Add Page Numbers

Adding page numbers works the same way as watermarking: a number is drawn as new text on top of each page's existing content, at the corner or footer position you choose, incrementing from your starting value as it moves through the document. That printed number is completely separate from anything a PDF viewer displays natively, like a 'page 3 of 20' indicator in the toolbar — the number this tool adds is baked into the page content itself and will show up the same way when printed.

This is standard practice for reports, manuscripts, legal filings and any document where a reader needs to reference 'page 12' unambiguously, or where a continuation volume needs numbering to pick up where a previous one left off — which the custom starting number handles directly.

Because the number is fixed text drawn onto the page at the time you run the tool, it won't stay in sync with later changes: if pages are deleted or reordered afterward, the printed numbers stay exactly as they were originally placed and need to be regenerated to reflect the new page count and order. It's also worth checking a document doesn't already have numbers printed in its content before adding new ones, since the two would end up overlapping.