PDF Page Marking Planner

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Source PDF:

Choose one PDF or create the safe four-page sample.

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Marks to add:

Both is useful for navigable review packets that also need a visible status mark.

Pages to mark:

Examples: all except cover, odd, 2-5, 4-end, 1,3,8.

Output filename:

Leave blank for a sanitized source-name plus -marked.pdf.

{{ outputFilename }}{{ computation.values.selected_page_count }} pages marked · {{ formatBytes(outputBytes.length) }}

The chart renderer is unavailable. The exact page ledger remains available.

PDF page	Number label	Number position	Watermark	Watermark placement	Copy
{{ row.page }}	{{ row.numberLabel }}	{{ row.numberPosition }}	{{ row.watermark }}	{{ row.watermarkPlacement }}

Review notes

Before distribution

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A PDF can lose the context that surrounded it when pages are printed, extracted, merged, or forwarded. Visible page numbers give readers a stable way to cite and reassemble a packet. A watermark carries a short status such as DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, or REVIEW COPY on the page itself.

Purposes and limits of visible PDF marks
Mark	Useful for	Does not provide
Page number	Navigation, citations, print sorting, and packet checks	A change to the PDF's internal page labels or bookmarks
Watermark	Status, handling, ownership, or review notices	Encryption, redaction, access control, or tamper resistance

Visible numbers can differ from both printed source numbers and the page label shown by a viewer. A selected sequence can also start at a number other than 1 or use Roman numerals and letters. Decide which audience should follow the new visible sequence, then make the format explicit enough that “page 5” cannot refer to three different things.

Placement is part of correctness. Footer numbers can collide with existing text, side positions may need to alternate across facing pages, and a large opaque watermark can hide names or signatures. Rotated source pages need special attention because their stored coordinate system and their apparent reading orientation may differ.

Marks are drawn into a new copy of the PDF. Keep the original, inspect the result at normal zoom and in print when relevant, and do not use a visible watermark as evidence that copying, editing, cropping, or removal has been prevented.

How to Use This Tool:

Choose one unlocked PDF of no more than 75 MiB and 500 pages, then define one shared page scope for the selected marks.

Load the source PDF and choose Page numbers and watermark, Page numbers only, or Watermark only.
Enter Pages to mark with a phrase such as all except cover, odd, 2-5, 4-end, or 1,3,8.
For numbers, keep {n} in Number format and choose the visible anchor. For a watermark, enter its text and choose a single placement.
Use Advanced for numbering style, start value, size, color, margins, facing-page mirroring, watermark rotation, opacity, offsets, tiling, or output name.
Select Mark PDF. If processing is unavailable, correct the first range, format, text, size, or page-limit message.
Compare the first and last number labels and inspect the page ledger. Download the new copy and check the first, middle, and last marked pages in another viewer.

Interpreting Results:

The marked-page count proves how many source positions received the selected operation. The ledger is more specific: it shows each source page, its generated number label, resolved number position, watermark text, and watermark placement.

Check the first, a middle, and the last selected page so sequence errors are not hidden by a correct first label.
Use the marked-versus-unmarked distribution to catch a selector that is too broad or too narrow.
Inspect every rotated source page and any page with dense footer, header, or center content.
Treat a completed download as successful file creation, not proof of readability, security, or signature validity.

Technical Details:

The page selector is one-based and always resolves to source PDF positions. The accepted words are all, cover or first, last or end, odd, and even. Single pages, closed ascending ranges, and open ranges such as -5 and 7-end are also accepted. all except starts with every page and removes the following comma-, semicolon-, or “and”-separated selectors.

Transformation Core

Selected pages are deduplicated and sorted into ascending source order. A running number advances only across that selected set; unselected pages receive no new mark and do not consume a sequence value.

Page-number format tokens and sequence styles
Item	Meaning	Example
`{n}`	Current generated sequence value; required	`Page {n}`
`{total}`	Number of selected pages, formatted in the chosen sequence style	`{n} of {total}`
`{page}`	Original source page position	`Sheet {page}`
`{docTotal}`	Total pages in the source PDF	`{page}/{docTotal}`
Sequence styles	Arabic, zero-padded, upper/lower Roman, or upper/lower alphabetic	`01`, `iv`, `C`

The start number must be a whole number from 1 through 999999. Zero padding uses the width of the last generated sequence value, with a minimum width of two characters. The number format must contain {n} and be no longer than 80 characters; watermark text is limited to 120 characters.

Placement Rule Core

Number anchors support top or bottom placement at the left, center, or right. Margins are measured in PDF points and constrained to 12-144 pt; font size is 8-24 pt. Facing-page mirroring changes a side anchor to right on odd source pages and left on even source pages. Center anchors do not alternate.

A single watermark supports nine anchors, rotation from -90 through 90 degrees, size from 12 through 120 pt, opacity from 5% through 100%, and horizontal or vertical offsets from -240 through 240 pt. Tiled mode ignores the single anchor and offsets, then repeats the text at 120-480 pt spacing with a bounded stamp count. Coordinates are kept within each page box where the single text extent allows it.

Formula Core

Coverage reports the share of source pages selected for marking.

C_{%} = \frac{N_{selected}}{N_{source}} \times 100

The percentage is calculated from exact page counts. It does not measure how much page area the marks cover or whether the marks remain readable.

Privacy and Responsible Use:

The source bytes, page geometry, and generated PDF remain in browser memory for the current page. Only non-file settings can be included in a shared link. The source PDF is not uploaded.

Adding visible text modifies PDF bytes and can invalidate or restrict existing digital signatures.
A watermark is a notice, not a security control. Use encryption, permissions, rights management, and access policy where the workflow requires them.
Do not cover content that must remain legible, including signatures, dates, form fields, accessibility cues, and statutory notices.
Malformed, encrypted, or memory-intensive files may fail; keep the original and verify the downloaded copy independently.

Worked Examples:

Number a packet without its cover

For a 12-page source, all except cover selects pages 2-12. With start number 1 and format Page {n} of {total}, source page 2 receives “Page 1 of 11” and source page 12 receives “Page 11 of 11.”

Mark a review copy

A centered REVIEW COPY watermark at low opacity can leave body text readable, but pages with charts, stamps, or signatures may still conflict. Check those pages individually; increasing opacity improves visibility while increasing the chance of obscuring content.

References:

PDFPage API, PDF-LIB.
PDF-UX: Page Labels, PDF Association.
Permissions and limitations of signed PDFs, Adobe, December 2025.