Page numbers wrong? Find the cause and fix it

What you see, and where to look

Add Page Numbers shows every page's card before you save, with a yellow patch where its number goes and a line like Shows "Page 2 of 9" under it. Most problems can be seen there, so you can fix them without redoing the job. Find yours:

The number lands on something already printed, or the size is wrong

The numbers are drawn on top of the page. They don't move the page's contents out of the way, so a number can land on a footer, a logo or a stamp. The yellow patch on each card shows where it will go. To fix a clash:

1. Pick another place. There are six: top or bottom, and left, centre or right. If the bottom is busy, as on forms with a footer or bank statements with small print, top right is often free.
2. Change the distance from the edge. Near is 0.6 cm, Normal 1.3 cm and Far 1.9 cm. Moving the number closer to the edge (Near) or further in (Far) can clear a footer that sits at one height.
3. Make it smaller. Small is 9 points, Medium 11 points and Large 14 points.
4. Check a busy page. Judge by the card of the fullest page, not the first one, which is often a cover.

Near fits more on a crowded page, but some printers can't print that close to the edge of the paper. Choose Normal or Far for pages that will be printed.

The numbers look too small, or too big

• Too small on the cards. That's expected. The cards are small pictures, and the saved PDF shows the numbers at full size. The line under each card says what the number will be.
• Too small in the saved PDF. Choose Large, 14 points, for slides, posters and papers that will be read from a distance. Medium is 11 points, close to the body text of most documents.
• Too big or heavy. Choose Small, 9 points, for pages with small print.
• Colour and font. Numbers are black Helvetica. There's no choice of font or colour.

A point is the unit for the size of type: 72 points make an inch, about 2.5 cm.

Wrong first number, or a total that looks too small

Page 2 says 1, and I wanted it to say 2

With All but the first, the first page stays bare, and the second page gets the number in First number, which starts at 1. To count the cover, so the second page says 2, set First number to 2. The card then reads Shows "2".

The same three options work for other layouts: Only some numbers the pages you type, one after another, starting from First number. So for a report with a cover, a certificate and a contents page that should start numbering at page 4, type 4- and set First number to 1 (if page 4 should say 1), or to 4 (if it should say 4). The page Add page numbers to PDF starting from page 2 or 3 has worked examples, and First number can also continue another PDF: if part 1 ended on page 40, start part 2 at 41.

"Page 1 of 11" in a 12-page file

In the styles Page 1 of 9 and 1/9, the second number is the last number shown, not simply the number of pages in the file. If you skip a cover in a 12-page PDF and number the rest from 1, the pages say Page 1 of 11 up to Page 11 of 11. That way the count always matches what readers see.

If you want the total to count the cover, so the pages say Page 2 of 12 and so on, set First number to 2. The last page then shows Page 12 of 12. The cards tell you in advance: read the line under the last card.

If you'd rather not have a total at all, pick the style Page 1 or 1, which show only the number.

The numbers are sideways on some pages

Numbers are placed on the page as a reader sees it, after any turn or crop. So bottom right is the bottom right corner a reader sees, on every page, portrait or landscape. We checked this with a 4-page scan whose pages are turned a quarter, a half and three quarters of a turn, with the first page cropped. Every number landed in the corner we chose, the right way up.

If a number looks sideways against the page, it is because the page's contents were already sideways to begin with, as happens in scans. The number stands upright for the reader, and the page's contents do not. The fix:

1. Turn the sideways pages upright with Rotate PDF.
2. Number the turned copy again. Start from the original or the turned copy, not from a numbered file, because numbers can't be taken off again.

The post Fix a sideways or upside-down scanned PDF shows how.

The numbers start again at 1 in the middle

Two causes, both from the order of the jobs:

• You numbered before merging. Numbers added to each part start again at 1 in each part, and pages moved after numbering end up out of order. The cure is to join the files first with Merge PDF, put the pages in order with Organize PDF if needed, and number the finished file once.
• You added several PDFs at once. Each file is numbered on its own, starting from First number. That is useful for a set of separate files, but not for one long run. To number 1 to 40 across all of them, merge them first.

The same rule helps with size limits: number first, then shrink last, so that the limit is checked on the very file you upload. Numbering a PDF made from several files in the guide gives the whole order.

Roman numerals, Hindi digits and other styles

The tool offers four styles: 1, Page 1, Page 1 of 9 and 1/9. Some wishes are outside that:

• Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) or letters. Not available. For a document with an introduction numbered i, ii, iii and a main part numbered 1, 2, 3, split it with Split PDF, number the main part here, and join the parts again with Merge PDF. The introduction keeps whatever numbers it had.
• Devanagari or other digits, or the word "Page" in Hindi. Not available. The standard font has Latin letters and digits only, and the words "Page" and "of" are in English. A plain number (style 1) works for a document in any language.
• Different positions on odd and even pages (outside corners, as in books). Not available. The number sits in the same place on every page. Bottom centre is the usual choice for a report or thesis.
• Prefixes such as A-1 or a legal numbering style. Not available. Bates numbering, with a prefix and a fixed number of digits, is not one of the styles.
• Choice of font or colour. Not available. Numbers are black.

If you need these, a word processor does them well while you're still writing. Our tool is for numbering a finished PDF, and the post Add page numbers to a PDF report or thesis explains when each is the better fit.

The PDF reader shows a different number

Readers show a page number of their own in the toolbar, like "3 / 12". That is the page's place in the file, and it isn't printed on the page. If you skip a cover, the toolbar still calls the second page "2" while the page itself says 1. Most people never notice. If it matters, set First number to 2 so both agree. Some PDFs also carry page labels, such as i, ii and iii, which the toolbar shows instead. Add Page Numbers prints numbers on the page and doesn't change the reader's numbers or the labels. Why the PDF reader shows one page number and the page another explains it fully.

The button is off, or the file is special

The Add page numbers button can't be pressed

The button waits until every option makes sense. A box with a problem gets a stronger outline, and the line under it says what is wrong. The usual causes:

• First number must be a whole number from 0 to 99999. A letter, a decimal point or an empty box stops it.
• Only some needs pages typed, like 3-12, or 2-5, 8-, where 8- means page 8 to the end. If you name a page the PDF doesn't have, the box says so, and nothing is saved until it is fixed.
• The file is locked. A PDF that needs a password to open can't be used until it is unlocked, as described below.

Locked, signed or very large files

"Locked with a password."

The file needs a password to open, so it can't be used here. Remove the password with Unlock PDF, which needs the password, then number the unlocked copy.

Only editing is restricted.

That file is numbered anyway, and the new PDF opens without those restrictions. The result says so.

A digital signature stopped being valid.

A signed PDF can be numbered, but the changed copy no longer carries a valid signature, and the result says that too. If the signature matters, send the signed original.

"These files are too big to handle in this browser's memory."

Number fewer files at a time, or use a computer, which usually has more memory than a phone.

The numbers can't be taken off.

Added for good. Keep your original, which the tool never changes, and number it again with new settings. The new file is named after it, like report-numbered.pdf.

A one-minute check that catches almost everything

1. Put the file in its final order first, merged and with unwanted pages removed.
2. Choose the place, style, pages and First number, then read the line above the cards, like "5 pages get the numbers 1 to 5."
3. Look at the busiest page's card for a clash, and at the last card for the right total.
4. Save, then open the numbered file and look at one page in the middle and the last page.

Try as many times as you need

There is no upload step, so trying again costs nothing. Your PDF is never sent anywhere: your own browser draws the page pictures and adds the numbers. The page contacts only this site and Google's ad service, which shows the ads that keep the tools free, and our code never gives your files to the ad code. The privacy policy has the details.