Publisher 2.1: Page re-numbering in books not working

[natecombsmedia]

3 minutes ago, vikingtone said:

Thanks again Hangman.   I watched your screen capture, and it looks like it's OK for you.

I made a new book of only 5 chapters.  Every chapter is set in the 'Page Numbering Options' to  'start numbering at'  and a fixed #.  So, nothing I do allows numbering update to work unless I go into every chapter and change Page Numbering Options to 'follow on.'    It will be 170 chapters by the time I finish.

If I build the book and update every single chapter, and then my guy wants to add another couple of pages, I reckon I'll have to change every chapter again  -  because that setting 'Start Numbers at'  is being set that way by the app.

I can't describe how difficult I am finding this to process.

 

thanks again

t

 

Did you watch my video?

I really thought they fixed this, but I haven't tried a new document in case they haven't. I ALWAYS start new books from old ones to save layout time, which eventually causes issues. I actually have some where the numbering options still work properly because they are so old lol.

However, your issue seems to be exactly describing what I solved in my video way above. And when set like that, you can freely move chapters around or add new ones, and the autoupdate will function again. Let me know if you try/tried it.

[Hangman]

45 minutes ago, vikingtone said:

I made a new book of only 5 chapters.  Every chapter is set in the 'Page Numbering Options' to  'start numbering at'  and a fixed #.  So, nothing I do allows numbering update to work unless I go into every chapter and change Page Numbering Options to 'follow on.'

I have the first Chapter set to 'Start Numbering from Page #' and subsequent Chapters (as I believe you have in your lengthy document) set to 'Continue from Previous Chapter' and moving a Chapter around is, for me at least, auto-updating the Page numbers...

Having said that, are you using Publisher v2.1 or v2.2?

[natecombsmedia]

16 minutes ago, Hangman said:

I have the first Chapter set to 'Start Numbering from Page #' and subsequent Chapters (as I believe you have in your lengthy document) set to 'Continue from Previous Chapter' and moving a Chapter around is, for me at least, auto-updating the Page numbers...

Having said that, are you using Publisher v2.1 or v2.2?

Yes, that should work for any version of publisher, and, while annoying you have to do for each chapter individually, you should only have to do it once.

[Hangman]

15 minutes ago, natecombsmedia said:

Yes, that should work for any version of publisher, and, while annoying you have to do for each chapter individually, you should only have to do it once.

It may be that this isn't working in v2.1 or v2.2 but has been fixed in the current v2.3 Beta...

[natecombsmedia]

2 minutes ago, Hangman said:

It may be that this isn't working in v2.1 or v2.2 but has been fixed in the current v2.3 Beta...

I just watched your video. I don't think that part works in older versions, but the written steps do, and all you have to do is hit the little update numbers option at the bottom after the "start at page number" is changed.

[Hangman]

18 minutes ago, natecombsmedia said:

I just watched your video. I don't think that part works in older versions, but the written steps do, and all you have to do is hit the little update numbers option at the bottom after the "start at page number" is changed.

I've just checked it in v2.2.1 and it appears to be working when 'Update Page Numbers Automatically' is on...

[vikingtone]

Thanks Hangman and Nateconmbsmedia    -    I am using 2.2

When I make a brand new book, and import 5 chapters, they are all set to 'start at page number #'   I can change the first one, and that number can update, but no others, so I change the second one. Then the third one. etc

etc

They stay as 'start at page #'  they don't alter, I have to change each one.

Around 170.

And, every single time I do anything in the file it seems to load the entire stack of chapters, again. Over and over and over. It also throws a lot of 'xyz pdf has been altered outside this program : Resource Manager'  but the pdf has not been changed, other than the page merge 'facility' putting a right page on the left.  The pdf is not changed outside the program. But dozens of windows open, every single time I do anything to the file. Because the chapters load, over and over and over again.

 

I can't see any way out of it, but, it's hard to rely on something which is so fundamentally broken.

 

thanks again

 

[vikingtone]

By the way, Hangman, I see that in the screen capture of you moving chapter 5 up the list, a step at a time, and the number update automatically   -   you have all the chapters open as pages.  Surely the fact that all the files are open doesn't make the thing work, while having them in the book, but not open, doesn't work ???????   That would be dreadful, if it was somehow related.

t

 

[natecombsmedia]

2 minutes ago, vikingtone said:

Thanks Hangman and Nateconmbsmedia    -    I am using 2.2

When I make a brand new book, and import 5 chapters, they are all set to 'start at page number #'   I can change the first one, and that number can update, but no others, so I change the second one. Then the third one. etc

etc

They stay as 'start at page #'  they don't alter, I have to change each one.

Around 170.

