PDF Header and Footer
Repeat a title, a date or a Page 3 of 12 line on every page of a PDF. Three boxes sit at the top and three at the bottom, each with its own text.
Add one PDF file for the header and footer.
or drop a file here
{page} becomes the page number, {total} the page count, {date} today’s date and {file} the file name.
Your PDF is handled inside this browser tab and is never uploaded.
How to use it
- Open one PDF with ‘Choose a file’, or drag it onto the page.
- Type into any of the six boxes: ‘Left’, ‘Center’ and ‘Right’ under ‘Header (top of page)’, and again under ‘Footer (bottom of page)’. The footer’s center box starts as {page} / {total}.
- Put {page}, {total}, {date} or {file} in the text wherever you want the page number, the page count, today’s date or the file name.
- Pick a ‘Text size’ and a ‘Color’. Tick ‘Skip the first page (cover)’ if the cover should stay clean, or choose ‘Page range’ under ‘Pages’.
- Look over the ‘First page preview’, click ‘Add header & footer’, then ‘Download’. The copy keeps your file name with -header added.
What it does
Six places for text
Left, center and right at the top, and again at the bottom. Each box takes up to 120 characters on one line.
Placeholders that fill themselves
{page} becomes the page number, {total} the page count, {date} today’s date and {file} the file name without its extension, worked out again on every page.
A clean cover
‘Skip the first page (cover)’ leaves page 1 empty and counts from page 2, so {page} reads 1 there and {total} is one less than the page count.
Part of the file only
Choose ‘Page range’ to limit the text to some pages. {page} still shows each page’s real number.
Any alphabet
A box that holds only Western European letters, accents included, is added as real text in Helvetica. If a box holds anything else, such as Cyrillic, Greek, Korean or Japanese, the browser draws that line as a sharp picture so it still shows correctly.
Your last texts are remembered
The six boxes, the size and the color are kept in this browser, which saves retyping a header line you use often.
Good to know
A header and footer make a pile of pages read as one document: the contract title at the top, a draft date at the bottom, Page 3 of 12 in the corner. They help on paper too. Loose sheets can be put back in order, and a file name in the footer tells you which file a printout came from.
Each box is a single line, set in from the page edge by a margin that scales with the page size and aligned left, centered or right. Nothing wraps, so keep the text short; long text in neighboring boxes can run into each other. The preview always shows the first page. With the cover skipped it still draws the text that page 2 will get, so you can judge the placement, and the saved file leaves page 1 clean.
The text is drawn onto the page itself, and this tool can’t take it back out, so keep your original file. For page numbers alone, Add Page Numbers asks for fewer choices.
Questions and answers
How do I put Page 1 of 10 in a PDF footer?
Type Page {page} of {total} into a footer box. {page} takes each page’s own number and {total} is the number of pages.
What does {date} print?
Today’s date from your device clock, written month/day/year on this English page, for example 10/22/2026. For any other format, type the date yourself.
Can I leave the title page without a header?
Yes. Tick ‘Skip the first page (cover)’ and the first page stays clean, while {page} starts at 1 on the second page.
Can I put a header on only some pages?
Yes. Under ‘Pages’, choose ‘Page range’ and enter something like 1-3, 5.
Can I write a header in Cyrillic, Korean or another script?
Yes, provided your device has a font for the characters. A box that holds such text is drawn by the browser and placed as a picture, so it looks right but can’t be selected or searched.
Can I remove a header after saving?
No. The text is drawn onto the page, so keep your original file and make a new copy when you need a change.