This tutorial shows how to add page numbers to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
[Typewriter sounds]
Hello, my name is Erin.
I’m a technical writer and editor who shares step-by step software tutorials and writing tips for the real world on this channel
and on my blog at erinwrightwriting.com.
Today we’re going to look at how to add page numbers to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
We’ll also look at how to update page numbers and how to add page numbers to the opposite side of each page.
I’ll be using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
These steps will also work in Acrobat Standard DC, Acrobat 2020, and Acrobat 2017.
Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, does not offer a way to insert page numbers in PDFs.
To begin adding page numbers, select the Tools tab.
Then, select the Edit PDF button in the Tools Center.
Next, select Header & Footer in the Edit PDF toolbar.
Followed by Add from the drop-down menu.
When the Add Header and Footer dialog box appears, place your cursor in the location where you want to insert the page number.
You can choose the left, center, or right of the header,
or the left, center, or right of the footer.
After you’ve chosen your location, select the Page Number and Date Format link.
If you want to, you can choose a different format from the Page Number Format menu.
If you want the page numbers to start with a number other than 1,
enter that number into the Start Page Number textbox.
When you’re finished, select the OK button.
Now, select the Insert Page Number button.
A preview of your page numbers will appear in the Preview section.
You can also change the font, font size, underlining, font color, or margins.
Your changes will appear in the Preview section.
If you want to insert the page numbers within a specific page range or only on even or odd pages, select the Page Range Options link.
Then, enter a page range.
Or, choose All pages in range, Even pages only, or Odd pages only from the Subset menu in the Page Range Options dialog box.
Select the OK button when you’re finished.
Finally, select the OK button to close the Add Header and Footer dialog box.
Your new page numbers should be added to your PDF immediately.
The page numbers we added in the previous section won’t automatically update if you insert additional pages.
However, you can manually update the page numbers, as necessary.
If you would like to learn how to add additional blank pages to your PDF, please see my other tutorial called
“How to Create a Blank PDF in Adobe Acrobat,” which is linked in the description box below.
To begin updating your page numbers, select the Tools tab.
And then select the Edit PDF button in the Tools Center.
Now, select Header & Footer in the Edit PDF toolbar,
Followed by Update from the drop-down menu.
Now, unless you want to change the appearance or format of your page numbers,
simply select the OK button in the Update Header and Footer dialog box.
Your page numbers should be updated immediately.
You may want to add the page numbers on a specific side for even and odd pages if your PDF will be bound like a book.
For this example, we will place the page numbers on the left side of the even pages and the right side of the odd pages.
To begin, we are going to return to the Add Header and Footer dialog box by selecting the Tools tab.
Edit PDF,
Header & Footer
and Add from the drop-down menu.
Now place your cursor in the Left Header Text or Left Footer Text textbox.
And then select the Insert Page Number button.
Next, select the Page Range Options link.
And choose "Even pages only" from the Subset menu in the Page Range Options dialog box
followed by the OK button.
Make any format or style changes you would like, as we did in the first section.
Then, select the OK button to close the Add Header and Footer dialog box.
Now, reselect the Header & Footer button.
And once again select Add from the drop-down menu.
An information dialog box will appear stating that you already have a header or footer.
Select the Add New button acknowledging that you want to add another.
This time place your cursor in the Right Header Text or Right Footer Text textbox.
And once again select the Insert Page Number button.
Followed by the Page Range Options link.
When the Page Range Options dialog box appear again, select "Odd pages only" followed by the OK button.
Finally, select the OK button to close the Add Header and Footer dialog box.
Your page numbers should appear on the left side of the even pages and the right side of the odd pages.
As always, remember to save your PDF to save your changes.
I have created many other videos about Adobe Acrobat, including “How to Convert PDFs to Microsoft Word Files in Adobe Acrobat”
and “How to Adjust Line Spacing in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat.”
Please see the playlist titled “How to Use Adobe Acrobat,” which is linked below, for the complete list.
The companion blog post for this video listing all the steps we just performed appears on
erinwrightwriting.com, which is also linked below.
Feel free to leave me a comment if there’s a specific topic related to Adobe Acrobat,
Microsoft Word, or Google Docs at that you would like me to talk about in the future.
And please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss future tutorials.
And give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!
[Typewriter sounds]