And, every single time I do anything in the file it seems to load the entire stack of chapters, again. Over and over and over. It also throws a lot of 'xyz pdf has been altered outside this program : Resource Manager'  but the pdf has not been changed, other than the page merge 'facility' putting a right page on the left.  The pdf is not changed outside the program. But dozens of windows open, every single time I do anything to the file. Because the chapters load, over and over and over again.

 

I can't see any way out of it, but, it's hard to rely on something which is so fundamentally broken.

 

thanks again

 

I am also using that version. Did you follow my video? There is only one place you can change the "start at page #" setting and get it to stay. You can't do it from the regular file options like the section manager. It will just revert over and over.

Not sure about the odd PDF glitches. I create all of my chapters within Publisher as Publisher files. I suppose you could take a video and show us your process. I've helped people outside this forum get it working right with no issues, but if you have other things happening, it would be hard to tell what is going wrong without video.

[vikingtone]

Thanks Hangman  -  the only place I change from 'start at #'  to 'follow on' is in the Books burger menu, under Page number options.  But that can only be done one chapter at a time.

I did tinker with the similar option under the Section Manager on the top bar of the Pages panel in the sidebar.  But again, even if that was the answer, it's one file at a time.

I understand your frustration not seeing what I am doing  -  but honestly I have described it clearly. All the chapters are set to fixed starting number, and I have to change each one individually.  

movie attached  -  never done one of these before, so hardly MGM

t

 

[natecombsmedia]

2 minutes ago, vikingtone said:

Thanks Hangman  -  the only place I change from 'start at #'  to 'follow on' is in the Books burger menu, under Page number options.  But that can only be done one chapter at a time.

I did tinker with the similar option under the Section Manager on the top bar of the Pages panel in the sidebar.  But again, even if that was the answer, it's one file at a time.

I understand your frustration not seeing what I am doing  -  but honestly I have described it clearly. All the chapters are set to fixed starting number, and I have to change each one individually.  

movie attached  -  never done one of these before, so hardly MGM

t

 

screen.mov

Ah yeah, there is your issue. Don't use the start at option...you'd have to change that every time you want to rearrange. Change every chapter but the first to continue from previous. That way it knows to update based on location.

If it doesn't autoupdate like in @Hangman's video, then hit the update numbers button at the bottom like in mine. Should immediately fix your issue!

[Hangman]

Hi @vikingtone,

Just to double check that you do have 'Update Page Numbers Automatically' enabled, not that it should be needed since ou are updating the numbers manually...

[vikingtone]

Update Automatically was set, but I deselected it.  As I mentioned, and tiny alteration makes the entire book reload, over and over, and the renumber automatically wa triggering, over and over  -  every time I changed numbering with the 'follow'  method, it updated, and updated. It was torture  -  so I turned it off.    I don;t think having it selected would make the numbering work properly  -  it was broken when set to auto, and broken now.

 

t

 

[vikingtone]

Hi Natecombsmedia   -   I'd really like it if all the chapters were se to 'follow' but they aren't, they are, mostly, set to a specific page number.  I didn't set them this way, and I don't know how they got that way, unless the pointer to a specific page is something Publisher does to make the numbering flow.  That's what I would guess, and it's killing me,

 

thanks for input

t

[Hangman]

Hi @vikingtone,

Is the document you're working on one you're happy to upload so we can take a look? If not I completely understand but it may help us to figure out why things aren't updating for you as they should be...

[vikingtone]

I am sending this little test file  -  there's no point sending the huge one, the problems are the same, just bigger,

anything you can see I'd be very grateful to hear about,

I guess it'll say all the linked images are lost, but that's to be expected, and won't alter the way the page numbering works,

 

thanks for your help, it's appreciated

FORUMTEST.afbook

[Hangman]

Thanks for the .afbook file, we will need the associated Chapter files as well, namely - waterloo1836pages to waterloo1840pages...

[vikingtone]

Here you go

 

Archive.zip

[natecombsmedia]

Yeah, it seems like you are having a different issue, which is what I was asking to see earlier. If doing anything makes your book freeze and reload and do extra strange things, you may need to reinstall, talk to the admins, or save as a new book (which doesn't affect chapter documents).

There were some older versions of Publisher where doing anything in the Books tab would crash the program after about 2 minutes.

All the chapters default to being set to specific page number right now. That's the main issue for now. And I figured out the solution in the videos because I too had to go in to every chapter and update the number any time something changed until I realized how to get "continue from previous" working again.

[Hangman]

Hi @vikingtone,

Based on the small sample file you kindly uploaded I don't see any real issues in v2.2.1... In the Chapters provided you have mix of 'Start Numbering from Page #' and 'Continue from Previous Chapter'... but simply changing these all to 'Continue from Previous Chapter' should in theory work as shown here...

 

As for all the other issues you mentioned earlier relating to PDF files this is simply Publisher's Pre-flight providing warnings based on your Pre-flight settings which you will need to change/customise based on your final output...

