Add Page Numbers

Getting placement and starting number right

Page numbering looks trivial until the details bite. Placement is the first choice: bottom-centre is the conventional default, bottom-outer-corner (alternating left/right) is standard for anything that will be printed double-sided and bound, and top-corner suits documents read on screen. Leave enough margin that the number doesn't collide with existing footers or get shaved off by a printer's non-printable edge.

The starting number is the part people overlook. A document often shouldn't begin its count at "1" on the very first sheet — a cover and a title page are usually unnumbered, and the visible count starts on the first page of real content. Setting the starting number (and the first page the numbers appear on) lets the printed "1" land where a reader expects it, so the printed numbers match any table of contents or cross-references.

Roman numerals, prefaces, and front matter

Formal documents follow a long-standing convention: front matter — title page, copyright, table of contents, foreword, preface — is numbered in lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii), and the Arabic count (1, 2, 3) restarts at the first page of the main body. This is why the preface of a book runs to "viii" and then Chapter 1 opens on "1" rather than "9."

The reason is practical, not decorative: front matter is often written and paginated last, so numbering it separately means adding or cutting a preface page doesn't renumber the entire body. If you're producing a report or dissertation to a style guide, number the front matter in Roman and start Arabic at the introduction.

Bates numbering for legal and discovery

• Bates numbering stamps a unique, sequential identifier — usually a fixed prefix plus a zero-padded number, like ABC-000123 — on every page across a set of documents, so each page can be cited unambiguously in litigation and discovery.
• Consistency is the whole point: the prefix identifies the producing party or matter, and the zero-padding (000123, not 123) keeps numbers the same width so they sort correctly and read cleanly in an index.
• Bates numbers run continuously across many files, not per-document. Assemble the set in the right order first — Merge PDF to combine, or Organize PDF to sequence pages — then number the whole production so each page gets one unique stamp.
• Place the stamp in a corner where it won't cover document text; a covered Bates number defeats its purpose, and re-stamping a production is a headache.
• A common mistake is numbering each file separately and getting duplicate identifiers across the set — Bates numbers must be unique across the entire production, so number it as one continuous run.