Add page numbers to a PDF
Number every page, or start from a page and a number of your choosing.
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Select a PDF file
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Accepted formats: PDF
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Quick facts
- What it does
- Draws page numbers onto every page in a position and format you choose.
- Input
- Output
- Processing
- In your browser
- Files uploaded?
- No
- Account required?
- No
- Best for
- Numbering a document assembled from several sources before printing or binding.
- Main limitation
- Numbers are drawn onto the page, so they do not update if pages are added or removed afterwards.
How to use this tool
- Upload your PDF.
- Choose where the number sits and how it is written — 7, Page 7, or 7 / 24.
- Set which page numbering starts on, and what number it starts at.
- Download the numbered PDF.
Why use iBuildPDF
Merged documents lose their numbering, and a bundle nobody can cite page numbers in is painful to discuss. Adding numbers afterwards takes seconds and makes the document usable in a meeting.
How it works
Numbers are drawn into each page in Helvetica, one of the fourteen fonts a PDF may name without carrying the font itself, so nothing is added to the file but a line of text. If you need the result to pass a PDF/A check, that is the one thing to know: PDF/A wants every font embedded, including those fourteen. Numbers are positioned from the page box, so they land correctly across mixed page sizes. A page carrying its own rotation is the exception: the number is placed by the page's stored geometry rather than by how the page appears on screen, so check one before doing a long document.
Frequently asked questions
Can I skip the cover page?
Yes. Set numbering to start on page 2 and choose what number that page should show — so a cover can go unnumbered while the next page is still "1".
Will the number sit on top of my content?
It is placed inside the page margin, but PDFs with no margin do exist. Check the first and last page of the result — if the number sits on top of the content, pick one of the other four positions and run it again.
Where can the number be placed?
Bottom centre, bottom left, bottom right, top centre or top right, about 10mm in from the edge. The size and colour are fixed at 10pt in a neutral grey, which stays readable without competing with the document.
Can I use roman numerals or a prefix like A-1?
No. The three formats are the number on its own, the number with the English word Page in front of it, and the number alongside the total. The word is written into the page as Page whatever language you are reading this in, because it becomes part of the document rather than part of the interface. Roman numerals, section prefixes and per-chapter numbering are not available.
Do the numbers update if I add pages later?
No. They are drawn onto each page as ordinary content, exactly like a number printed on paper, and are fixed once you download the file. If you add or remove pages afterwards, number the document again from the original.
Can I put the number on only some of the pages?
You can choose which page numbering starts on, and everything from there onwards is numbered. There is no way to skip pages in the middle or to stop before the end.
Does it work on a scanned document?
Yes. The number is drawn over whatever is on the page, live text or an image of a page, and nothing else about the file is touched.
Read more about this
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