PDF watermark & page numbers. Stamped on your device.

How to use the PDF Watermark & Page Numbers tool

This tool stamps a text watermark and page numbers onto an existing PDF. It draws the text onto each page with pdf-lib and saves a new copy, while a preview of page 1 shows the result as you change the settings. Use it to mark drafts and confidential documents, or to number the pages of a file before you send it.

Step by step

1. 1
   Load the PDF

   Drop a file on the card that says "Drop a PDF here", or click it to browse. On a keyboard, focus the card and press Enter. The settings and a preview of page 1 appear, with the page count shown above the download button.

2. 2
   Write the watermark

   Add a text watermark is ticked from the start. Type your text in Watermark text, which starts as CONFIDENTIAL. Untick the box if you only want page numbers.

3. 3
   Style the watermark

   Set Font size from 10 to 160 pt (default 60), Opacity from 3% to 100% (default 18%) and Rotation from -90 to 90 degrees (default -45). Pick a Colour with the swatch. The default rotation of -45 runs the text from the top left down to the bottom right.

4. 4
   Place it

   Choose a Position: Centered (single, diagonal) puts one stamp in the middle, Tiled (repeated across page) repeats it in a grid over the whole page, and the four corner options place it flat in that corner. Rotation only applies to the centered and tiled options.

5. 5
   Pick the pages

   Leave Apply to pages blank to watermark every page, or type pages and ranges such as 1-3, 5. Numbers outside the document are skipped, and if none are valid the watermark goes on every page.

6. 6
   Add page numbers

   Tick Add page numbers. Choose a Format of 1, 1 / N or Page 1 of N, a Position at the top or bottom edge, a Start at number (default 1) and a Font size from 7 to 28 pt (default 11). Page numbers always go on every page.

7. 7
   Download the stamped copy

   Check the line above the button, which lists what will be applied, for example Watermark → all 12 pages. Press Apply & download to save the result as your file name followed by -stamped.pdf. Press New PDF to start over with another file.

Reading the preview and output

• The preview shows page 1 only. The same stamp goes on every page you selected, placed the same way relative to each page's size.
• The preview always draws the watermark on page 1, even when your page range leaves page 1 out. The download follows the range.
• With Start at set to 5 on a 10 page file, the numbers run from 5 to 14, so 1 / N shows 5 / 14 on the first page and Page 1 of N shows Page 5 of 14.
• Page numbers are printed in a near black color in Helvetica. Their color and font cannot be changed.

Tips and common mistakes

• Keep the opacity low, around the default 18%, so the text underneath stays readable. The watermark is drawn on top of the page, over images as well as text.
• The watermark uses the standard Helvetica Bold font, which covers basic Latin letters. Text in other scripts or with emoji can make the download fail with an error.
• Password protected PDFs cannot be opened here. Remove the password in your PDF reader first.
• A text watermark marks a document but does not lock it. It is ordinary text on the page, so a PDF editor can remove it.
• Your original file is not changed. The tool always saves a new copy.

Privacy and limits

The PDF is read, previewed and stamped in your browser with the pdf.js and pdf-lib libraries, which load from this site. Nothing is uploaded, and the file only stays in memory until you load another or leave the page. Very large PDFs depend on your device's memory.

Back to the tool

Everything a stamping tool should do.

• Stamp a text watermark, CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, a client name or any custom text, across every page or a chosen range.
• Control opacity and rotation so the watermark sits clearly on the page without blocking the content underneath.
• Choose a position: centered on the diagonal, tiled repeat across the whole page, or any of the four corners.
• Add page numbers in three formats, simple, “1 / N” or “Page 1 of N”, at any edge or corner, starting from any number.
• Pick any watermark colour with the built-in colour picker and see the live preview of page one update instantly.
• Download a clean PDF in one click, entirely in your browser with no upload and no size limit.

Frequently asked questions.

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