Add Page Numbers to a PDF Annexure Set or Application
Stamp Page 1 of N, a plain number, or - 1 - on every page, in one of six corner or centre positions.
Drop a PDF here
Numbering happens entirely in your browser and the file is never uploaded anywhere.
About this tool
A representation to a department, an RTI first appeal, a grievance on CPGRAMS or a claim with a covering letter all come with annexures. The letter says see page 7 of the enclosures, the office expects a running page count, and many forms carry a line such as This application contains ___ pages. Once the letter and the annexures have been merged into one PDF, the pages need numbers that match.
This tool prints a page number on every page of a PDF. You choose one of six positions and one of three formats, press a button, and download the numbered copy. The numbers are drawn in small dark grey type near the edge, in the same place on every page.
The numbering is done in your browser using the pdf-lib library. Nothing is uploaded, which matters for an appeal file that may contain your address, bank details or medical papers.
How to add page numbers to a PDF
- Merge the covering letter and annexures into one PDF first, if they are still separate files.
- Drop the merged PDF on the upload box.
- Pick a Position from the list, for example Bottom center.
- Pick a Format from Page 1 of 10, a plain 1, or - 1 -.
- Press Add page numbers and wait for the green Ready panel.
- Press Download. The file is saved with -numbered added to the name. Open it and check the first and last pages.
Positions, formats and the fixed settings
The Position list combines top or bottom with left, centre or right. The Format list changes what is printed; the N in Page 1 of N is the total number of pages in the file at the time you run the tool. Font, size, colour and distance from the edge are fixed.
| Setting | Choices | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Bottom center, Bottom right, Bottom left, Top center, Top right, Top left | Default is Bottom center |
| Format | Page 1 of 10, 1, - 1 - | Default is Page 1 of 10; the total counts every page in the file |
| Font and size | Helvetica, 10 point, dark grey | Fixed |
| Distance from the edge | 28 points, close to 1 cm | Fixed; applies to the side and the top or bottom edge |
| First number | 1 on the first page | Fixed; every page is numbered |
Placing the numbers so they do not collide
The number is drawn on top of whatever is already on the page. A scanned form that fills the sheet to the bottom edge will get the number printed over its last line. Look at the file before you choose. If the footer area is busy, use a top position, and if the letterhead sits at the top, use the bottom.
Printed numbers already on the pages are not removed, so an annexure that was numbered by its own author ends up with two sets. That is normal for a bundle and reviewers are used to it, but if it bothers you, choose a corner away from the existing number.
If a page was straightened by changing its rotation setting (for example with the Rotate PDF tool), the number follows the page's stored orientation and can appear along a side edge, turned sideways. Pages that were scanned upright are not affected.
Order of operations and limits
- Number the file last. The total in Page 1 of N is fixed at the moment you run the tool, so removing or adding pages afterwards makes it wrong. Merge, reorder, remove, then number.
- Numbering always starts at 1 on the first page and covers every page. There is no option to skip a cover letter or to begin from a different number. If the cover must stay clean, number the annexures as a separate file and merge the cover on top afterwards.
- There is no prefix or custom text beyond the three formats. For a label such as Annexure A, page 1, add it in the document itself before exporting to PDF.
- Each run starts from the original file, so changing the position and pressing the button again does not produce a second set of numbers. Encrypted PDFs cannot be opened and show an error.
Numbering runs entirely in your browser. The PDF is never uploaded and is cleared from memory when the tab is closed.
Frequently asked questions
›How do I add page numbers to a PDF without Acrobat?
Choose the PDF here, pick a position such as Bottom center and a format such as Page 1 of 10, then press Add page numbers and download the copy. Nothing needs to be installed and the file stays on your device. The numbers become part of each page, so they show in any reader and on paper.
›Can I skip the cover page or start numbering from page 2?
Not in this tool; the first page always gets number 1 and every page is numbered. A workaround is to number only the annexures as one file, then place the unnumbered cover letter in front of it using Merge PDF. The annexures then read 1 onwards while the cover stays clean.
›Can I start from a number other than 1?
No. The sequence begins at 1 and the total in Page 1 of N is the page count of the file you loaded. If a second volume must continue from, say, page 41, number the two volumes as one merged file instead, or add the numbers in the word processor before exporting the second volume.
›Where should page numbers go on annexures to a government application?
No central rule fixes the spot for ordinary applications and appeals. Bottom centre is the most common choice and is where most offices look first. If the department's instructions or a court's filing rules specify a position or a format such as a running number on the top right, follow those; otherwise bottom centre with Page 1 of N is a safe default.
›Why does the number appear sideways on one page?
That page carries a rotation setting rather than being scanned upright. The tool draws in the page's underlying coordinates, so the number sits where the bottom edge was before rotation. To avoid it, convert that page to an image, rotate the image itself and rebuild the page, or accept the sideways number if the office will not mind.
›Will the page numbers show when I print the file?
Yes. They are drawn into the page content in 10 point dark grey, roughly 1 cm from the edge, and print along with everything else. Check that your printer's margins do not cut them off. Home and office printers leave only a few millimetres unprinted at the edge, so a number placed about 1 cm in is normally well inside the printable area.