# Use Roman Page Number in setcounter{page}

I would like to use the page number of a label as the input for \setcounter{page}{label's page}. I tried using zref abspage, however, in my document there are a few uncounted pages before I start with the actual page numbering, therefore abspage is offset by 2 pages. I also tried it with newcommand and variables, but I could not get it to work properly. An additional hurdle seems to be the roman style of page numbering making it hard to convert (got -1 using etoolbox's \rmntonum).

How can I resume the roman page numbering using a label placed at the end of the first part, before arabic numbering is used? The solution should be as generic as possible, i.e. not subtracting a hard coded offset.

\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{biblatex}

\begin{document}
this is my title
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage

some declarations
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage

\setcounter{page}{1}
\pagenumbering{Roman}
\tableofcontents
\newpage

\listoffigures
\label{end of intro}
\newpage

\pagenumbering{arabic}
\chapter{chapter one}
\lipsum[2-5]
\cite{kastenholz}

\chapter{chapter two}
\lipsum[2-4]

\clearpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
\setcounter{page}{3}    % <-- set this value based on label 'end of intro', zref abspage gives 4

\printbibliography

\end{document}


Do you have to use a \label? You might as well use a \newcount and use its value to set your counter:

\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{biblatex}
\newcount\pagebak

\begin{document}
this is my title
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage

some declarations
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage

\setcounter{page}{1}
\pagenumbering{Roman}
\tableofcontents
\newpage

\listoffigures
\pagebak=\arabic{page}
\label{end of intro}
\newpage

\pagenumbering{arabic}
\chapter{chapter one}
\lipsum[2-5]
\cite{kastenholz}

\chapter{chapter two}
\lipsum[2-4]

\clearpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
%\setcounter{page}{3}    % <-- set this value based on label 'end of intro', zref abspage gives 4
\setcounter{page}{\numexpr\pagebak+1}    % <-- set this value based on label 'end of intro', zref abspage gives 4

\printbibliography

\end{document}


Here's a way with zref:

\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

\usepackage[nottoc]{tocbibind} % no need for \addcontentsline
\usepackage[user,abspage]{zref}

\usepackage{biblatex}

\usepackage{lipsum}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\startfront}{\clearpage\pagenumbering{Roman}\zlabel{startfront}}
\newcommand{\startmain}{\clearpage\pagenumbering{arabic}\zlabel{startmain}}
\newcommand\startback{%
\clearpage
\pagenumbering{Roman}%
\setcounter{page}{%
\numexpr
\zref@extractdefault{startmain}{abspage}{0}-
\zref@extractdefault{startfront}{abspage}{0}+1
\relax
}%
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\thispagestyle{empty}
this is my title
\clearpage

\thispagestyle{empty}
some declarations
\clearpage

\startfront
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures

\startmain

\chapter{chapter one}
\lipsum[2-5]
\cite{kastenholz}

\chapter{chapter two}
\lipsum[2-4]

\startback


The details are hidden in \startfront, \startmain and \startback.
Note that you need no \addcontentsline instructions.
• thank you for your answer, I knew that it had to be possible with zref, but could not figure it out. However, the answer by skillmon is easier for me because (for now) I don't use the zref package. The tocbibind package is quite handy, thanks for the hint. – derptank Jun 9 '17 at 12:22