Page numbers stop being decoration the moment a document is printed and handed round a table. Without them, a bundle that gets dropped cannot be reassembled, and nobody can say “look at page fourteen” with any confidence. Merged documents are the usual culprit: each source file had its own numbering, or none at all, and the combined bundle has neither.
This tool stamps a continuous sequence onto every page using the standard Helvetica font at 11 points, positioned 24 points up from the bottom edge in a soft grey. It is deliberately unobtrusive — large enough to read on paper, quiet enough not to compete with the content.
Numbers are drawn into the document by pdf-lib running in your browser. The file is never uploaded, so numbering a confidential bundle is as private as numbering it by hand.
-numbered suffix.| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Font | Helvetica, a PDF standard font — adds nothing to file size |
| Size | 11 pt |
| Colour | Soft grey, so it reads as a page furniture rather than content |
| Vertical position | 24 pt from the bottom edge |
| Horizontal position | 36 pt in from the left or right edge, or centred |
| Format | Plain digits — no “Page 3 of 20” template |
Bottom centre is the most forgiving position. It survives being bound on either edge, it never collides with a footer that is aligned left, and it is where readers instinctively look.
Bottom right suits single-sided documents that will be stapled in the top left corner. Bottom left is the right choice when an existing footer — a document reference, a confidentiality line — already occupies the right side of the page.
One thing to watch: the number is drawn on top of whatever is already there. If your pages have a footer sitting close to the bottom edge, check a page or two after stamping to make sure the two are not overlapping.
Numbering always begins on the first page, but you choose the starting value. Setting it to 0 makes the cover page 0 and the following page 1, which is the usual way to exclude a cover.
No. Plain digits only. That keeps the stamp compact and avoids clashing with existing footers.
They might, if your footer sits very close to the bottom edge. Numbers are drawn 24 points up from the bottom, so choose a horizontal position away from your footer, and check the result.
Barely. Helvetica is one of the fourteen standard PDF fonts, so nothing needs to be embedded — only a few bytes of text per page are added.
Yes. The number is drawn as text on top of the page regardless of whether the page beneath is an image or real text.
No. pdf-lib draws the numbers inside your browser and the finished file goes straight to your downloads.