Add page numbers to a PDF
Number the pages of a PDF, in the position and style you want.
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When a document needs numbers added afterwards
Usually because it was assembled rather than written: several PDFs merged, scanned pages combined, or an exhibit bundle put together from a dozen sources. None of the parts knows where it sits in the whole, so the numbering has to be applied to the finished document.
Courts, tribunals and regulators frequently require it, and so does anything that will be referred to by page in a meeting. A fifty-page bundle with no numbers is unusable the moment two people need to look at the same thing.
Nine positions, and which to choose
Bottom centre is the default and the safest — it is where a reader looks, and it is the least likely place for a document to already have content.
Bottom outer corners are the convention in print, alternating left and right so the number falls at the outside edge of each spread. If your document will be printed double-sided and bound, that is worth doing in two passes.
The corner choices matter for a practical reason: numbers land on top of whatever is already there. A document with a footer, a footnote or a scanned page edge will have the number printed over it. Check a page in the middle rather than the first one.
Starting at something other than one
Two situations. A bundle that continues from an earlier volume needs to start at, say, 240 so the numbering runs continuously. And a document with front matter numbered separately needs the body to start at 1 on what is physically page five.
Skipping the first page handles the common case of a cover, which conventionally carries no number even though it counts as page one.
The four formats
A bare number is right for most things. n of total — "7 of 42" — is worth the extra width on anything printed and handed round, because it tells a reader immediately whether they are holding all of it. That is the whole point of the format, and it is why bundles and contracts use it.
The page n forms are more formal and take more room; they suit reports and submissions where the extra word reads as deliberate rather than cluttered.
Size and margin
The defaults — 11 point, 30 points from the edge — put the number where a printer will not clip it and a reader will not miss it. The margin is measured in points, 72 to the inch, so 30 is a little under half an inch.
Do not go below about 20 points from the edge if the document will be printed: home and office printers have an unprintable border, and a number placed inside it silently disappears from the paper while looking perfectly fine on screen.
The numbers are real text
They are drawn as text rather than as an image, so they are searchable, selectable and copyable, and they stay crisp at any zoom. They are also added as new content on top of the existing page, which means the original content is untouched — nothing is re-rendered, re-compressed or moved.
Common questions
Where should the numbers go?
Bottom centre unless you have a reason otherwise — it is where readers look and the least likely place to collide with existing content. Check a middle page, not the first.
Can I start at a number other than 1?
Yes. Useful for a bundle continuing from an earlier volume, or where front matter is numbered separately and the body should start at 1.
How do I leave the cover unnumbered?
Turn on skip first page. The cover still counts as page one, so page two is numbered 2 — which is the usual convention.
What does "7 of 42" get me?
It tells a reader whether they are holding the whole document. Worth the extra width on anything printed and passed around, which is why bundles and contracts use it.
Will the number print on paper?
Yes, provided the margin is not too small. Stay above about 20 points from the edge — printers have an unprintable border and a number inside it vanishes on paper while looking fine on screen.
Are the numbers searchable?
Yes, they are real text rather than an image, so they are selectable and stay sharp at any zoom. The original page content is not re-rendered or re-compressed.