Add page numbers to a PDF
Paginate a PDF by numbering its pages at the top or bottom, left, center or right. Start from any number, write 1, Page 1 or 1 of N, and number every page, all but the cover, or only the pages you list. The tool shows the first number before you save, runs in your browser with nothing uploaded, and has no sign up and no watermark.
Quick answer: Drop in a PDF, choose one of six positions, a format of 1, Page 1 or 1 of N, and which pages to number, then choose Add page numbers and download the file. It takes one PDF at a time, up to 100 MB and 500 pages.
Drop a PDF file here or click to choose
Your files never leave your device
One PDF file, up to 100 megabytesLimits: One PDF of up to 100 MB and 500 pages. Larger input is refused with a message.
File to number
Numbers to add
Numbered PDF
- Pages numbered
- 0
- Pages
- 0
- File size
- 0
How to use the Add Page Numbers to PDF
- Add a PDF by dropping it on the box above or clicking the box. The tool reads its pages and how each one is turned.
- Pick the position and the format of the numbers.
- Choose All pages, All but the first page, or Only these pages and type them, such as 3-20.
- Set the first number, the font size and the distance from the edges, and check the preview of the first number.
- Choose Add page numbers, then Download the numbered file.
Worked example
Load the example to see numbering without a PDF of your own. The tool draws a four page A4 handbook in this tab, its first page a cover, and sets the numbers to 1 of N at the bottom center of all but the first page. The preview then reads: 3 of 4 pages get a number, 1 to 3, and page 2 will show 1 of 3. Choose Add page numbers and the result reads:
example-handbook.pdf: 4 pages, A4, page 1 a cover Bottom center, 1 of N, all but the first page, from 1, 12 pt
- Pages numbered
- 3
- Pages
- 4
- File size
- 3.49 KB (3,577 bytes)
How to read the results
- Numbers to add
- The first lines say how many pages get a number and how the first one will read. Below them, each run of pages is listed with its first and last number, and pages left without a number are named too.
- Pages numbered
- How many pages got a number. Pages outside your choice are copied without one.
- Pages
- The page count of the file, which numbering never changes.
- File size
- The size of the numbered PDF, rounded and then in exact bytes, usually a few kilobytes more than the original.
How this tool works and its limitations
The page loads no PDF code before you add a file. Then it downloads pdf-lib, an open source PDF library, with a progress bar, and a background worker checks the file: the %PDF- marker in its first 1,024 bytes, whether it opens without a password, and each page's visible box and rotation.
For each page that gets a number, the worker measures the text in Helvetica, finds the chosen place on the page as a reader shows it, turns that back into the page's own coordinates, and draws the number after the page's own drawing, which is wrapped so it cannot shift the number. On a page too small for the chosen size, the number is made smaller to fit. The libraries behind this page and their licenses are listed on the open source licenses page.
- Position, start number and font size: six places at the edges of the page, first numbers from 0 to 99,999 and sizes from 6 to 72 points.
- Numbers are drawn in Helvetica with Latin digits and the English words Page and of; other scripts and fonts are not offered.
- The numbers become part of the page drawing: they can be searched and copied, but not edited or removed later as a field.
- Numbers are black, so on a dark part of a page they are hard to read; the tool adds no background behind them.
- A digital signature in the file no longer matches once the numbers are added, so readers will show it as not valid.
- Apart from the numbers, the file is written back as it was, so its document scripts, links that open other files or programs, and attached files stay in it.
- Takes one PDF at a time, up to 100 MB and 500 pages; a larger file is refused with a message.
Features
- Six places to choose from, measured from the edges of the page as you see it.
- Places each number upright even on pages that are saved turned or cropped.
- Leaves the cover without a number, or numbers only the pages you name.
- Keeps links, bookmarks, form fields and the title of the file as they were.
- Free for any number of files, with no account and no watermark.
Numbers on turned and cropped pages
A PDF page can be saved sideways with a rotation setting, and it can show only part of its drawing through a crop box that does not start at the corner. Readers turn and crop the page before showing it, so a number placed by the page's own coordinates can land on the wrong edge or sideways. This tool works out where the bottom center, or any other place, is on the page as readers show it, and draws the number there, turned to read upright. We checked this on pages turned a quarter, a half and three quarters, and on cropped pages, in three different PDF readers.
Choosing which pages count
The numbers count only the pages that get one, starting from the first number you set. Leave the cover out and the second page shows 1; number pages 5 to 20 and page 5 shows 1, unless you start at 5 so the numbers match the page positions. In the 1 of N format, N is the last number written, so the final numbered page always reads N of N. The preview above the button lists every run of pages with the numbers it will get, before anything is saved.
What changes in the file
Each number is drawn into its page as text in Helvetica, one of the standard fonts every PDF reader carries, so no font file is added and the file grows by only a few kilobytes. The numbers can be found with search and copied, but they are part of the drawing, not a field, so they cannot be edited later. Everything else is written back as it was read: page content, links, bookmarks, form fields and the title. A digital signature is the exception, since it seals the exact bytes of the signed file.
Frequently asked questions
How do I paginate a PDF?
Add the file, pick a position and a format, choose which pages to number, then choose Add page numbers and download the result. Paginating here means writing a number on each page you choose, and the page count stays the same.
How do I leave the cover page without a number?
Choose All but the first page. The first page stays as it is, and the second page gets the first number you set, which is 1 unless you change it.
Can the numbering start at a number other than 1?
Yes. Type any whole number from 0 to 99,999 as the first number, for example 15 when the file continues a longer document.
Can I edit or remove the numbers later?
Not with a PDF reader's form tools. The numbers are drawn into the pages as text, so they stay in the file. Keep your original PDF to number it again with other settings.
Will the numbers be in the right place on landscape or rotated pages?
Yes. A landscape page gets its number at the bottom as you see it, and a page saved with a rotation gets it turned to read upright at the place you chose.
Which font and characters do the numbers use?
Helvetica, with Latin digits 0 to 9 and, for the longer formats, the English words Page and of. Other alphabets and number systems are not offered.
Does my PDF leave my computer?
No. An open source PDF library runs in this tab and writes the numbers into your file there, so the file is never sent to a server.
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