Adding Indesign page numbers to a document, such as a brochure, annual report or a construction tender is very simple. First of all double-click on a thumbnail to go into a master page, for example the default A-Master page. Most likely this will be a double-page spread consisting of a right and left-hand page. Setting up various documents with pagination is one of the many features we explore in our Indesign courses.
To add your page numbers, first zoom into the bottom left-hand corner of the spread. Select the Type tool and click and drag to create a text box on the bottom left of the page. Normally, if this was a text frame, you would then start typing, but instead we go: right-click > Insert Special Marker > Current Page Number.
The letter A will appear in the text box, which stands for A-Master. This will change to an actual number on each local page to which the A-master is applied. The go right-click again and this time Insert White Space > Em space. This is a special space, the width of the capital M. Then add a vertical stroke – this is located above the Enter key on your keyboard. Alternatively you could add a Glyph, short for heiroglyphics. To add these, go to the top drop-down menu for Type, and choose Glyphs. These work similarly to Word – each font has a set of gyphs. See the fonts at the bottom of the dialog box, and see the various options in the drop-down menu for symbols, etc.
Lastly add another Em-space and type in the title of your publication. If you wish to knock back the tone of this element, triple-click to select the whole line, and go over to your Swatches. Click on the colour arrow and and drag the slider to 50%. Then select and copy this text frame over to the other page. You will need to adjust the order of the number and title.
Finally to double-check that the pagination has worked, double-click on a local page to check the numbering. If it’s not worked, go back into your master page to check it, or make sure that the master page is in fact applied to your local pages. You can also add sections and different styles of numbering by going into master page options flyout and choosing Numbering and Section Options.
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Indesign page numbers
Jan17