Combining Different Page Numbers

in One PDF (Using a Mac)

A Step-by-Step Guide

Thesis and Dissertation OfficeCalifornia State University, Long Beach

University Library, 5th floor, Room 501

Phone: (562) 985-4013

Email: lib-thesis@csulb.edu

URL: http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/serv/

Objective—one document, different pages• The University Guidelines Manual requires different types of page

numbers for the front matter (table of contents, list of tables and so on) than for the chapters, plus some pages (notably the title page) must have no page numbers at all.

• ProQuest, the online database company, requires that manuscripts be uploaded as a single PDF.

• A major obstacle for many students can be inserting different types of page numbers in the same document. That’s what this slideshow is all about.

Title page = Unnumbered

Abstract, table of contents, etc. = Roman numerals

ii, iii, iv, . . .

Chapters = Arabic numerals1, 2, 3, . . .

The Big Picture—build a wall, make it strong

Basically, there are two steps to take in order to switch between types of page numbers:

1. Build a wall to show where one type of page numbering ends and another type begins (section breaks).

2. Break connection between things on either side of the wall (de-activate Link to Previous Section feature).

Handy helper• Use the “Hide/Show” icon located in the Standard Toolbar to easily

keep track of where all section breaks are located. The Hide/Show icon looks like a backwards “P” ( ¶ ).

• When the Hide/Show icon is activated, section breaks look like a double row of tiny dots.

• As you create section breaks in your document, look for other breaks already present in the document. Omit these breaks—they can add complications when formatting the page numbers.

Now let’s begin--Use Next Page section break

• Be sure to use section breaks (NOT page breaks) and the type of section break to use is “Next Page.” To activate Next Page section breaks, click on Insert and choose “Break” from the first pull down menu and “Section Break (Next Page)” from the second one.

• When you click on the Breaks icon, a pull down menu will appear. The second section in the pull down menu (Section Breaks) lists the Next Page option. This is the one to choose.

Where to add Next Page section breakNext Page section break should be added at the end of the last line of the last page BEFORE the page where a new type of page numbering begins. For most manuscripts, one section break is needed:

At the bottom of the table of contents (OR the bottom of the list of tables, the list of figures or the list of abbreviations if any of these are included in the manuscript). Basically, the bottom of the last page that uses lowercase Roman numeral page number

Break the link to previous section—Part oneOnce the Next Page section break is in place, it is important to check that there is no link between the sections that have different types of page numbers. Click anywhere on the first page of Chapter 1 in the manuscript and then click on View. Click on the “Footer” icon to bring up a dialog box.

Break the link to previous section—Part two

• Clicking on the words Header and Footer” create a new tab next to the Home tab called “Header & Footer.” Click on the tab and look for the words “Link to Previous” in the ribbon.

WRONG

RIGHT

• If there is a check in the box next to the words Link to Previous, that means the link is activated. To de-activate the link, click on the check box.

• Once the Link to Previous feature has been de-activated, you can format the page numbers differently in the two different sections—Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) for the chapters and Roman numerals (ii, iii, iv) for the front section.

The mysteries of Microsoft• The Link to Previous feature can

sometimes re-activate itself. If page numbers do not change from Roman numerals to Arabic numerals, check again to be sure that the Link to Previous feature is not active on the key page (first page of Chapter 1) and try again.

• Also, other kinds of section breaks and page breaks can interfere with page numbering. If page numbering begins with “1” again or some pages within chapters do not have page numbers, it is usually caused by a page break or section break

If document has no page numbers when section break is added

• To assign the page numbers, begin by clicking anywhere on the first page of the document. Click on “Insert” and then “Page Numbers.”

• A dialog box will appear—select “Bottom of page (Footer)” and “Center.” Be sure that the option “Show number on first page” has a check mark by it. Click on “OK” to select these choices.

Adjusting page numbers• Once page numbers are

inserted on pages, they often need adjusting.

• Click on Insert and Page Numbers to bring up the dialog box (same box as shown on previous slide). Click on the “Format” button in the lower left corner to bring up another dialog box. In this dialog box, choose type of numerals (Arabic—1,2,3—for Chapter 1 or Roman—ii, iii, iv—for abstract).

• Click on button for “Start at” and fill in the number (for example, 1 for Chapter 1).

More adjustments• At this point, you can also adjust the position of the page number.

Click on View and Header and Footer and then click on the Header and Footer tab that appears to the right of the Home tab. One of the items is “Footer from Bottom.” Adjust the setting to 0.8 inch.

• The page number font style and font style must match the text. To change font style or font size of the page number, select the page number and click on Home tab to adjust font style and font size of page number

Omitting page number from title pageIf there is no copyright page• The copyright page is optional, and most students do not use one.• If you do not use a copyright page, the title page is the only page in the

manuscript that does not have a page number.• To remove the page number, click anywhere on the title page, and then

click on Insert. Click on Page Numbers. A dialog box will appear. Look for the words “Show number on first page.” There should not be a check mark in the box next to these words. If there is a check mark, click to remove it.

• Removing the check mark will remove the page number from the title page without affecting page numbers on other pages

Omitting page number from title pageIf there is a copyright page

• Repeat the procedure described earlier of creating a section break at the bottom of the copyright page

• Then click on the abstract page and de-activate the link to the previous section (also described earlier)

• Once the link to the previous section is de-activated, click on the title page. Then click on View, then click on Header and Footer. Click on Header and Footer tab that appears next to Home tab. Select page number and use DELETE key to omit page number. Click on the copyright page and repeat steps to omit page number on that page.

SECTION BREAK CHECK LIST

Bottom of last page with Roman numerals YES

Bottom of copyright page YES (if used)

Warning

• Be aware that page breaks, page numbers and other formatting that has already been applied to your document can interfere with inserting page numbers.

• In other words, sometimes it doesn’t work.

• If the method described in this slideshow doesn’t work after 2 or 3 tries, an alternative is to create separate PDF documents and then combine them into one PDF.

Combine PDFs using Adobe Acrobat Pro

An alternative to inserting different page numbers into one Microsoft Word document is to combine several PDFs.1. Create three separate documents:

* Pages with no page numbers (title page) * Pages with Roman numerals (abstract, table of contents and so on) * Pages with Arabic numerals (chapters and so on)

2.Convert each document to PDF format

3.Combine PDFs into one PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro (available in University Library Spidell Computer Lab).

* Pull up one PDF document and click on “Create” button * Choose “Combine Files into a Single PDF” from pull down menu * Add files using the “Add Files” pull down menu in top left corner * Click “Combine Files” button in bottom right corner * Name and save new PDF with all documents combined

We love questions!• Never hesitate to contact the Thesis and

Dissertation Office if you have questions or problems with formatting. We’ll get back to you by the next business day.

• One easy way to convey the problem is to describe it in an email and refer to the page number where the problem appears in your manuscript. Then attach your manuscript (Word document or PDF) to the email.

• Call us at (562) 985-4013• Email us at lib-

thesis@csulb.edu