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Add Page Numbers to PDF

Number the pages of a PDF. Free, and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded, stored or sent to a server, and there is no sign-up.

About Page Numbers

Numbers the pages of a document that arrived without any — a merged bundle, a scan, an export from something that did not bother. The number is drawn onto the page as real text, so it is selectable, searchable and about a hundred bytes.

The number counts the pages you stamped, not the pages of the file, and that is the setting people go looking for. A report with three pages of front matter should start its "1" on page four: name pages 4-40 and set the first number to 1, and that is exactly what happens. Numbering the whole file and starting at 1 is the other common case, and is what you get by leaving both alone.

The format is a template. {n} is the number, {total} is how many were stamped, so Page {n} of {total} produces what most documents want and — {n} — produces what a book wants.

Where it helps

  • Numbers are real text: selectable, searchable, and a trivial addition to the file size.
  • The first number is independent of the page it lands on, which is what front matter needs.
  • A template rather than a fixed format, so Page 4 of 32 and — 4 — are both one field.
  • Six positions, four typefaces, any size and colour.
  • The document stays in your browser.

Limits

  • The number is drawn on top of the page, not into a reserved margin — on a page whose content runs to the edge it will overlap something.
  • Standard PDF fonts are Latin-1 only, so a number formatted with characters outside that set will be substituted.
  • Roman numerals and letter sequences are not offered; the counter is decimal.
  • It does not know about existing page numbers, so a document that already has them ends up with two.
  • Password-protected files must be unlocked first.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start numbering at 1 on the fifth page?

Name the pages as 5- (or 5-40) and set the first number to 1. The counter follows the pages you stamped rather than their position in the file.

Can I use Roman numerals for the front matter?

Not directly — the counter is decimal. The usual workaround is two runs: one over the front matter with a format like {n} and a small size, and a second over the body. Proper page labels are a separate feature of the PDF format.

The number sits on top of my text. What now?

Increase the distance from the edge, or crop nothing and instead add a margin first. The stamp is drawn over the page, so the only way to guarantee clear space is to have some.

Will the numbers print?

Yes. They are page content, not annotations, so anything that prints the page prints them.

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