Arabic page numbers appearing when I want Roman

Question

I am currently writing my MSc thesis and I am having a problem with roman and arabic page numbering. I would like the Contents, List of Figures and List of Tables all to have roman page numbers. I would then like the arabic numbers to start at the Introduction. I have included my code below.

At the moment I am strangely seeing roman page numbers on the Contents and List of Figures, but the arabic numbers are starting on the List of Tables page instead of the Introduction page! I don't know if it makes a difference, but I am using the book class.

Note - In case anyone is wondering, I am using \setcounter{secnumdepth}{-1} to prevent List of Figures and List of Tables from being numbered as chapters.

% Contents %
\newpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
\setcounter{page}{1}
\tableofcontents

% List of Figures %
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-1}
\chapter{List of Figures}

% List of Tables %
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-1} 
\chapter{List of Tables}

% Introduction %
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{1}
\setcounter{page}{1}
\pagenumbering{arabic}
\chapter{Introduction}

Answer 1

Some considerations for your code:

• You don't need to repeatedly set secnumdepth. Once is sufficient, as it will hold from there onward;
• \pagenumbering resets the page counter to 1, so you don't have to do it explicitly;
• Most (if not all) document classes offer \listoffigures and \listoftables just like \tableofcontents, so use them. By default, the List of Figures and Tables will not show up in the ToC.
• Issue \cleardoublepage (or just \clearpage if not using twoside mode) before you start with \chapter{Introduction} just like you did before \tableofcontents (using \newpage). This will flush all content up to that point and start a new page and the appropriate page numbering will follow.

Without more detail, the document structure should resemble:

% Contents %
\cleardoublepage% \clearpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
\tableofcontents

% List of Figures %
\listoffigures

% List of Tables %
\listoftables

% Introduction %
\cleardoublepage% \clearpage
\pagenumbering{arabic}
\chapter{Introduction}

Depending on whether you use hyperref or not, you may have to add some modifications to the above.

Answer 2

You have to put the \setcounter{secnumdepth}{1}, \setcounter{page}{1} and \pagenumbering{arabic} commands after the introduction chapter starts, in this way:

% Contents %
\newpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
\setcounter{page}{1}
\tableofcontents

% List of Figures %
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-1}
\chapter{List of Figures}

% List of Tables %
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-1} 
\chapter{List of Tables}

% Introduction %
\chapter{Introduction}
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{1}
\setcounter{page}{1}
\pagenumbering{arabic}