How to use this tool
Add Page Numbers
What this tool does
Add Page Numbers inserts footer or header numbering like "1 / 10" on every page of your PDF. Essential for printed reports, legal briefs, thesis submissions, and board packets where page references matter.
Choose bottom-center, bottom-right, bottom-left, or top-center placement. Set a custom starting number for documents that are part of a larger series.
Supported formats
Input: standard PDF (.pdf). Output: numbered PDF.
Format: "N / Total" (e.g. 3 / 12). Starting page number is configurable.
Step-by-step
Step 1: Upload your PDF.
Step 2: Select position (bottom-center is most common).
Step 3: Set start number if this PDF continues a larger document (e.g. start at 5).
Step 4: Convert and verify numbering on first and last pages.
Limitations & tips
Adds new text overlay — does not replace existing footer numbers. Password-protected PDFs fail. Roman numerals and "Page X of Y" custom formats are not supported.
If the PDF already has footer content, numbers may overlap — check output before printing.
Common use cases
Thesis submission: meet university page numbering requirements.
Legal exhibits: number evidence pages for court references.
Board reports: add page refs for meeting discussion.
Privacy & local processing
Document Converter never uploads your file for conversion. Processing uses JavaScript in your browser tab — the same security boundary as editing a document offline. Closing the tab clears the in-memory copy unless you saved the output.
We may load analytics or ads when you visit the site, but those requests do not include your document bytes. For HR records, medical forms, or unreleased designs, local conversion avoids the third-party upload step that cloud converters require.
Browser-local vs cloud upload
Cloud tools like Smallpdf and iLovePDF receive your file via HTTP upload, process it on their servers, and return a download link. That model is convenient for public PDFs but adds privacy and compliance risk for sensitive content.
Document Converter runs pdf-lib, PDF.js, Mammoth, SheetJS, or Tesseract.js directly in your browser. Open DevTools → Network while converting: you should see no POST containing your file. You trade server-side CPU for device-side privacy — often the right choice for personal and workplace documents.