PDF Page Numbers

How PDF Page Numbers works

Add page numbers to a PDF, with three formats and positions. Choose start number, position and style (1, 1 of 10, Page 1); every page is numbered locally. Everything happens inside this page: the tool reads your input, runs the calculation or conversion locally, and hands the result back to you. Nothing is transmitted, because there is no backend to transmit it to.

That design choice is deliberate. Most free tool sites upload your files to a server, process them there, and quietly keep a copy. Toolcin cannot do that — the site is a set of static files. If your connection dropped the moment the page finished loading, every tool would still work.

Numbering that starts where you choose

The start value sets the first page's number, so a chapter excerpt can begin at 41 rather than 1. Position options are top centre, bottom centre and the bottom corners.

Numbers are drawn as text on each page, which means they print, they survive conversion, and they cannot be accidentally hidden by a viewer setting.

Why the start value matters

Printing a document in two runs — chapters 1–5 then 6–10 — needs the second run to continue from the first. Starting at 1 on both produces two page 1s in the bound copy.

The same applies to appendices and to documents assembled from several PDFs.

Margins and overlap

The number is placed inside the existing margin. A document with almost no bottom margin will have the number sit very close to the edge, and a printer may clip it — check one page before printing the run.

Bottom centre is the safest choice for documents that will be bound or hole-punched, because the corners are what get trimmed.

Good to know

• Works offline once loaded, including on flights and in locked-down networks.
• No file size limit beyond your device's own memory.
• Free to use, with no account and no usage counter.
• Results are produced locally, so they are not logged or shared with anyone.

Questions