How to number pages in PDF

You need to urgently print a file in PDF format but, just before starting to print, did you notice that the numbering is missing in the pages of the document? No problem, you can solve this problem easily, thanks to the solutions that I will provide you shortly.

In today’s guide, in fact, I will explain how to number the pages in PDF, indicating some software that you can download on your computer (whether it is equipped with the Windows operating system or with macOS) and, in case you do not want to install any program on the your PC, I will also point out some online tools that can easily help you achieve this your goal.

If you are impatient to read the advice I have prepared for you in the next chapters, all you have to do is sit comfortably and carefully read the procedures I will point out to you. I’m sure by the end of reading you will be able to apply the numbers to the pages of your PDF file without a hitch. I just have to wish you a good reading and, above all, a good job!

Index

• Programs to number PDF pages
  • Adobe Acrobat (Windows / macOS)
  • PDFill PDF Free (Windows)
  • PDF Split and Merge (Windows)
• How to number PDF pages online
  • iLovePDF
  • Online2PDF

Programs to number PDF pages

If you are looking for a software to be able to apply the numbering to the pages of your PDF documents, in the next chapters I will point out some solutions that can surely be for you.

Adobe Acrobat (Windows / macOS)

One of the software you can use to apply page numbers to PDFs that you may already have on your PC is the very popular  Adobe Acrobat. This solution is one of the most complete in terms of editing and managing PDF files and can be used on both PCs with Windows operating systems and  Macs.

Adobe Acrobat, however, requires a paid license, with costs starting from 15.85 euros/month after 7 days of free trial: you can download the evaluation version directly from the official website. If you want to know how to activate a subscription to Adobe, instead, I suggest you consult my guide dedicated to the subject.

The first thing you need to do to number the pages of a PDF with  Adobe Acrobat is to start the program, using its icon on the desktop or in the Start menu. Once this is done, import the PDF file to be numbered, selecting the File> Open items, in the menu bar at the top, and click on the Tools tab at the top, then choosing the Edit PDF option.

Now, in the toolbar at the top, click on the Header and Footer item and, in the box that is shown to you, click on the Add option. In the new screen that is proposed to you, you can configure the page numbering using the tools that are provided to you.

Therefore, through the Font section, you can choose the font size, color and font of the numbering text. Then press on the wording Page Number and Date Format and use the drop-down menu next to the wording Page Number Format, to set the numbering style.

Now use one of the six text boxes in the center of the screen, which indicate the position where the page number of the PDF document will be shown. Then click inside the box you have chosen and then press the Insert Page Num button to add the code that will be used to number all the pages of the document.

Finally, press the OK button to apply the numbering on the pages of the PDF document, and on the disk icon, located at the top left, to save the changes made to the document. It was easy, wasn’t it?

PDFill PDF Free (Windows)

Another piece of software that can help you add page numbers to a PDF document is PDFill Free PDF. It is a free solution that you can download to your computer with a Windows operating system and is equipped with several features to manage and edit PDF files.

To download PDFill Free PDF on your PC, go to the official website and press the Download Now button, which you find under the heading Get FREE Basic Version. Although a Professional version is available at a cost of 19.99 euros, it is not necessary for your purpose.

After downloading the PDFill Free PDF .exe file, double-click on it and press Yes. In the screen that is shown to you, then click first on Next and then check the I accept the terms in the License Agreement box. Then click on Next and choose the modules to install, placing a checkmark in the boxes next to it: for page numbering, you may only need Free PDFill PDF Tools. Now, click on Next, then on Install and finally on Finish to complete the installation.

Now that you have completed the installation process of PDFill Free PDF, launch the program via its icon on the desktop or in the Start menu and, on its main screen, select the Add Header and Footer option. At this point, select the file to import into the software, using the appropriate dialog box, and click on Open.

In the new screen that is shown to you, choose whether to place the numbering in the header ( Add Header ) or in the footer ( Add Footer ). At this point, choose the text to use to show the page numbers, using the appropriate text boxes: in the Text before Page Number box it indicates for example the term Page, while in the Text after Number box, it indicates the terms of [number] (instead of [number] it indicates the total number of pages of the document).

