PDF Page Numbers

How do you add page numbers to a PDF and skip the cover?

Choose a PDF file, select a Position such as Bottom Center, choose a Template, and click Add Page Numbers. On the result screen, click Download to save the numbered copy. To leave the cover without a new label, enable Skip first page (cover / title page) before processing. The cover stays in the document.

For a 12-page document, set Starting number to 1, choose Page N of Total, and skip the first page. The second physical page reads Page 1 of 11, and the last reads Page 11 of 11. The total counts pages that receive labels, rather than all physical pages or the highest number printed.

Starting number changes the numerator only. When continuing a chapter from another file, use Number only or Page N if the counted total would confuse readers. There is no separate field for entering a larger document's overall total.

What is the difference between Template and Number style?

Template controls the words and punctuation around the number. The five choices are Number only, Page N, N / Total, Page N of Total, and - N -. The total-bearing templates include the count of numbered pages alongside the current label.

Number style controls how the numbers themselves are written: 1, 2, 3; i, ii, iii; I, II, III; a, b, c; or A, B, C. The selected style also applies to the total. Letter numbering continues as AA after Z. Roman conversion is capped at 3999, so use Arabic digits for sequences that would exceed that value.

One style applies throughout a processing run. The interface does not assign Roman numerals to front matter and Arabic digits to the main text in a single operation. For sections that need different sequences, prepare the sections with Split PDF, number each separately, then combine them with Merge PDF.

How do you position PDF page numbers around existing content?

The Position grid offers top, middle, and bottom placements, each with left, center, and right alignment. Start with an empty header or footer area. Margin has three choices: Small (10pt), Medium (20pt), and Large (40pt). The arrow controls move the label by 10 PDF points per click; selecting another grid position resets that offset.

Choose Helvetica, Times Roman, or Courier under Font. Font size ranges from 6 to 36pt, with 12pt as the initial value. Color offers Black, Dark Gray, Gray, Red, Blue, and a custom picker. Opacity ranges from 10% to 100%. Reducing opacity makes the label less prominent, but does not remove the need to check whether it overlaps existing text.

Placement is calculated separately from each page's width and height. For bottom placement with no nudge, the text baseline is at the selected margin. For top placement, its vertical coordinate is page height minus margin minus font size. This is why a margin value describes the placement calculation rather than a guarantee of blank space around every character. Review the saved PDF, especially when pages have different sizes or crowded edges.

How does facing-page numbering work after a cover is skipped?

Facing pages (mirror position on even pages) swaps left and right on even physical pages. With Bottom Right selected, odd physical pages use bottom-right and even physical pages use bottom-left. Top-left and top-right swap in the same way, as do middle-left and middle-right. Centered positions stay centered.

The rule uses the page's physical position in the file, rather than the visible number. Skipping the cover does not shift the alternation: the first numbered page is still an even physical page and therefore mirrored. Changing Starting number also leaves the alternation unchanged. Check this relationship against the intended print layout before numbering a document for double-sided printing.

What does the tool change, and where is the PDF processed?

The browser reads the selected file into memory, and the PDF engine adds each label as text on the existing page. It saves the result as a new PDF for download. This operation adds labels; it does not detect or erase page numbers already present in the document. Starting with an already numbered PDF can therefore leave two visible sets of numbers.

PDF reading and numbering run locally on your device. After processing, Back to editing returns to the settings with the original loaded input, so another run does not stack numbers from the previous result. Download is a separate action after Add Page Numbers; the output is not automatically saved when processing finishes.

Review the final page order, label placement, and numbering scheme before sharing the result. The tool adds visible page labels without changing the order of the source pages. Use Reorder PDF Pages first if the source pages need a different sequence.