Start page numbers on page 2 or 3 and skip the cover

The short answer: two settings do it

Open Add Page Numbers, add your PDF, and look at two settings: Pages to number, and First number. Together they decide everything.

• To start on page 2, choose All but the first. The cover stays bare.
• To start on page 3 or later, choose Only some and type the pages, like 3- (page 3 to the end) or 3-12.
• To choose what the first numbered page says, change First number. It starts at 1.

These are the four most common wishes, and the settings for each:

Every page's card shows its result before anything is saved, so you can try the settings and watch the cards change. Nothing is saved until you press Add page numbers.

How the counting works, in three rules

1. You choose the pages. All pages, All but the first, or the pages you type. Every other page is left bare.
2. The first chosen page shows First number. That is the only place the number is set.
3. After that the numbers go up by one, page by page, with no gaps. A bare page in the middle does not use up a number.

Here is a 12-page PDF with a cover, in the plain style 1, numbered four ways:

• Setup A: All but the first, First number 1.
• Setup B: All but the first, First number 2.
• Setup C: Only some, 3-12, First number 1.
• Setup D: Only some, 3-12, First number 3.

Look at B and D. From page 3 on, the number printed on each page is the same as its place in the file: page 12 says 12. Many people like that, because "see page 12" then means the same thing on paper and on screen. In A and C, every page says one or two less than its place in the file.

Skip only the cover: should page 2 say 1 or 2?

Both are right. It depends on who will use the numbers.

Page 2 says 1 (First number 1)

Choose this when the numbered part is treated as the report itself: the first chapter is on page 1, the contents list is written that way, and the cover is not counted. Some format sheets ask for exactly this, so follow your college's rule if it has one.

Page 2 says 2 (First number 2)

Choose this when people will jump to a page on screen. A PDF reader shows its own page counter, like 3 / 12. It counts from the first page of the file, so the cover is 1 (unless the PDF carries custom page labels, which some readers show instead). If your printed numbers agree with it, "see page 7" leads to the page that says 7. The guide explains the difference between the reader's numbers and the printed ones.

If no rule tells you which, 2 is the simpler choice: every printed number then matches the reader's counter, which helps most when the file is read on screen or sent by WhatsApp or email. Choose 1 when your contents list, or your format sheet, starts counting after the cover.

In our tests (Chromium 141, the browser Chrome is built on, on a Linux computer), we tried both. The 6-page sample report, numbered All but the first as Page 1 of 5, is the "page 2 says 1" setup, and took 0.1 seconds. A 14-page research paper, numbered 2/14 to 14/14 from page 2, is the "page 2 says 2" setup, and took 0.2 seconds. The guide lists the sizes in its test results.

Start on page 3 or later with Only some

Choose Only some under Pages to number, and a box appears. Type the pages that should get a number. Commas separate the parts, and a dash makes a range. A dash with nothing after it, like 8-, means page 8 to the end. Here is what to type for a 14-page PDF:

The box counts pages from the first page of the PDF, not by the numbers printed on them. The hint under the box says the same.

A gap does not use up a number

Remember rule 3. Type 1-5, 7-10 on a 10-page PDF, with First number 1, and page 7 gets the number 6, because 6 is the next number after 5. If page 7 must say 7, you can use two rounds:

1. Number pages 1-5 with First number 1, in the plain style 1, and download the new PDF.
2. Take the first file off the page with the X on its heading, then add the new PDF. Choose Only some, type 7-, and set First number to 7.

Each round only adds numbers to the pages you choose and leaves the rest alone, so the numbers from the first round stay. Use the plain style 1 for this, and keep the same position, size and distance in both rounds so the numbers look alike. Page 1 of 9 and 1/9 work out their totals separately in each round (5 in the first, 10 in the second here), so they would not match.

If you type a page the PDF doesn't have, the box turns red and says what is wrong, for example that the PDF has 12 pages, so there is no page 15. Nothing is saved until you fix it.

A report with a cover, certificate and contents

Project reports and theses often start with pages that are not part of the main text: a cover, a certificate, a declaration, acknowledgements and a contents list. Many formats leave the cover bare. Many theses also number these front pages with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) and start the chapters at 1. Your college's format sheet has the final word. For the whole job, from joining the files to checking the result, see how to add page numbers to a PDF report or thesis.

What this tool can do

It can leave the front pages bare and put 1 on the first page of Chapter 1. Say the front pages run to page 6, and the PDF has 80 pages. Choose Only some, type 7-, and leave First number at 1. Page 7 says 1, and page 80 says 74.

