Page Numbering in OpenOffice

Of late, I have to write a long report. So being an open source enthusiast, I decided to use OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office. Guess what? Page numbering under OpenOffice is a bit cumbersome. In fact, I have to search the web for answer and it would seem that I am not the only one experiencing the problem. So after some playing around with OpenOffice, I finally was able to do the things I need for a long report. Here it is...

(1) Page Numbering

The procedure is to go "Insert->Footer->Default", then "Insert->Fields->Page Number". If you want your page number to appear in the header, use "Insert->Header->Default", then "Insert->Fields->Page Number".

Quite cumbersome, but still if you are an old hand in using computers, you may eventually figure that out. Here is the more difficult part. How do you insert a page number that does not start with page 1? It took me hours to figure it out. But since, I cannot find a solution also online, I had vowed to post the procedure online. Here it is...

(2) Starting a page number not from the default page 1, say page 20 ...

The procedure is to locate your cursor on the first paragraph where you want the page to start. Then, go "Format->Paragraph" then select the "Text Flow" tab. Under the "Breaks" line, check the "Insert", and check the "With Page Style", then indicate your desired page number under "Page Number".

Very cumbersome. I think, the creators of OpenOffice can make this more intuitive since regularly writers will need this feature. Sigh!