I’ve written nearly sixty novels. Before those novels are sent to the publisher, I will sometimes do a bit of formatting to make other people’s lives a bit easier. For example, I will often add page numbers to the manuscript, so it’s one less thing the person in charge of the formatting has to do — but that has not always been a simple process.
Fortunately, with the release of LibreOffice 7.6, the developers have added a new Page Number Wizard for Writer that greatly simplifies the process of adding page numbers to your document.
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With a simple, single window, the new Page Number Wizard strips away the confusion of adding page numbers. From that wizard, you can:
- Configure the position of the page numbers
- Modify the alignment of the page numbers
- Mirror on even pages
- Include page total
- Change page number style
Prior to the introduction of the Page Number Wizard, you had to insert the page number into the document and then jump through various hoops to get the page numbering styled and configured as needed. It was often a confusing process and didn’t always wind up with the best results.
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Now, however, adding page numbers to your documents and manuscripts is very easy in LibreOffice. In fact, it’s so easy now that anyone can add page numbers successfully.
Let me show you how.
Using the LibreOffice Page Number Wizard
What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is LibreOffice 7.6 installed. You can use any supporting platform (Linux, MacOS, or Windows). As long as you’re working with the latest iteration of LibreOffice, you should be good to go.
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To find out which version you’re using, open LibreOffice, click Help > About LibreOffice, and verify the version number in the popup window. If you’re using any release prior to 7.6, you’ll need to upgrade.
The first thing to do is open LibreOffice Writer. If you already have a document that needs page numbers, open that document. If you don’t have a previously created document, you can start with a blank one. Either way, adding page numbers is the same process.
To open the Page Number Wizard, click Insert > Page Number.
The Page Number option lives near the bottom part of the menu. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
When the Page Number Wizard opens, you can configure the page numbers exactly how you want them. In the popup, you’ll see a preview of what the page numbers will look like.
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It’s a fairly rudimentary preview, but it works all the same. Once you’ve configured the page numbers how you want them, click OK and you’re done.
Configuring page numbers is now much easier than it was before. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
The new Page Number Wizard takes away so much of the guessing work that accompanied the previous process of adding page numbers. Now, I don’t have to second guess myself or struggle to get the page numbers exactly how I want them, as it’s all contained within a convenient, single-window wizard.
If you’re curious about what other new features have been added to the LibreOffice Office Suite, make sure to read the full 7.6 release notes.
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