What are PDF page numbers?

Page numbers let readers find their way around a document and point to a page, as in "see page 7". Many PDFs come without them, such as scans, exported slides and files merged from several documents, and a printed stack of pages without numbers is hard to put back in order.

Tool description

This tool adds page numbers to a PDF. Pick where the numbers go, how they read, such as 1 / 12 or Page 1 of 12, and which number to start from. The preview shows any page with its number before you download the numbered PDF. The PDF is read and saved in your browser, so it is never uploaded.

Features

  • Six positions: top or bottom, at the left, center or right
  • Four formats: 1, 1 / 12, Page 1 and Page 1 of 12
  • Start from any number, and number only the pages you choose
  • Numbers sit upright at the edge you see, also on rotated and cropped pages
  • The numbers are real text, so they can be selected and searched

Tips

  • To leave out a cover page, type 2- in Pages to number. The second page then gets number 1, or set Start at to 2 to keep the page count.
  • The total in 1 / 12 is the last number shown. With Start at 5 and ten numbered pages, the numbers run from 5 / 14 to 14 / 14.
  • The numbers go on top of the page, so move them to another corner if they cover a footer.