineabderahimhassani3683 Fantastic. Happy to have helped. Cheers.

[@aryananand9097]

Amazing one !! Sweet Simple and Superb !!

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate. I appreciate that.

[@leahsilverman1504]

my pages only all show #1, how do I get them to automatically count upwards?

[@MichaelBullo]

Have you added the text box to the master page? Within that text box on the master page did you type the number one or did you insert the following from the menu... Type - Insert Special Character - Markers - Current Page Number

[@leahsilverman1504]

@@MichaelBullo ooooooh I see now, I was manually typing 1 before inserting the page number...thank you for answering so quickly!!!!!

[@MichaelBullo]

@@leahsilverman1504 Excellent Leah. Gotta love those easy fixes. Happy designing.

[@olaosebikanajidagba489]

Thanks bro!

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@ausrafujjaman]

thanks alot

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@gaura]

thaanks mate

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@artgreenisland]

Thank you very much!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@AvyHue]

Idk how to do this in cs2 :( theres no option like this on my app

[@MichaelBullo]

Your version of InDesign is many years old. Perhaps the features you need aren't in your version and you will have to add page numbers manually.

[@AvyHue]

@@MichaelBullo sadly yes. It's chaotic. I use this only for work.

[@MichaelBullo]

@@AvyHue I can only imagine. Might be time to convince work to pay for an upgrade? Unless you work for yourself? ;)

[@sagarshrestha9328]

thank you was really on point

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you Sagar

[@nitramael]

Life saver!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@LalHK08]

Thanks alot.

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@MegaRampro]

good tutorials

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate

[@alexandrhoda]

how do i create section while using the facing pages format please

[@MichaelBullo]

The process for adding sections is the same regardless of whether you have single or facing pages. Within the Pages panel right mouse click on the page of choice and choose "Numbering & Section Options..." from the menu. Within the "New Section" dialog box make sure "Start Section" is selected and choose OK. You should now have an inverted triangle above that page within the Pages panel indicating the start of a new section.

[@alexandrhoda]

@@MichaelBullo thanks so much for your prompt response and for your videos .. I did try that before this request. Had wanted to start a section from the left side in a 'facing page' format. It worked but the left page shifted to the right leaving a blank space - my entire layout jumped one page. Am missing something ?

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you for the kind words. I believe you've run into an issue which has frustrated many InDesign users over the years. InDesign really loves to have odd numbered pages on the right and even numbered pages on the left. By default, InDesign will jump, for example, a left page that is given an odd number to the right. You can tell InDesign not to do this. Go to the menu in the upper right corner of the Pages panel and turn off the option "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle". Good luck and please let me know if it works.

[@alexandrhoda]

@@MichaelBullo worked like a dream !!!! thanks a lot ! really happy that you have deciphered through InDesign so well and willingly share your expertise as well !!!

[@MichaelBullo]

@@alexandrhoda Hey thank you so much. I love learning and training this stuff. Great to hear we solved your problem. Happy designing :)

[@biancamallet8063]

wow, simple but full of valuable details. And you also took the time to apply the feature to paragraph styles Liked and subscribed!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks Bianca. Hope the video proves useful in your projects. Thanks for the sub.

[@pediaditakisminos4745]

Great video, simple and effective explanation and your pacing had just the right tempo so it is easy to follow :)

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you for the feedback. That will help with future videos. Hope you're having fun with InDesign.

[@josephvanwyk2088]

I refuse to accept that Adobe in design can't do this in a split second. What the hell. How many versions did this program go through????

[@MichaelBullo]

You aren't the only one to feel this way. There are numerous things within InDesign that seem unnecessarily, overly complicated, especially when having used simpler programs like Word. I guess that's the price one pays for being able to layout anything in any way compared to simpler yet more restrictive alternative programs. Still, I feel your pain.

[@ministryoflabourandsociala1700]

thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you

[@andykaperdana]

how to start number for example 01, 02, 03?

[@MichaelBullo]

From the "Layout" menu choose "Numbering & Section Options". In the "Page Numbering" section change the "Style" option to "01,02,03..."

[@andykaperdana]

@@MichaelBullo awesome thanks

[@MichaelBullo]

@@andykaperdana Thanks mate. Happy to help.

[@DrawingBase]

thank you

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers

[@denhamk]

great tute! Please will you be able to do one about bullets? it's a nightmare (for me) I can't add the bullet where I want them. It just gets aligned to the left margin. And is it only the black dot that can be used as bullets? Please help!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thanks mate. Ask and ye shall receive ;) I've already made that tutorial a couple of years ago... Bulleted lists in InDesign: How to create and format kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIPFcpaEerBlmJo

[@lawanrajapaksha]

Thanks, brother!!!

[@MichaelBullo]

Cheers mate

[@Lucas-hk4lp]

Thank youu!

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Hope it helps.

[@queserasera6913]

Very well explained and insightful, thanks a lot

[@MichaelBullo]

Thank you. Kind of you to say.

[@Lesxcxter]

DUDE, YOU JUST MADE EVERYTHING SO SO COMPLICATED. *FACE PALM

[@MichaelBullo]

How so? I'd love to see a simpler method if you have one?