Then choose the placement of the text in the area you selected, using the Alignment drop-down menu. You can also change the font and the margin to be set, using the parameters in the area below. Finally, press the Save As button to choose the folder and name of the file to export.

PDF Split and Merge (Windows)

PDF Split and Merge is a free program for personal use, only for Windows, which allows you to edit multiple PDF files at the same time, applying custom page numbering to them, watermarking, splitting and merging multiple files and more.

If you want to find out how to number pages in PDF using it, the first step you need to take is to connect to the PDF Split and Merge website and click on Download Now, to download the program to your PC. When the download is complete, double-click on the .exe file you just downloaded and, in the screen that opens, click first on Yes and then on OK and Next.

The next step is to accept the conditions of use of the program, putting the checkmark next to the item I accept the agreement: press, therefore, on the Next button for four consecutive times, then on Install and, finally, on Finish to terminate the installation process.

At this point, start the software via its icon on the desktop or in the Start menu and, in the main screen of PDF Split and Merge, select the PDF file for which you want to number the pages, by clicking on the Add files button.

To add page numbers to the document, put the checkmark next to the Add page footer item, located at the bottom left, and select from the Select template drop-down menu the numbering style you want to adopt for your document.

For example, you can select Page {PAGE} of {NUMPAGES}  to get the numbering Page 1 of 10, or Page {PAGE}  to set one in the format Page 1 . You can freely replace the terms Page and of them with Page and of, by writing in the text field located at the bottom left of the main window of PDF Split and Merge.

Once you have set your preferences, start the procedure to number the pages in PDF by clicking on the Start Processing button and indicating the folder in which to save the version of the document with the numbered pages and assigning a name to the file. The process should take a few seconds.

You can also preview the document with the numbered pages before saving it by clicking on the Preview button. In case you don’t like the numbering format, you can freely change it, using the configuration parameters you find by pressing the Format button, located at the bottom right.

How to number PDF pages online

Don’t want to install any software to number the pages of a PDF? Then you can rely on online solutions that allow you to do this easily, regardless of the operating system installed on your PC and without worrying about tedious installation procedures.

iLovePDF

One of the best online tools for editing PDF files is iLovePDF. This service is free, but has some limitations compared to the paid version ( 6 euros/month ): for example, you can process one file at a time and this cannot exceed 15MB.

To add numbering to PDF pages, go to the iLovePDF official website and press the Select PDF File button, to import a PDF document from your PC (or simply drag and drop it into your browser window). You can also decide to import one from Google Drive or Dropbox, using the appropriate icons alongside.

At this point, in the new screen that appears, use the Position box to indicate the position where the numbering will be applied and use the other tools available to set the possible range or to ignore the initial pages.

Using the Text pop-up menu, choose a format for the page numbering. I advise you to choose the Custom item, in order to customize it in Italian: replace the term Page with Page and of with di . You can also choose any other format, just take care to keep the codes {n} and {p}, which indicate, respectively, the progressive number and the total of the pages.

When you are done, press the Add page numbers button and, after a few moments, a new screen will allow you to download the file to your PC ( Download PDF Numbered ) or import it to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Online2PDF

If you are looking for another reliable online tool to add page numbers to your PDF documents, Online2PDF is the solution for you. Again, you will find yourself faced with an online tool that has some technical limitations (a file cannot exceed 100MB and you can manage up to 150MB of files at the same time), but it is completely free.

To use Online2PDF, go to its official website and press the Select files button to upload the PDF document (or drag it to your browser window). At this point, in the drop-down menu below Convert to, make sure that the PDF item is selected.

Now, click on the Header / Footer button at the bottom and use one of the text boxes to write the code that will be used for page numbering. Keep in mind that you can use the format you want, but you will have to use (x) to indicate the progressive number and (y) for the total number of pages in the document. If you want to start from the first page, leave the value 1 in the box below.

Alternatively, by clicking inside one of the positions, you will be shown a drop-down menu with predefined templates that you can conveniently use. When you are done, press the Convert button, which you find at the bottom of the page: after a few moments, the file will automatically be downloaded to your PC.