Here, I'm simply disabling the pre-flight warnings to remove the warnings on export but in practice you would need to set the defaults to suit your output, e.g., the PDF version you intend to output and then take note of any warning messages relevant to the PDF version to ensure PDF compatibility and adjust your file accordingly should it be neccessary...

[vikingtone]

Simply changing each one to 'follow.'  Yep    about 170 chapters.

And what promise do I have that once fixed, they stay fixed.

Sorry if I sound jaded, but the things I expected to work, just don't.  The TOC doesn't work (different thread on here) the merging of chapters doesn't honour the chapter master.   Page number have to be cludged manually.  The amount of extra work it puts on me is enormous.

 

Too late to start again   -   and, once I have the pages numbered correctly, I will have to adjust all of the 'merged' pages, because I wanted an asymmetric master (because it's going to be close to 800 pages.)   I'm sure Affinity has a very solid response, but for me these things are all failures.

 

thanks again

t

 

[natecombsmedia]

I mean, you could just do 10 chapters to test, save, reload, and see how it want. No promises needed then.

You're not alone though! I have massive projects for authors to be released every month. 300-500 pages on almost every book, 30 to 100 chapters. I thought I was gonna have to go back to the old way of every chapter in single doc and redo an entire project the first time it broke, but I worked with the publisher team and tried things until I found this solution and they eliminated the other bugs.

I still to this day set every chapter of every book manually since there is no single-click override.

Oh, it was at one point semi-important to just wait and do them all at the end so that things like @Hangman described don't happen. Compile every chapter into the book first, adjust, save. Then, it's fine to go back and add or move one or two things. I do that in every book. It really doesn't take that long (on this part). Can't speak for the ToC stuff. Fantasy authors don't use them much.

I am a bit curious about the chapter merging though but don't really have time to ask 😅. I don't necessarily use a program feature if there is one, but I do easily and quickly merge data on my own via the smart reflow abilities, and my Master works beautifully (assuming you want an identical master applied to both). If you want to merge chapters with different master data, that's where copying, pasting, and even section managers could come in handy.

[vikingtone]

Thanks for that.   Not to take too much time, I use the same master throughout  -  but it has a bigger gutter than edge margin, because the book will be so big.  As there will be around 800 pages my customer doesn't want blank padding pages where a chapter finishes on the right and the following chapter 'ought' to start on the right. So, I ask it to 'merge. ' All it does is put a right page, with the right master, on the left. So what was desired, a large gutter, now becomes a small gutter and a large edge margin.

If you know a way (smart merging, do you call it?)  I'd certainly love to know it.  As I say, I can't live with blank pages.  But I also can't live with small gutters.  If I can get the numbering to work I will output the book as PDF, open it in Designer and 'joggle' all the pages into their correct position.

I didn't experiment with the book feature before doing a lot of the book, because (yeh, I know.........)  I expected it to do these things, they seem rather fundamental, to me

thanks again

t

 

[Old Bruce]

20 hours ago, vikingtone said:

Thanks for that.   Not to take too much time, I use the same master throughout  -  but it has a bigger gutter than edge margin, because the book will be so big.  As there will be around 800 pages my customer doesn't want blank padding pages where a chapter finishes on the right and the following chapter 'ought' to start on the right. So, I ask it to 'merge. ' All it does is put a right page, with the right master, on the left. So what was desired, a large gutter, now becomes a small gutter and a large edge margin.

I am curious as to why you are using he Book Feature at all. Why not just have one Publisher document with all the text in it? Your chapters are quite short and the size of a single Publisher file would not be too big.

[vikingtone]

A reasonable point OldBruce  -  I suppose I liked the apparent flexibility of the books function, and because it was new I thought I'd give it a go.  I guess it's my fault for making assumptions of functionality, before confirming.  I just figured stuff would work.

Anyway, my 'workaround' is to open the first file in a batch, import from  Document:Add Pages from File, then readjust every maladjusted page, check every heading is a single style, change the section start from fixed, to follow, and so on. I am building batches of 15 or so original chapters into consolidated chapters. I will try to build a new book from the 10 or so consolidated chapters, using the books function, but if I can't I will just carry on doing it the old way.

It's laborious, but I suppose I will end up with the book the way I need it to be, eventually.

I built the thing originally as one year per chapter so I could easily send them to the customer for him to peruse.  I figured it would all be easier.  I have learned a hard lesson.  But, as I said to the guy, I can fix it so it will eventually look like there were no issues, all it will take is a bit more time.      

Unfortunately the Publisher files are quite big, as I also made the decision to import all the spreadsheet (three per chapter) as PDFs  -  and they can't be downsampled because they are text and small enough as it is, so the PDFs are quite big.  I know, I imagine there was a better way to import 500 or so Excel files, but again, I made a decision which might bite me.

thanks for your interest.

t