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Add page numbers to a PDF on iPhone
Twelve scanned pages, no numbers, and someone on the phone asking about "the bit on page seven". Scanfone adds page numbers to any PDF on your iPhone, for free.
How to add page numbers to a PDF on iPhone
- Open Scanfone and scan your pages, or import an existing PDF or photos.
- Put the pages in the right order first: drag to reorder, rotate any sideways page and delete the ones you don't need.
- Open the edit tools and choose Page numbers.
- Check the preview, then save the numbered PDF.
- Share it, print it or save it to Files.
Why numbered pages save everyone time
Page numbers are one of those things nobody notices until they are missing. A lease with no numbers is hard to discuss on a call. A printed report that slips off the desk becomes a puzzle. A form with eight pages and no numbers invites the question "are all the pages here?" from whoever receives it.
When you scan paper documents, the originals often don't have numbers at all, or the numbers were on a cover sheet you didn't scan. Adding them to the PDF fixes that in one step, and the numbers travel with the file wherever it goes: email, print, a shared folder or a court bundle your lawyer asked for.
Add page numbers to a PDF for free
In Scanfone, page numbers are a free edit tool. There is no daily limit, no "upgrade to number more than three pages" pop-up, and no paywall waiting at the save button. You scan, you number, you save. That's the whole transaction.
It works on PDFs you scan with the iPhone camera and on PDFs you import, so you can number a document that someone emailed you just as easily as one you scanned yourself. If your document is a pile of photos, turn them into a PDF first with JPG to PDF.
- Scanned documents: contracts, leases, school work, manuals, meeting notes.
- Imported PDFs: reports, forms and statements you received by email.
- Merged files: combine several PDFs with merge PDF, then number the result as one document.
- Long scans: book chapters and binders scanned with the book scanner.
Get the order right before you number
Numbers make a wrong page order very obvious, so tidy up first. Scanfone lets you reorder, rotate and delete pages before you add numbers. Drag the page that slipped to the end back where it belongs, rotate the one you scanned upside down, and remove the blank back side of a single-sided sheet.
If you are putting together a bundle from several sources, merge the PDFs first and number the combined file. If you only need part of a document, split the PDF and number the part you actually send. Numbering last means the numbers always match what the reader sees.
Page numbers, footers and other finishing touches
Page numbers often go together with other finishing touches. Scanfone also has a footer text tool for a line such as a case reference or "Confidential", a watermark tool for a mark like "Draft" or "Copy", and a signature tool to sign the last page. All of them are free.
One honest note about the free version: free PDFs get one small line under each page that says "Scanned free with Scanfone". It sits below the content, not over it. If you want PDFs without that line, Scanfone Pro removes it and costs $2.99 for the first year, then $19.99 a year. No weekly plans.
Make the numbered PDF easy to find later
Scanfone runs on-device text recognition (OCR) on your scans, so the text inside the PDF becomes searchable and copyable. Months later you can search for a word from page seven and find the document, even if you forgot what you named it. Read more about OCR text recognition.
Keep related documents in folders, and put anything sensitive in the Safe, a folder locked with a PIN and Face ID. Scanning and OCR happen on your phone, and nothing is uploaded unless you turn on Pro sync.
Related PDF tools
Building a full document on your phone? These tools pair well with page numbers.