Add Page Numbers to PDF

A printed report with no page numbers is hard to discuss in a meeting, and most PDF exports leave them off. Drop the file here, choose a format such as Page {n} of {total}, pick a corner, and this page-number stamper writes the numbers into a new copy of the PDF.

The original pages are not re-rendered or compressed. Text stays selectable and the file barely grows, because each number is added as a line of PDF text in one of the standard Helvetica, Times or Courier faces.

Numbering a Report, Step by Step

1. Drop in a PDF of up to 100 MB; the chip shows its page count.
2. Choose a preset (1, Page 1, Page 1 of 12, 1 / 12, - 1 -) or type your own format.
3. Pick one of six positions; the small page preview shows where the first number will sit.
4. To skip a cover, enter 2-12 under Pages to number and leave Start numbering at on 1.
5. Press Add page numbers & download; the copy is saved as yourfile-numbered.pdf.

{total} means the last number printed, not the page count. Number pages 2–12 from 1 and the first reads “Page 1 of 11”. Tick Mirror on even pages for double-sided printing and numbers on even pages swap sides, so they always sit on the outer edge.

Edge Cases: Rotated Scans, Crop Boxes and Odd Formats

• A page stored sideways (a /Rotate of 90, 180 or 270) still gets an upright number in the chosen corner of the page as you see it.
• Margins are measured from the visible crop box, so a scan with a trimmed edge does not push the number off the page. The default is 12 mm, about 34 pt.
• A format without {n} is refused: “Add {n} where the number should go, for example Page {n} of {total}.”
• Password-protected PDFs are refused until the password is removed.

Limits of the Built-In PDF Fonts

The three standard fonts cover Latin-1 only, so a format with Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese or an emoji is stopped before any work is done, with the character that caused it named. Font size runs from 6 to 36 pt and the start number from 0 to 99999. Bates-style labels such as CASE-{n} work, but the number is not zero-padded.