# Start chapter numbering at the third chapter

I use the report class. I have a total of 8 chapters, however I only want 6 chapters to have a number. So I want to start the numbering at the third chapter, and the first 2 chapters should only show the title in the table of contents. so basically i have the chapters: abbreviations preface theoretical background etc.

and i want the abbreviations and preface to show up in the TOC as only the title and start the numbering at theoretical background. Any suggestions on how to do this?

-

You can always use the starred version of sectioning command (\chapter*) here to prevent the numbering as well as the TOC entry.

However, in your case, you want to have the TOC listing, so must add it manually using \addcontentsline (see the short code)

Please note, that starred chapters do not use a \cleardoublepage, so they start at the next page.

\documentclass{report}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\begin{document}
\tableofcontents
\chapter*{First}

\blindtext

\chapter*{Second}

\blindtext

\chapter{First numbered one}
\blindtext
\end{document}


Edit -- a more sophisticated version, adding an optional argument to \chapter* that goes to the TOC!

\documentclass{report}

\usepackage{blindtext}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\begin{document}

%%% Redefine the chapter commands such that \chapter*[short_title]{Long title} is possible
\let\LaTeXStandardChapter\chapter
\makeatletter

\newcommand{\unstarredchapter@opt}[2][]{%
\LaTeXStandardChapter[#1]{#2}%
}

\newcommand{\unstarredchapter@noopt}[1]{%
\unstarredchapter@opt[#1]{#1}%
}%

\newcommand{\starredchapter@opt}[2][]{%
\LaTeXStandardChapter*{#2}
\ifblank{#1}{}{%
}%

\newcommand{\starredchapter@noopt}[1]{%
\starredchapter@opt[]{#1}%
}%

\newcommand{\starredchapter}{%
\@ifnextchar[{\starredchapter@opt}{\starredchapter@noopt}
}%

\newcommand{\unstarredchapter}{%
\@ifnextchar[{\unstarredchapter@opt}{\unstarredchapter@noopt}
}%

\renewcommand{\chapter}{%
\@ifstar{\starredchapter}{\unstarredchapter}
}%
\makeatother

\tableofcontents

\chapter*[Abbreviations]{Abbreviations}

\blindtext

\chapter*[Preface]{Preface}

\blindtext

\chapter{Theoretical background}
\blindtext

\chapter*{A starred chapter with no toc entry}

\end{document}


-
Perfect! Exactly what I meant, thank you! – user53965 Jul 3 '14 at 9:01
@user53965: I provided an improved version, such that \addcontentsline is not necessary at all (it is done automatically inside then) – Christian Hupfer Jul 3 '14 at 9:11

Use

\setcounter{chapter}{2}


to have chapters numbers starting from 3.

\setcounter{page}{4}