Add page numbers to a PDF

Number pages with your choice of position, format and starting value.

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How to add page numbers to a PDF

  1. 01

    Add your PDF

    Drop a file into the box above and its pages render as thumbnails.

  2. 02

    Choose a position

    The position control is laid out like a page, so the button you press is where the number lands.

  3. 03

    Pick a format

    A bare number, a fraction, or 'Page 1 of 12' — with a live example of each.

  4. 04

    Download

    Numbers are drawn onto the pages and the file downloads immediately.

Skipping a cover page

Skip first leaves pages at the front unnumbered — a cover sheet, a title page, a contents page. This affects numbering, not counting: with one page skipped and a start value of 1, the second physical page prints “1”.

The total in “Page 1 of 12” counts numbered pages, not physical ones. A thirteen-page document with one skipped cover reads “Page 1 of 12”, which is what a reader flipping through actually needs.

Start at is separate, and is for continuing a sequence — set it to 47 when this file is the second half of a document whose first half ended at 46.

Position and margins

The default sits 36 points — half an inch — from the bottom edge, centred. That clears the non-printable margin on virtually every home and office printer, and matches where most documents put their numbers.

For a document that will be bound or hole-punched, bottom-right or bottom-left is safer than centred: the outer corner is the part a reader sees while thumbing through, and the inner edge is what a binding swallows.

Numbers are drawn over the existing content. If your pages already have footers, check that they do not collide — the tool does not move existing content out of the way.

Frequently asked questions

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