Page numbers in index in PDF are off by one page

[bunnyslippers]

I hope you can help me please...Some of the page numbers in the index of my PDF output are off by one page number. For example, the index says "Entering Data" is on page 10, but that topic is actually on page 11. Why is this happening, and how can I fix the problem?

[Dean Whitlock]

Hi bunnyslippers,

I know of a couple of things that can make the index get out of sync with actual page numbers.

First, the Acrobat Reader shows you a page count at the bottom that doesn't actually count the topic pages. (Page 1 of 16, for example) That count starts with the cover and includes the forward, table of contents, etc. -- i.e., every single page in the PDF file. The index, on the other hand, starts counting on page 1 of your first topic. There is no way to change this except to warn on-line readers to use the TOC and index, not Acrobat's page counter.

When you add a keyword to the list, the compiler doesn't look for the absolute position of the keyword in the topic. It simply looks for the beginning of the topic. For example, the topic could start near the bottom of page 10, but the keyword could actually appear on page 11. The index will list page 10. You can correct this by using Anchor Keywords. Insert an anchor right next to the keyword and add the keyword in the anchor dialog. More work, but more precise.

I vaguely remember another issue, perhaps having to do with table cells that break across a page break, but the details elude me. Perhaps someone else will weigh in on that.

I hope this info helps. Good luck with a fix,
Dean

[bunnyslippers]

It looks like the problem is that the index is referring to the beginning of the topic. I didn't realize keywords did that. I am putting more anchors in - and yes, it is a lot of work - but that seems to fix the problem for me. Thank you for your help!

[Dean Whitlock]

Yeah, the index is designed for online help, where you hyperlink to the start of the topic unless you want to put in anchors for internal hyperlinks. I believe that there is a wishlist item asking that the index always point to the absolute position of a keyword, but there are technical issues that revolve around when the various parts of the PDF are created. That is also the reason why the PDF index cannot be interactive.

And, although Alexander and crew are among the most responsive developers I have ever encountered, they look upon PDF as the second cousin in the help family and are not as inclined to make major changes in that area. The forum has seen some "lively" discussions about the usefulness of PDF, particularly in terms of using it as a form of online help. I agree that it's not the best online help format, but the index keyword issue affects the usefulness of the printed manual, which is the primary reason for creating a PDF in the first place. (With a product this good, I have to find something to whine about, right ).

Be well,
Dean

[Tim Green]

Yes, in PDF it is currently only possible to point to the beginning of a topic, not to the actual keyword position. This is a technical problem and solving it is actually a lot more complicated than you might imagine...

Apropos page numbering:

You can restart page numbering in any section of the PDF template. Open the print manual template in the Print Manual Designer (see PDF & Printed Manuals in the H&M help for details on how to do this). Then select each section and select Page Options in the File menu. This will display a dialog with all the options for that section, including the page numbering style and resetting page numbering.

However, you may actually want to leave page numbering continuous throughout and starting on the very first page of your document. If you do not do this the numbers displayed on your pages will not match the numbers used by Adobe Reader when displaying the document, which is confusing and annoying for users. For example, when a user selects the GoTo Page function in Adobe Reader or Acrobat, they will always go to the Adobe page number, not to your page numbers. If they refer to the page numbers in your table of contents and then use GoTo Page to try to go to the page they will always be taken to the wrong page if your page numbering does not start on the very first page of the document.

[bunnyslippers]

That is another problem I have - for example, page number 214 in the index is actually page 226 in the PDF. But I'm not clear on how to fix this. How can I make those numbers match? I went to the Page Options for the cover and selected the "Reset page numbering..." box, but nothing changed.

Thanks for all the help!

[Tim Green]

Hello "Bunny" or "Slippers",

You need to do this:

1. In all sections of your template set your page numbering style to "Numeric". Don't change the page numbering style in any section, it must be the same in all sections, and don't use dual numbering styles, just the plain "Numeric" style. Again, it is essential that you do this in all sections of your template, this is crucial. Any change in numbering style from one section to the next automatically resets numbering to 1 again for that section.
2. In the FIRST section of your template ("Cover") activate the "Reset page numbering" checkbox.
3. In all other sections of your template make sure that "Reset page numbering" is NOT selected.

[bunnyslippers]

That worked perfectly - thank you again for helping, and thank you for helping so quickly!

"bunnyslippers"