An unnumbered report is an argument waiting to happen: “the table on page twelve” means nothing when nobody's copy agrees on which page is twelve, and a dropped printout cannot be reassembled in order. This tool stamps a page number on every page of your PDF — in the position and format you choose, starting from the number you choose — as real text drawn into the file, on your device.
Real text, placed by measurement
The numbers are drawn with pdf-lib (running locally in your browser) as genuine PDF text in Helvetica — not a picture of a number. That means they stay razor-sharp at any zoom, print exactly as they look, and can be selected and searched like any other text in the document. Placement is measured per page: the label sits 24 points (about 8.5 mm) in from the page edges, centred labels are centred on that page's own width, and pages of different sizes or orientations in the same file each get their number correctly placed for their own dimensions. The colour is a neutral dark grey-blue that reads on white and light-grey pages alike without shouting. Your original file is never modified — the numbered copy is a new download.
Six positions, three voices
Bottom centre, the default, is the book convention: unobtrusive, expected, and clear of the corners where printers clip and binders punch. Bottom left and right serve documents that will be bound or stapled at one side — put the number away from the binding edge. The three top positions suit slide decks and handouts that are read as a stack, where the eye lands at the top of each fresh page. The formats are three levels of formality: “Page X of Y” states everything and reassures the reader the set is complete; “X / Y” says the same compactly; plain “X” is the quiet minimum, right when the document's own furniture is already busy. Size 11 pt matches ordinary body text; drop to 10 for discretion or rise to 14 for handouts read at a distance.
The starting number is the professional feature
Real documents are not always numbered from their first leaf. A report whose cover and contents take pages 1–4 may want its first body page stamped 5; a chapter extracted from a book keeps the book's numbering; an appendix continues where the main text ended. Set “First page is number” and the whole sequence — including the “of Y” total — shifts with it: starting at 5 in a 10-page file produces “Page 5 of 14” through “Page 14 of 14”, which is the honest statement of where these pages sit in the larger document. Number a file in sections by numbering each part with its own start and merging them in order.
Private by design
Like every CalcViso file tool, this one runs entirely in your browser. The file you choose is read by this page, processed on your device, and offered back as a download — it is never uploaded to a server, never stored, and never seen by anyone else. Close the tab and it is gone from memory.
Worked example
Press the sample button to load a 3-page sample PDF created in your browser. With the defaults — bottom centre, “Page X of Y”, starting at 1, 11 pt — press Add page numbers: numbered.pdf carries “Page 1 of 3” centred at the foot of page 1, “Page 2 of 3” on page 2 and “Page 3 of 3” on page 3, in small dark type. Load the sample again, set the start to 5, and the same three pages come out as “Page 5 of 7”, “Page 6 of 7” and “Page 7 of 7”.
How to use this tool
- Drop your PDF onto the box (or create the sample).
- Choose the position — bottom centre unless binding, stapling or a slide format argues otherwise.
- Choose the format: “Page X of Y” for the full statement, “X / Y” compact, or plain “X”.
- Set the starting number: 1 for a standalone document, or the number this file's first page holds in a larger work.
- Pick a text size, press Add page numbers, and download numbered.pdf; check the first and last pages before filing it.
Numbering a document in sections
Front matter in roman numerals and body pages in arabic is a typesetting tradition this tool honours by division of labour rather than by a roman-numeral mode: split the PDF (Split PDF tool) into front matter and body, number the body here starting at 1 — or at whatever the convention of your document demands — and leave the front matter unnumbered or number it separately, then merge the parts back in order. The same trick numbers an appendix continuously with a book: extract the appendix, start its numbering where the book's last numbered page left off, and the “of Y” totals will tell the truth about the combined document.