numbers in margin (XP SR3)

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I’m proposing to reprint an old book that I’ve had scanned, and I’d like to put the page numbers of the old edition in the margin of the new one, parallel to the point in the text where they would have appeared. I attach a file which has them in superscript and underlined within the text itself. How can I set about doing what I want to do–preferably in a way which allows me to do at least some of the process by macro? I’d be grateful if anyone could help.

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I don’t know of an automated solution.

One way to create the page numbers would be to create a table with two columns: a very narrow one on the left, in which you place the page numbers, and a wider one on the right into which the text goes. From the sample document I posted I gather that it wouldn’t be acceptable to place each old page in a cell of its own, so you’d have to put all the text (for a chapter for example) in one long cell. You’d have to position the page numbers by inserting returns.

Another way would be to place text boxes with the page numbers in the left margin.

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Hans–thanks very much. Those were my two ideas too … but they’re both a bit awkward. Given there’s 1100 pages, I think we’ll just keep them as superscripts in the text.
best

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I don’t know how you’d automate it, but there is a line number feature in Word, used for legal documents. If all of the text on one page was in one paragraph (soft line breaks until the hard one at the end of the page), theoretically Word would automatically number your pages in the margin.

Would probably require an extra blank line at the beginning of the page (paragraph), and in fact probably also a blank first page, or else the number would line up with the first line of the page rather than the last.

Not sure I’ve got this correctly thought thru…

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No, on second thought, that wouldn’t work, it’s not the way the line numbering works.

But something similar might work using field numbered paragraphs (number field in first line, first line set to -.5 or something, first line is blank, first page is blank), if the paragraphs on each page were separated with manual line breaks until the last line.

Just a theory — have no idea how you’d automate the breaks.

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thanks for this–but I think I need something a bit more flexible, and certainly nothing dependent on automatic numbering

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