How to Remove a Page Number in InDesign | Skip or Delete Page Numbers Easily 🔢❌

How to Remove a Page Number in InDesign | Skip or Delete Page Numbers Easily 🔢❌
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If you're designing a document like a book, report, magazine, or portfolio, chances are you’ve used automatic page numbering. But what if you want to skip a page—like the cover, title, or a section divider? In this video, you'll learn exactly how to remove a page number in InDesign while keeping the rest of your document auto-numbered and intact.
This is especially useful when preparing professional layouts, such as documents that require removing the page number from the first page in InDesign, deleting the number on a cover, or hiding folio numbers on selected spreads. Thankfully, InDesign makes this simple through master page overrides.
Whether you're preparing a document for print or digital export, you’ll learn not only how to delete unwanted page numbers but how to preserve overall pagination without errors.
🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Tutorial
Here’s what we’ll cover in this video:
How to remove a page number in InDesign quickly and safely
How to remove page number from first page in InDesign without disrupting the layout
How to override master page elements to edit or delete numbering
How to remove numbering from cover pages or section intro pages
How to delete a page number in InDesign using the Pages panel
How to manage auto page numbers while skipping selected pages
What to do if your page number won’t disappear
How to preserve auto-numbering while removing just one or two folios
Whether you're a beginner or intermediate user, this tutorial will help you manage pagination like a pro.
🛠️ Step-by-Step: How to Remove Page Numbers in InDesign
Let’s go through the process using a real document. This method applies to removing page numbers on any single page or a range.
✅ Step 1: Open Your Document and Access the Pages Panel
Start by opening your InDesign file that includes automatic page numbering applied through master pages.
Go to Window Pages to open the Pages panel
This shows all pages, masters, and their assigned numbers
If you’ve used auto-numbering with a marker like ~A~ on the master page, this tutorial is for you.
✅ Step 2: Select the Page to Remove the Number
In the Pages panel, locate the page where you want to hide or remove the number. Common examples include:
Cover pages
Title pages
Section dividers
First page of a chapter or introduction
This is the first step in learning how to remove a single page number in InDesign without affecting the entire document.
✅ Step 3: Override Master Page Items
Page numbers typically come from master pages, so to delete one:
1. Right-click on the desired page in the Pages panel
2. Choose “Override All Master Page Items”
3. This unlocks the number (and any other master items) on that specific page
Now you're ready to customize it.
This step is crucial if you’re wondering how to remove page number from first page in InDesign or how to remove cover page number in InDesign—which are common in books and reports.
✅ Step 4: Delete the Page Number
Click on the page number using the Selection Tool (V)
Press Delete on your keyboard
The page number will be removed only from the selected page, while numbering on other pages remains unaffected. This is how you delete a page number in InDesign precisely and cleanly.
🧩 Bonus: Adjust Auto-Numbering Without Disruption
If you need to skip a page from auto-numbering in InDesign—for instance, page 1 being a cover—you have two options:
1. Remove the number visually (as shown above)
2. Or use the Numbering & Section Options:
Right-click on the page Numbering & Section Options
Check Start Page Numbering at… and set to “1” starting from the page you want
This resets numbering logically, especially helpful if you’re working on documents that need Roman numerals in the intro and Arabic numbers in the body.
🎨 How to Hide the Number Without Deleting It
If you want to temporarily hide the number (but not delete it):
Apply a different Master Page that doesn’t include numbering
Or change the text color of the page number marker to match the background (e.g., white on a white background)
This is ideal for moments where layout consistency matters, but visibility needs to be toggled—like hiding folio numbers on certain pages in InDesign without breaking the auto-numbering system.
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