PDFTEQ Engineering
PDFTEQ Engineering Document Architecture Team
Published: Apr 10, 2025 Updated: Aug 16, 2026
6 min read

Quick answer

Open the PDFTeq Add Page Numbers tool , select your PDF, choose a position, select the page where numbering should begin, choose a format such as Page {n} of {total}, and process the document. The PDF is processed locally in your browser rather than uploaded by the tool.

Page numbers make reports, assignments, legal documents, manuals and other multi-page PDFs easier to navigate. You do not need to convert a PDF back to Word just to add pagination. A PDF page-numbering tool can place the numbers directly onto the existing PDF pages.

How to add page numbers to a PDF

  1. Open the PDFTeq tool.

    Go to Add Page Numbers to PDF .

  2. Select your PDF.

    Choose a PDF from your device or use the drag-and-drop area.

  3. Choose the number position and size.

    Available positions include bottom center, top center, bottom right and top right.

  4. Choose the starting page.

    For example, enter 2 if the first page is a cover page that should remain unnumbered.

  5. Choose the number format and process the PDF.

    You can use {n} for the running number and {total} for the number of pages being numbered.

Why PDFTeq processes the PDF in your browser

PDFTeq's Add Page Numbers tool uses the JavaScript pdf-lib library to modify the PDF in the browser. The PDF file is read into browser memory and the resulting document is generated locally.

Verify the processing yourself: open your browser's Developer Tools, select the Network tab and process a PDF. The tool does not send the selected PDF to a PDF processing server.

How to skip a cover page when numbering a PDF

If your document has an unnumbered cover page, set Start numbering from page to 2. Page 1 will remain without a number and page 2 will receive number 1.

The same approach can be used when a document contains a title page, introductory material or another section that should remain unnumbered.

How to create a Page X of Y format

Enter:

Page {n} of {total}

The {n} placeholder represents the running number. The {total} placeholder represents the number of pages being numbered.

For example, if a 10-page PDF is numbered from page 1, the final page will display: Page 10 of 10.

Page numbering vs. Bates-style numbering

Standard page numbering is designed primarily for document navigation. A format such as Page 3 of 12 tells the reader where the current page sits within the numbered document.

Bates numbering is commonly associated with legal and document-review workflows where documents receive unique sequential identifiers. PDFTeq can create Bates-style labels within one PDF, such as:

  • CASE-1
  • CASE-2
  • EXHIBIT-A-3

This is not full multi-document Bates stamping. PDFTeq does not currently maintain one shared Bates sequence across multiple separate PDF files.

What happens to the original PDF?

The tool creates a new PDF containing the page-number text. Your original file remains on your device unless you choose to replace or delete it yourself.

The existing PDF pages are not converted into images as part of the numbering operation. The number is added as PDF text.

PDFTeq page numbering features

Start from any page

Start numbering from page 1, page 2 or another page in the document.

Four positions

Choose top center, bottom center, top right or bottom right.

Custom formats

Use {n} and {total} placeholders for flexible page-number formats.

Browser processing

The selected PDF is processed locally in your browser.

Common questions

Yes. Set Start numbering from page to 2. Page 1 remains unnumbered and numbering starts with 1 on page 2.

Yes. Enter Page {n} of {total} in the number format field.

The Add Page Numbers tool processes the selected PDF locally in your browser. The PDF itself is not uploaded to a PDF processing server.

Yes, you can create sequential labels such as CASE-1 or EXHIBIT-A-1 within a single PDF. This is not full multi-document Bates stamping.

Not currently. Unlock the PDF using software that supports its password or encryption settings, then process the unlocked file.

Ready to add page numbers?

Choose the position, starting page and number format, then process your PDF in your browser.

Open Add Page Numbers

Free • No sign-up • Browser-based processing

PDFTEQ Engineering

Written by PDFTEQ Engineering

Document tooling team

PDFTeq builds browser-based document tools and documents the capabilities that are available in the published tools. Features described in this guide are intended to match the current tool implementation.