What it can't do

It can't write Roman numerals. The numbers here are 0, 1, 2 and up. So there are two cases:

• The front pages already show i, ii, iii. This happens when the PDF was saved from a Word file that had them. Use Only some and type just the chapter pages. The new numbers go only on those pages, and the front pages keep what they have.
• The front pages have no numbers and must have Roman ones. This tool can't add them. The nearest you can do here is to leave the front pages bare. If you still have the Word file, Word can number the front pages in Roman numerals and the chapters from 1: do it there and save the PDF again.

Annexures and appendices

Decide whether the pages at the end continue the count. To number them, type a range that runs to the end, like 7-. To leave them bare, stop the range before them, like 7-70. In the Page 1 of 9 style, the total is the last number shown, so bare annexures are not part of it, as the next part shows.

Page 1 of 11 or Page 2 of 12? How the total is worked out

In the Page 1 of 9 and 1/9 styles, the second number is the number on the last numbered page. It is not the length of the file. That is how the total stays right when you skip pages or start from another number. For the same 12-page PDF as before, in the Page 1 of 9 style:

In B and D the total is 12, the real length of the file, which is what most readers expect to see. In A and C the total counts only the numbered pages, which is also correct, but it means something different. Choose the one that matches how you describe the document.

Two cases can look odd. If the numbered pages stop before the end, as with 3-12 and First number 3 on a 14-page PDF, the last numbered page says "Page 12 of 12" although the file has 14 pages. And if First number is high, such as 5 with All pages on a 10-page PDF, the pages say Page 5 of 14 up to Page 14 of 14. Both are right: the total is where the count ends.

Part 2 of a document: start at 41

First number takes any whole number from 0 to 99999, so one PDF can continue another. Say your assignment is in two files, and the first has 40 pages, already numbered 1 to 40. Open the second, choose All pages, and set First number to 41. If it has 20 pages, they read 41 to 60. In the Page 1 of 9 style, they read Page 41 of 60 up to Page 60 of 60.

Two things to know:

• Every PDF added at one time gets the same First number. Each is numbered on its own, starting from it. So number part 2 by itself.
• If both parts will end up in one file, join them first. Number the parts separately in the Page 1 of 9 style and part 1 says "of 40" while part 2 says "of 60". Join the parts with Merge PDF and number once, and every page says "of 60". The guide's part on several PDFs has more.

Check the cards, then check the saved file

Before you save, read the line under each card. Page 1 should say No number, and the first numbered page should say what you planned, such as Shows "1" or Shows "Page 2 of 12". The line above the cards sums it up. For Setup C it would read "10 pages get the numbers 1 to 10." If the sum is not what you meant, change a setting and look again. If the First number box turns red, it needs a whole number, like 1.

After you save, open the new file and look at four pages: the cover, which should be bare, the first numbered page, the last page, and a landscape page if there is one. Then compare a printed number with the reader's own counter, like 3 / 12. If you started at 1, they will differ by one or two, which is expected. If you wanted them to agree, set First number to match the page's place in the file and number the original again.

The numbered copy is a new file named after yours, like report-numbered.pdf. Your original is never changed. That is your safety net, because numbers can't be taken out of the new copy.

Common mix-ups and how to fix them

• The cover still has a number. Pages to number is still on All pages. Choose All but the first, or Only some.
• I typed 3-12 and page 3 says 1, but I wanted 3. Set First number to 3.
• The last page says "of 12" but my PDF has 14 pages. The total is the last number shown. See the part on totals.
• Two numbers on one page. The PDF already had numbers, perhaps from Word. A new number is drawn over whatever is in that place. Pick another corner, or number a copy that has none.
• Several PDFs all start at the same number. That is how it works: they share First number. Number part 2 on its own, as above.
• The box under Only some is red. Read what it says. A page may not exist, a range may run backwards (write the smaller page first), or a piece may not be a page or a range.
• You numbered it wrong. Start again from the original, because numbers can't be taken out of the new copy. That is why your original is never changed.

More questions

Can I leave out the last page too?

Yes. Type a range that stops before it, like 2-13 on a 14-page PDF.

Can I number only the odd pages?

You can choose pages like 1, 3, 5, 7, but the numbers still count one after another: 1, 2, 3, 4. Numbers that match the pages, 1, 3, 5, 7, aren't possible in one round.

Can two parts of one PDF have different styles?

Not in a single round. But you can run two rounds on the same file, as in the part on gaps, and pick different options each time.

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?

No. The numbers are added inside your own browser, and the new PDF is saved straight to your device. There is no sign-up and no watermark.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes, there is no app to install. Open the page in Chrome on Android, or in Safari on iPhone and iPad, choose your PDF, set the options and save. The options come first, then the cards. Our tests ran in Chromium with phone screen sizes; Safari should work the same way, but we did not test it on a real iPhone.