How to add page numbers at the bottom of PDF files using Acrobat X or XI

Learn how to edit a PDF by adding page numbers or inserting page numbers into PDF files.

By Donna Baker – March 26, 2012

 



In this tutorial, learn how to edit PDF by adding page numbers to PDF files using Acrobat X or XI, including how to choose fonts, change the font size, align text with a graphic and more.

View transcript

How to add page numbers at the bottom of PDF files using Acrobat X or XI

Donna Baker – March 26, 2012

To get started, in the Pages tools, click Header & Footer to open the drop-down menu, then click Add Header & Footer.

The Add Header and Footer dialog box opens. In the Preview at the bottom, Page 1 shows by default. You see the cover page’s top edge and bottom edge. Click the arrows to change the preview page. This preview shows a text page.

Now, pick a format and starting page number. Click Page Number and Date Format to open the Page Number and Date Format dialog box. Click the Page Number Format arrow and choose Page 1.Click the Start Page arrow to set the start page number at Page 3. Click OK.

We’re ready to add the footer. Click the Right Footer Text field to activate it, then click Insert Page Number. You see the formatted field and the page number shown in the preview. To pick a different font, click the Name drop-down arrow and select a new font. The text looks too small now, so click the Size drop-down arrow and pick a larger font size.

The size is fine now, but would look better if the text lined up with the graphic. To fix the bottom margin, click the Bottom margin’s Up arrow to line up the graphic and text perfectly.

We don't want the page number to show on the cover or table of contents. Click the Page Range Options link to open the Page Range Options dialog box. Click the Pages from radio button, then click the Up arrow twice so the page numbers will show starting at Page 3. Click OK to see the finished page numbers.

It's easy to change the page number settings, too. Click Header & Footer > Update. You'll see the Update Header & Footer dialog box opens. It has the same tools and options as you used for adding a new header or footer. Make the changes you like, and click OK.


Looking for more help on How to Edit PDF?

  • Consult the How to Edit interactive guide.
  • Ask a question in our forum.
  • You can leave a comment below for the author of this tutorial.

Products covered:

Acrobat XIAcrobat X

Related topics:

Edit PDFs

Top Searches:


16 comments

Comments for this tutorial are now closed.

francisc

3, 2016-01-02 02, 2016

Thanks Lori finally i got it.it will be helpfull for me.

Neeney

10, 2015-11-17 17, 2015

This was VERY useful!!! Now I don’t have to follow the rules of pre-numbering pages then printing the pdf on those pages. The scanning them. YAY!!!!! Made my load A LOT lighter creating this booklet with 5 years worth if legal decisions. Now I don’t have to keep track of pages.

Lori Kassuba

12, 2014-08-22 22, 2014

Hi Manuel,

What you’ll need to do is run the Add Header & Footer command twice. The first time add the page number to only the Odd pages (this option is located under the Page Range link). Then, run it again on the Even pages using the same technique.

Thanks,
Lori

Manuel

9, 2014-08-19 19, 2014

Hi,

Is there any way to add page numbers to the header and make the numbers appear on opposite sides like in a book? I’m creating a book to print but when I print the pages double sided the some of the page numbers will appear on the wrong corner.

Thanks,

Manuel

Lori Kassuba

3, 2013-12-13 13, 2013

Hi Dominic Agyei,

The Pages panel is only available in Acrobat and not the free Reader. If you have Acrobat XI and still don’t see the panel you can open it from the View > Tools > Pages menu command.

Thanks,
Lori

Dominic Agyei

1, 2013-12-09 09, 2013

Good day:

When I click the ‘Tools’ menu I do not find ‘Pages’ in the list.
What can I do? please help. I am using version11.0.5.

Thanks

Patty Friesen

3, 2013-11-18 18, 2013

Hi Joe,

Some of our tutorials have no audio and are marked as such in the lower right corner of the video. Dialog boxes appear on the video screen to guide you through the steps.

Hope this helps.

Patty

Joe

9, 2013-11-17 17, 2013

How do you turn the audio on? Without audio this tutorial is useless..

verity

2, 2013-09-20 20, 2013

thanks for the very useful and easy to follow instructions.

Rajib Kumar Baishnab

5, 2013-09-10 10, 2013

Thanks a lot.It will be very helpful

Patty Friesen

3, 2013-08-20 20, 2013

Hi Paul,

Some of our tutorials are text-only, no audio. Most of our no-audio tutorials have a label in the lower right corner, but it looks like this one was not labelled. I’ll ask our designer to address that.

Thanks, Patty

Paul Carroll

11, 2013-08-16 16, 2013

There is no audio on your tutorial.

Joel

5, 2013-08-06 06, 2013

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Excellent work!!!!

Judy Jasperson

3, 2013-04-17 17, 2013

Very helpful but more contrast in the video would make it easier to follow.

Arthur P

10, 2013-01-24 24, 2013

Very helpful! Can you imagine having a support staff manually number a 182 page-document using Acrobat Pro? That would be tedious! With your video, I bypassed the secretarial route.

Thanks a lot,

AkP

Adeline

12, 2012-11-02 02, 2012

Thank you for this post. It’s saved my time.

Phil

10, 2012-10-10 10, 2012

If you are using Adobe Acrobat for the Mac, the beginning is confusing.  Instead, go to:

Document menu > Header & Footer (1st item) > Add…

Kris

2, 2012-07-18 18, 2012

Short, sweet, and exactly what I needed to know.  Thank you for such a great tutorial.

donna baker

8, 2012-05-22 22, 2012

Hi David -

Thank you. Acrobat is such a cool program, isn’t it?

donna.

David Kennedy

12, 2012-05-17 17, 2012

Great and inspiring

Comments for this tutorial are now closed.