Insert page number of an anchor

[Babelfisch]

I need to insert some references as page numbers from one page to another page. E.g. on page 10 is a specific section and I need to reference it on page 42 like „see page 10". The way is (on InDesign) to create an anchor on page 10 and insert an hyperlink to this anchor as page number on page 42. But I can't found the way to insert the page number on AP.

I can' t believe that this is not possible because it is an absolute basic function of a publishing program. Could anybody help me?

[walt.farrell]

Publisher doesn't have an easy method of doing page-number cross-references like that. You can link to text on a page, but you have to supply the link information (e.g., the "page 10" in "see page 10") yourself, and it will be wrong if the text moves to a different page.

However, you can do the following, using additional linked text frames and the Fields "next frame page number" and "previous frame page number"

1. On page 10, create a small text frame and pin it to the section text somewhere.
2. On page 42, create a small text frame and pin it inline after the "see page ".
3. Click in that text frame and use the menu Text > Insert > Fields > Next Frame Page Number
4. Click on the lower right linking arrow on the added frame from step 2.
5. Then navigate to page 10 and click on the upper left linking arrow on the frame from step 1.
6. If you go back to page 42, you should now see that you have "see page 10", and if the text moves, the cross-reference will update appropriately.

This seems cumbersome (and is), but with experience it will get faster. You can even optimize it a bit by saving the linked text frames as an Asset. But that takes some more experimentation and practice.

 

[Babelfisch]

Thanks for your explanation. Unfortunately, your hint doesn't help me, because this is not practicable with > 100 references and more than 50 documents.

I like Affinity but sometimes I ask myself why there are a lot of basic features missing, but some freaky features already implemented.

[walt.farrell]

You're welcome. I'm afraid that's the best we've got at the moment, for using Publisher.

And with practice and a trick like using Assets I think one could become quick enough at it that it might be practicable even with large numbers of references. Though, of course, it would still be slower than a proper cross-reference implementation.

Your only other choice for now is making the links manually, and reworking them to correct the number if the text you're linking to moves to a different page. Or changing how you refer to things, to refer to them by name rather than page number. E.g., with the hyperlinks as they exist today you could say something like "see the section about <pick a short name for the section>" and have that hyperlink to an anchor at the start of the actual section.

[OriolFM]

Is this issue still unsolved?

I have a 300+ pages rulebook full of page references. For viewing on digital is not a problem because I can add a hyperlink to an anchor the usual way, and it will work in the PDF, but for print, I need to add also the page numbers.

I know in Word is as easy as to add a cross-reference and that's all, but I can't see the option to add a link with the page numebr in the Affinity Publisher anchors menu, or even a text field with the page number of an anchor or title in the text fields menu.

Is there something else? I have checked the tutorials about hyperlinks, indexes and tables of contents and I don't seem to find anything related to that.

Thanks.

[walt.farrell]

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums, @OriolFM.

At this point, I think your only choice is something like I outlined above.

[OriolFM]

Looks like I have to finish editing and then insert all the page numbers by hand... It is unbelievable that such a function is not already in Publisher. As I say, it does not make much sense for digital books, but for printing is a must have.

Thanks for the prompt reply, anyways.

[Zenorf]

I really wonder when (or even if) page number references will be implemented? It's been years. I get that it isn't a flashy feature, but it is a core feature of many non-fiction books. 

We've used your workarounds, but those fall apart when you need update the document. A proper 'page number to reference a section' is needed. We've spent literally hours just fixing references using the current method. I've been patient, but Affinity publisher just keeps failing to deliver in certain areas. I still use it, but I no longer recommend it to other people like I used to.

[OriolFM]

Same here. I haven't used Affinity for more than a year, I went back to MS Word for my projects, which is a bloody shame. I have to use other workarounds, but even those are not so painful.

[Fantomas.CZ]

I'd like to revive this: so is there, in version 2, any sensible way to do that? 

I'm facing the same problem: I need to implement a "See page XX" text using a field, because I want to be able to copy it to several places (there goes the text fields solution), and I haven't finished the anchored section, nor the ones before that, so I don't know the page number. Any help here? Thanks!

[walt.farrell]

1 minute ago, Fantomas.CZ said:

I'd like to revive this: so is there, in version 2, any sensible way to do that? 

I'm facing the same problem: I need to implement a "See page XX" text using a field, because I want to be able to copy it to several places (there goes the text fields solution), and I haven't finished the anchored section, nor the ones before that, so I don't know the page number. Any help here? Thanks!

Cross-references that provide the function you need are coming in 2.2, which is currently in Beta. If you have a V2 license you can participate in the beta, and experiment with it in its current state and help provide feedback to Serif. But it should not be used for production, and any .afpub files you save from it cannot be opened by 2.1, so you'll want to work on copies of your production documents.

 

[Fantomas.CZ]

55 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Cross-references that provide the function you need are coming in 2.2, which is currently in Beta. If you have a V2 license you can participate in the beta, and experiment with it in its current state and help provide feedback to Serif. But it should not be used for production, and any .afpub files you save from it cannot be opened by 2.1, so you'll want to work on copies of your production documents.

Thanks a lot for your answer, Walt!

Do you think the Beta is currently at such a level, that it could be reasonably used for work? 

[amergin]

Thank God! I've been waiting for this basic functionality for years. Writing reference manuals is ludicrously complicated without this basic feature. AP is a great app otherwise.

[MikeTO]

On 7/14/2023 at 7:59 AM, Fantomas.CZ said:

Do you think the Beta is currently at such a level, that it could be reasonably used for work? 

Serif has stated that there's some risk because of changes with loading and saving files, see the bottom of the post below. And note that if you save a file from 2.2 it cannot be opened in 2.1. That being said, I'm using 2.2 beta for my projects but I'm making daily backups just in case. It's up to you whether you want to assume the risk or wait a bit longer.

 

[Fantomas.CZ]

On 7/22/2023 at 1:18 AM, MikeTO said:

Serif has stated that there's some risk because of changes with loading and saving files, see the bottom of the post below. And note that if you save a file from 2.2 it cannot be opened in 2.1. That being said, I'm using 2.2 beta for my projects but I'm making daily backups just in case. It's up to you whether you want to assume the risk or wait a bit longer.

Thank you, Mike. I also switched about 10 days ago, and so far no problem at all, hyperlinks work as they're supposed to, and I haven't had any problem with stability or unexpected behaviour. Hope it stays like this 🙂