Add Page Numbers — Bottom, Top, Any Corner, Your Format

Numbering a thesis without counting the cover

Add page numbers stamps selectable text — a plain number, 'Page 3', '3 / 12' or 'Page 3 of 12' — onto your PDF pages in any of 7 positions, right in the browser. Worked example, a 14-page thesis whose cover shouldn't count: load the PDF, set the range to 2-14, set the start number to 1, and page 2 prints '1' at bottom center in 11-point type. The margin box defaults to 28 points — 28 ÷ 72 is about 0.39 inches from the edge — and you can push it to 120 points, roughly 1.67 inches, if a binding gutter would swallow the number. The live preview shows page 1 with your exact settings before you commit.

One honest limitation: the formats are arabic numerals only — there's no roman-numeral mode, so academic front matter numbered i, ii, iii needs a second pass or a desktop editor. For everything else, work the preview like a proof sheet. If a number sits too close to the trim, raise the margin in 12-point steps — 28, 40, 52 — since 12 points is exactly one-sixth of an inch. Overshooting the range is safe too: ask for 2-99 on a 14-page file and it simply stops at the last page.