v0.10.0How to use
- Select one PDF file. The total number of pages is shown.
- Choose the start number, the position of the number (top or bottom × left, center or right), the font size and the number format (1 or 1 / 10). An example of the numbers appears right below the options.
- Click [Add numbers] and download the new PDF. The original file is not changed.
Which position and format to choose
| Use | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Reports and papers to hand in | Bottom center, format 1 |
| Documents printed double-sided and bound | Bottom right or left, format 1 / 10 |
| Documents with a header | Keep it at the bottom so it does not overlap the header |
Example
If you first join several files into one with Merge PDF and then add the numbers, the numbering runs through the whole document. To remove pages you do not need first, use Extract & Split PDF Pages, and fix pages scanned upside down with Rotate PDF Pages before adding the numbers.
Supported formats, limits and privacy
- Input: one PDF (up to 100 MB). PDFs that are password-protected, have editing restrictions, or are damaged are rejected with a reason when you add them. This tool does not bypass protection.
- Numbers go on every page (you cannot pick only some pages). The start number is a whole number from 0 to 99999, and the font size is 6 to 48. In the "1 / 10" format, the second number is the number of the last page (start number + number of pages - 1). For example, a 3-page document with start number 5 gets "5 / 7", "6 / 7" and "7 / 7".
- The number is drawn in black Helvetica (a standard font that is not embedded in the PDF) on top of the page content, and it is placed where it appears on screen, taking the page rotation and visible area into account. Overlap with the page content is not checked, so open the result and look. A font size that is large for the page may be cut off at the edge.
- A PDF that contains a digital signature (or certification) is not changed, and the reason is shown, because adding numbers would break the signature and make it invalid. Please add the numbers to the original before it was signed. A file that was made to hide its signature on purpose may not be caught.
- Before the numbers are added, the PDF goes through the same sanitizing step as Extract & Split PDF Pages and Merge PDF. So text, images and shapes on the pages stay as they are, but annotations that were visible on screen, such as form field values and stamps, remain only as the appearance saved in the PDF, as part of the page content. Interactive form features (fillable fields), notes, attached files, bookmarks, links within the document, JavaScript, document information (title, author, etc.) and hidden metadata are removed from the result (links to external web addresses are kept). What you saw in a viewer does not change, but forms can no longer be filled in.
- PDFs rejected for safety: PDFs whose structure is unusual so that they cannot be sanitized safely; PDFs that use hidden layers (optional content) or whose layer visibility cannot be determined (this tool does not keep layer information, so hidden content could become visible); PDFs whose decompressed size, number of objects or number of resources exceeds what this device can process safely; PDFs whose content is damaged so it cannot be checked to the end; PDFs whose processing takes longer than 10 seconds; and PDFs whose form values cannot be carried over exactly. When a PDF is rejected, the original with only the numbers added is not handed out instead: no result is created and the reason is shown.
- Limitations: This tool does not guarantee the complete removal (sanitizing) of confidential information. The font subsets and character mappings (ToUnicode) may contain the character set of the whole document, and the glyphs of fonts that store character shapes as drawings (Type3) and the shared symbol dictionary of scanned documents (JBIG2) may also remain. For non-public documents, check the result yourself before sharing it.
- All processing happens inside your browser, and files are not uploaded to a server. The PDF processor (qpdf, WebAssembly) is downloaded the first time you add a file in a PDF tool, and the browser cache is used after that.
Frequently asked questions
Can I skip the cover and start with 1 on the second page?
Keep the cover as a separate file and join it with the numbered body using Merge PDF. This tool numbers every page and only lets you change the start number. If you set the start number to 0, the first page gets 0.
What if the number overlaps the page content?
Change the position or lower the font size and make it again. The original is not changed, so you can make it as many times as you like.
Can I fill in a form after adding numbers?
No. The sanitizing step removes the fillable features and keeps only the values you could see as part of the page content. If you need to fill in the form, do it before adding the numbers, or print the numbered result and write on it.