How to number PDF pages: footer, 1 / N format and unnumbered cover

How to add page numbers to a PDF

Numbering PDF pages in AtlasDocs takes two selectors, one checkbox and one click. You pick the number format (just the number, or number / total), the footer position (left, center or right) and whether the cover stays unnumbered; the tool writes the numbering on every page and downloads a copy with the suffix -numerado. The content doesn't change: the number always goes in the footer, in gray, at a discreet size.

1. Open the Number pages tool and upload your PDF (or several at once).
2. In the format selector, pick "1, 2, 3…" for just the number or "1 / N" for number and total, which comes out as "3 / 20". In the position selector, pick "Left", "Centered" or "Right": always in the footer.
3. If the first page is a cover, check "Leave the cover (first page) unnumbered". It stays blank but still counts: the next page comes out as 2. In the "1 / N" format, the total includes the cover: in a 20-page file, the second page comes out as "2 / 20".
4. Click "Number and download" (with several files, "Number 3 PDFs"). Each PDF is downloaded with the suffix -numerado in its name.

There are no settings beyond those: the number comes out in gray, in a 12-point standard font, about a third of an inch (8 mm) from the bottom edge. The count always starts at 1 on the file's first page, and there is no option to number at the top of the page. If your style guide asks for something else, check the limits section before you start. To repeat a fixed text at the top or bottom of every page, such as a company name, that is a different tool: see how to add a header and footer to a PDF.

Why it's worth numbering

The page number is what lets you talk about a document without getting lost in it. In a contract, it's how you point to the clause that's "on page 7"; in a handout, it's what makes the table of contents work; in a report, it's what keeps the whole meeting on the same page. Without numbering, one page falling off the printer or getting shuffled in the copier is enough to make everyone lose their place.

Which format and position to choose

• Contracts and documents to sign: the format with the total ("3 / 20"), to make clear no sheet was removed from the middle.
• Handouts and reports: "Centered" is usually the cleanest and the easiest to spot when flipping through.
• Documents with a cover: check "Leave the cover (first page) unnumbered"; the cover stays clean and the body starts at 2.
• Content that runs down to the bottom of the page: choose, among left, center and right, the emptiest side. The number has no height adjustment and can land on top of the text if the footer is busy.
• Several files with the same rule: upload them all at once; each comes out numbered from 1 to its own total.

Limits: what the tool doesn't do

• It doesn't number at the top of the page: footer only, left, center or right.
• It doesn't start the count at another number: the file's first page is always 1 (even with the cover left unnumbered).
• It doesn't write "Page X of Y": the format with the total is "X / Y".
• It doesn't change font, color or size: gray, 12 points.
• Rotated pages (with the rotation saved in the file, like a scan lying sideways or pages that went through the rotate tool): the number is drawn in the sheet's original position and can show up sideways, on the left or right edge. Check the result on those pages.
• A one-page PDF with "Leave the cover (first page) unnumbered" checked: no page gets a number and the downloaded file comes out identical to the original, with no warning.
• Theses and academic work: many style guides ask for the number at the top right and a count starting on a specific page. The tool doesn't do that; check with your advisor whether the footer is accepted, or number in your word processor before exporting the PDF.

How to check and redo

Open the downloaded file and look at the second page: that's where you check the chosen format, the position and whether the number landed on any content. If you don't like it, go back to the original and generate it again with another option, because the number is drawn onto the page and the tool has no way to remove it afterward. Number several PDFs at once only when they all follow the same rule: the three options apply to the whole batch. If you still need to reorder, duplicate or extract pages, do it before numbering: see how to organize the pages of a PDF.

Everything happens in your browser: the PDF is numbered on your own device and is never sent to any server. Your document never leaves your computer.

Number last. If you still plan to delete, reorder or merge pages, the stamped numbering will be wrong, because it becomes part of the page's drawing and doesn't update on its own.