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It is a given fact that I cannot number the appendicies (i.e., back-matter) in my works/book by continuing the arabic numbering from the main-matter. The reason is that the main-matter numbering is continued from a previous works and will continue in the next works, and the appendicies have to be omitted from this numbering. What is the prefered way to number the back-matter in this case? The front-matter is numbered by roman numerals.

I'm using LaTeX, I know that I can use basically whatever I want, however, I would prefer to follow the English typography traditions as much as possible.

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2 Answers 2

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Lowercase roman numerals:
i.1, i.2, i.3, ii.1, ...

Alphabetical:
a.1, a.2, a.3, b.1, ...

As long as the reader can navigate, any scheme is acceptable. Unless you're publishing in an industry that has a particular set of expectations.

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  • sorry, but how do I number pages with i.1 ? As well, your answer makes the impression in me that it is not a "professional typographist" opinion. Could you please clarify this? I have quite a lot of experience with typography myself so I could think this out too, I just want to "follow the traditional typography rules as much as possible".
    – yo'
    Dec 28, 2012 at 23:25
  • "how do I number pages with i.1 ?" means "how can page numbering as i.1 be useful ?"
    – yo'
    Dec 28, 2012 at 23:27
  • @tohecz I've found that people struggle to follow along when you nest non-arabic numeral styles. IOW, i.1.1.2 is easier to comprehend at a glance than i.i.i.ii. As far as how you apply it, any typesetting system will provide some tool for this technique. Dec 28, 2012 at 23:29
  • Of course, that's if you need nested numbering at all. You may not. Dec 28, 2012 at 23:30
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    Yes, so just ignore the nesting part in my example. Lowercase Roman numerals, upper/lowercase alphabetic. Dec 28, 2012 at 23:43
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In such cases I follow the recommendations of the Chicago Manual of Style, which suggests that back matter folios should be set using lowercase roman numerals following consecutively from the front matter in the same volume.

Yours is an unusual case, but the Chicago recommendation is the one I've seen used most often. Another convention for appendices is to use an uppercase A as a prefix: A-1, A-2, etc.

Always start the first appendix on a recto. When the consecutive numbering would give the recto an even numbering, the blank verso is considered to be the even-numbered page.

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