If you are a Windows 11/10 user and have some PDF file(s) with missing page numbers, then the tools covered in this post will be helpful to you. You can easily add page numbers to your PDF document which will help you know which content is available on exactly which page on a particular PDF file. These tools don’t overwrite or make any changes to the original PDF. A separate copy of your PDF file is generated.
Can I add page numbers to PDF without Adobe?
Yes, you can add page numbers to PDF without using Adobe Acrobat. There are free software as well as websites (like Smallpdf, A-PDF Number, etc.) available for adding page numbers to PDF with features like setting the start page number, selecting number type, number color, etc. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC does come with a feature to add bates numbering to PDF but that feature is available in its pro plan.
Why can’t I add Pages to my PDF?
If some security setting is applied to PDF (prevent modifying the PDF), then you won’t be able to add or remove pages from your PDF document. In that case, you need to remove the PDF restriction first. You have to enter the correct password that you set for applying security to PDF to remove the restriction.
How to add page numbers to PDF
We have covered 3 free software and 2 online tools for adding page numbers to PDF on Windows 11/10. These are:
- A-PDF Number
- Smallpdf
- PDF24 Creator
- PDFTK Builder
- AvePDF.
1] A-PDF Number
A-PDF Number is free software that you can use for both personal and commercial use. It offers different settings to customize the page numbers. For example, you can set a custom color for page numbers, add a prefix, set a position (middle bottom, left bottom, and right bottom) to display page numbers, set an offset (the page from where the numbering should start), etc. A preview pane is also there that shows a real-time preview of page numbers based on the options set by you.
You can also set Number Type (Roman Number in uppercase, Number, and Roman Number in lower case) to add page numbers to PDF, which is an interesting feature. The options to set the beginning page and end page for page numbering is also available that I find very useful. For example, when you have a PDF with hundreds or thousands of pages and you want to add page numbers from say page 1 to page 10, then those options will be very helpful.
Grab this tool from a-pdf.com and install it. Open the software interface and use the Browse button to add your PDF file. After that, you can use the options available on its interface for page numbering. Finally, press the Process button, and save the output PDF to a folder of your choice.
2] Smallpdf
If you are not bothered about the look and feel of the page numbers you are going to add to your PDF document, then Smallpdf is a nice option for you. This service provides a very simple Number Pages tool to add page numbers to a PDF document.
This tool doesn’t come with extra options like set page number color, prefix, etc. You can only set a position like the top left, top right, bottom middle, etc., for numbering the input PDF file. The good thing is you can also preview the output PDF before downloading it to your computer.
You can access it from smallpdf.com. There, use CHOOSE File button to add a PDF from your computer. If you want, you can also use the drop-down icon to add a PDF from your Google Drive or Dropbox account.
Once the PDF is uploaded, set the page number position using the right section, and then press the NUMBER PAGES button. Once it has processed the PDF, you can preview the output with page numbers. Finally, use the DOWNLOAD button to get the output PDF.
3] PDF24 Creator
PDF24 Creator is the desktop version of a service called PDF24 Tools. This toolbox brings 30+ different tools. You can use it to edit PDF documents, compare PDF documents, sign PDF documents, convert PDF to other file formats, add watermark to PDF, and much more. Add page numbers is one of such tools that you can use for numbering a PDF file.
The best part of this tool is that it supports batch processing. So, you can add multiple PDFs simultaneously and process all the files in the queue in one go.
Install this tool, uncheck the unnecessary options during the installation process, and complete the installation.
Launch PDF24 Creator and click on the Add page numbers tool. Now, add your PDF documents using the Choose files button. Once the PDF files are added, the options for page numbering like font type, font size, position, page number color, angle, etc., will be visible to you. Use options as per your requirements.
By default, the page numbers are added in {NUM} / {COUNT} format, where NUM stands for the current page number and COUNT stands for the total page count of the document. You can remove the {Count} part and/or add a prefix if needed. You can also set the values for the horizontal and vertical distancing of the numbering to the edge of the pages.
Once all the options are set, press the Add page numbers button. It will process the PDF file(s) and provide the download button to save them to your computer.
4] PDFTK Builder
PDFTK Builder is also free software that lets you split and merge PDF files, rotate PDF pages, add numbers, stamps, or background to PDF. Only one PDF file can be added to add numbers to the input PDF. You can’t select the position to add the page numbers. The page numbers are added to the bottom right part of PDF pages. A Document Protection feature is also available that you can use while adding page numbers. This feature helps to add owner and user passwords, enable/disable printing permission, content copy, and more.
After installing this tool, launch it, and then click on its Background/Stamp/Number tab. In that tab, select the Number Pages option. After that, use the Source PDF document.. button to add the input PDF file. If you want, you can also skip numbering the first page of the input PDF using the available option. Finally, press the Save As button to get the output PDF file with page numbers to any folder of your choice.
This tool doesn’t provide extra options like set font type, page number size, add a prefix, etc., but the purpose of adding page numbers to PDF is served very well.
5] AvePDF
AvePDF is an online tool that provides different tools to perform PDF-related tasks, such as compress PDF, eSign PDF, convert a PDF to other file formats, convert over 100 file formats to PDF, edit PDF, Split or Merge PDF, etc. Page Numbers is one of its tools that helps in adding page numbers to a PDF document.
Its Page Numbers tool allows you to set the font type, font size, font style, and the text style (Page #, Page # of #, etc.) for the page numbers. You can choose where you wish to position the page numbers. You can also define a custom page range if you do not wish to paginate all the pages in the document.
This tool also shows a live preview of all the changes you made to the page number settings before processing the document. Thus, you will get a good idea about how your PDF pages will look with the page numbering style set by you.
Follow the steps to know how you can add page numbers to your PDF using AvePDF’s Page Numbers tool:
- Access Page Numbers tool of avepdf.com service
- Upload a PDF from your computer using Choose File button. The maximum file size for upload is 256 MB. You can also upload PDF from your Dropbox or Google Drive account. An online PDF URL can also be added from adding the page numbers
- Adjust settings for page numbers using the Text Options section available on the left part of its interface. Numbering, appearance, positioning, and page range settings are available to use. As you adjust settings, the preview for page numbering is visible on the right section of its interface
- Once settings are made, click on the Paginate Button available on the bottom part.
Finally, the tool will process the PDF, and provide the download link to save the PDF.
That’s all! Hope this is helpful.
