Add Page Numbers to PDF
Add page numbers to a PDF: number every page, in the format and position you choose.
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How to use Add Page Numbers
Key features of Add Page Numbers
"Page X of Y", "X of Y", "Page X" or the bare number, so the label matches what you would type by hand.
Bottom centre, bottom right, bottom left or top right, drawn in 11 pt Helvetica in dark grey, so the numbers stay readable without competing with the page.
The file is read and numbered by JavaScript in your browser with pdf-lib. Nothing is sent to a server.
About Add Page Numbers
Add Page Numbers opens your PDF with pdf-lib, references the standard Helvetica font, and draws a number on each page at the position you chose. Existing content is untouched; the number is added on top of the page, and the output is the same document with one extra line of text per page.
It is useful for a report that was merged from several files and lost its numbering, a scanned book or thesis, or a handout you want to print and staple. Numbering always starts at 1 on the first page and covers every page: there is no start-number, page-range, font or colour option, and a page that already carries a number will show both.
When to use Add Page Numbers
You have assembled an evidence bundle or a board pack with Merge PDF and the covering note refers to "page 14". The merged file has no numbering of its own, so add "Page X of Y" at the bottom centre and every reference in the note now points at a printed number rather than a reader's page counter.
A training handout will be printed, stapled and passed around a room. The "X of Y" format tells each reader how many sheets there should be, so a missing page is noticed. The bottom right position keeps the number away from a staple in the top left corner.
A draft goes out for comments and reviewers need to say where their remarks apply. The bare number format in the top right is the least intrusive choice and gives everyone the same way to cite a page, even when the draft is later reflowed in a word processor.
If a cover or title sheet should stay unnumbered, this tool cannot skip it: pull the body out with Extract Pages, number that file, and put the cover back with Merge PDF. If you need one label at an exact spot on a single page, the PDF Editor lets you place text anywhere. To add a running label such as a draft stamp on every page instead of a number, see Watermark PDF.
Tips and troubleshooting
- The number sits 25 pt above the bottom edge, or 30 pt below the top edge for the top right position. There is no margin option, so a page with a full-bleed footer or a dark scan border will have the number drawn on top of it.
- Every physical page counts, including a cover, a blank back or an inserted divider, so a cover becomes page 1 and the total in "X of Y" includes it.
- "Bottom Center" starts the text 30 pt to the left of the page's centre line rather than centring the text itself. A bare "3" therefore sits a little left of centre and "Page 12 of 40" runs a little to the right of it.
- The number is drawn in the page's stored orientation. On a scan that is stored rotated, it can appear on a side edge and turned 90 degrees; open the preview and check a page or two before printing.
- "Failed to add page numbers" with a message about an encrypted document means the file has a password. Remove it first with Unlock PDF, then number the unlocked copy.
- The numbers are real text, not an image. They can be selected, searched and copied, and a reader's search for "Page 3" will find them, as will PDF to Text.
- Preview Document uses your browser's own PDF viewer inside the page. The output is named numbered_ followed by the original filename, and the original file is left as it was.
How Add Page Numbers works in your browser
When you click Add Page Numbers & Download, the file is read into memory with the File API and parsed by pdf-lib. The tool asks pdf-lib for a reference to Helvetica, one of the fourteen standard fonts that every PDF reader supplies, so no font file is added to the document. It then walks the pages in order: for each one it reads the page width and height, builds the label from the page index and the page count, works out the x and y for the position you picked, and draws the label as a text operation in 11 pt dark grey on top of the existing content.
pdf-lib then writes the whole document back to bytes, which are wrapped in a Blob and offered through the Download button as an object URL. Nothing about the file is sent anywhere: there is no upload step and no server, only the page and the pdf-lib library loading from a CDN. The parsed document stays in the page's memory until you leave or click Process Another File, which reloads the page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start the numbering at a number other than 1?
No. Numbering always starts at 1 on the first page and runs to the last page. If you need a different start, split the document first and number the part you want.
Can I number only some pages?
No, every page gets a number. There is no page-range option; use Split PDF or Extract Pages to separate the pages first if only part of a file should be numbered.
What font and size are used?
Helvetica at 11 pt in dark grey, one of the standard PDF fonts that every reader supplies. There is no option to change the font, size or colour.
Does it work on landscape pages or mixed page sizes?
Yes. The position is worked out from each page's own width and height, so landscape pages and mixed sizes each get the number at the same distance from their own edges. A page stored with a rotation attribute is numbered in its stored orientation, so check the preview for scans.
Can I use Roman numerals or a prefix such as A-1?
No. The four formats are "Page X of Y", "X of Y", "Page X" and the bare number, all with Arabic numerals. Front matter that needs i, ii, iii has to be numbered another way.
Are the numbers real text or an image?
Real text, drawn in Helvetica. They can be selected, searched and copied in any reader, and they are included when the file is later converted to text or compared with another version.
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