Add Page Numbers
Insert page numbers with position and format control.
This tool runs in your browser. Your document is not uploaded. What happens to your files
Shift-click a range · ⌘A all · Esc none · I invert · ⌘Z undo · or type a range to skip the grid entirely
How it works
- Choose the final PDF.
- Select pages, position, format, and starting number.
- Apply the numbers and inspect the footer or header area.
Key benefit
Visible numbering can start after a cover and use a chosen offset.
Supported files and key limits
Input: PDF. Output: PDF.
Bates numbers use the fixed prefix EX-A-. Printed page references and viewer page labels are not rewritten.
Numbers follow the page, not your selection
Numbers follow the pages’ positions in the full document. If you number pages 3–10, the first visible number is 3 unless you choose a different starting value.
That keeps “see page 7” pointing at the same page for everyone. A counter that restarted at 1 on the first page you happened to select would make the printed numbers disagree with the real ones.
What the start value means
The start value is the number of the document’s first page, even if you do not number that page. Every later page counts up from it. With a start value of 1, page 3 shows 3. With 401, page 3 shows 403. That suits an exhibit volume that continues after a 400-page first volume.
To make the visible numbering begin at 1 partway through, enter a negative start value. Select from page 5 and enter −3, and page 5 prints 1, page 6 prints 2, and so on. That suits a brief whose front matter is numbered separately.
Bates numbering
Bates numbers are the fixed-width identifiers used to label every page of a litigation production, so a page can be cited unambiguously. The Bates format here pads to six digits and adds the prefix EX-A-, so page 7 reads EX-A-000007.
Fixed width is what keeps the numbers sorting correctly. EX-A-9, EX-A-10 and EX-A-100 sort as 10, 100, 9. The prefix is fixed, so if your production needs a different one, this tool cannot produce it.
Position, and duplex scans
The nine-cell grid places the number as the reader sees it. On a document where alternate pages are stored at 180°, placing by raw coordinates would put the number at the top of every other page, upside down. PDFOak maps the position through each page’s own rotation, so bottom-right is bottom-right on every page.
Bottom-centre is a safe default. Bottom-right is the usual corner for Bates numbers. If your pages already carry printed numbers, put the new ones somewhere the old ones are not.
What numbering does not change
Numbers are added as text on each selected page. Nothing is re-encoded, existing text stays searchable, and the file grows by a small amount. The numbers are real text, so they can be searched and selected, which is what makes a Bates number useful to whoever reviews the production.