Set custom page labels — roman numerals, prefixes, restart points — shown in your PDF viewer's page navigation. Free, in your browser.
🔒 Processed entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded.
Long documents — books, theses, technical manuals — often mix a front-matter section (title page, table of contents, preface) with a numbered body and appendices. Page labels let your PDF's navigation reflect that structure: "i" through "vi" for the preface, "1" through "142" for the body, then "A-1" through "A-12" for an appendix — all without printing anything extra onto the page itself.
This tool writes a page-labels number tree into your PDF's internal structure — the same mechanism Adobe Acrobat uses when you set custom numbering under Document Properties. Each range you define specifies a starting page, a numbering style, an optional text prefix, and an optional starting number, and the PDF viewer uses this to display the correct label for each page in its interface.
This is purely metadata — it changes what your PDF reader displays as the page identifier, not what's drawn on the page itself. If you also want a number physically printed in the corner of each page, pair this with Add Page Numbers to PDF.
| Style | Example sequence |
|---|---|
| Decimal | 1, 2, 3, 4… |
| Lowercase roman | i, ii, iii, iv… |
| Uppercase roman | I, II, III, IV… |
| Lowercase letters | a, b, c… z, aa, ab… |
| Uppercase letters | A, B, C… Z, AA, AB… |
| Prefix only (no numbering style) | Cover, Cover, Cover… |
What are PDF page labels, and how are they different from page numbers printed on the page?
Page labels are metadata stored in the PDF file that control how a page is identified in the sidebar/thumbnail panel and 'go to page' box of a PDF reader — for example showing 'i, ii, iii' for a preface and then '1, 2, 3' for the main body. This is separate from any page numbers physically printed on the page, which is what tools like Add Page Numbers to PDF create.
Why would I want roman numerals or a prefix on some pages?
It's the standard convention in books and long reports: front matter (table of contents, preface, foreword) is labeled i, ii, iii, while the main content restarts at 1. Appendices are often prefixed, like 'A-1', 'A-2'. This tool lets you set that up without printed text overlays.
Will this print visible numbers on the page?
No. Page labels are invisible metadata read by the PDF viewer's interface — they won't appear when the page is printed or viewed as an image. If you also want numbers physically printed on the page, use Add Page Numbers to PDF.
Which PDF readers actually show these labels?
Most desktop readers — Adobe Acrobat/Reader, and the built-in viewers in Chrome, Firefox, and macOS Preview — display page labels in the page navigation box and thumbnail panel. Support can vary on some mobile and web-embedded viewers.
Can I set up multiple numbering sections in one PDF?
Yes. Add a separate range for each section — for example pages 1-4 as lowercase roman, then pages 5 onward restarting at 1 as plain decimal numbers.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The label metadata is written to your file entirely inside your browser — the PDF is never sent to a server.