How to add a header and footer to a PDF

▶ 1. What they are really for

A header and footer are the bands repeated at the top and bottom of every sheet. They look like a cosmetic detail, but they do concrete work.

• ✓ They say which document this is even to someone holding a single page pulled out of the file.
• ✓ They carry contextual information — company, project, date, version — without taking room from the body text.
• ✓ They host page numbering consistently across the whole document.
• ✓ They flag the status of the document: “draft”, “confidential”, “uncontrolled copy”.

With 123 PDF Editor PRO they are added to an existing PDF, even one produced by someone else: the extension works in the browser and needs no desktop software.

◩ 2. Adding a header and footer

The two bands are set up separately, with the same procedure.

1. Install the extension from the download page and open the document with Choose a PDF.
2. Open Header for the top band or Footer for the bottom one.
3. Type the text that should repeat on every page.
4. Adjust appearance and position using the options in the panel.
5. Set the range of pages to apply it to.
6. Confirm and, when the work is finished, click Download PDF.

{} 3. The automatic placeholders

The text can contain two placeholders that are replaced automatically page by page: that is what separates a static header from one that keeps itself up to date.

1. {page} is replaced with the number of the current page.
2. {pages} is replaced with the total number of pages in the document.
3. You can combine them with free text: for example Annual report — page {page} of {pages}.
4. If all you need is the numbering, the dedicated tool is Page Numbers.

━ 4. The separator line

A thin line between the header and the body text is a typographic detail that tidies up the page.

1. Switch the separator line on if the document is formal or dense with text: it helps the eye tell the bands from the content.
2. Leave it off on design-led documents or when the header is very short: it would only add weight.
3. If you use both a header and a footer, keep the same choice for both for consistency.

▤ 5. Excluding some pages

The bands almost never belong on every single page.

1. Exclude the cover: a header on the title page is nearly always out of place.
2. Consider excluding the contents page too, if the document has one.
3. Apply the range you want at setup time, rather than removing the bands afterwards.
4. If the document comes from merging several files, settle the page order first, following the guide on how to manage pages.

⚠ 6. Mistakes to avoid

Repeated bands nearly always go wrong in the same way: they steal room or attention from the content.

• ✓ Text that is too long — a header is a label, not a sentence: if it cannot be read at a glance, it is too long.
• ✓ Overlapping the content — on an already laid-out PDF the margins may be tight: check that the bands do not land on top of existing text.
• ✓ Too much contrast — a header in solid black and large type competes with the page title; a softer grey works better.
• ✓ Information that ages — be careful about inserting dates or version numbers if the document will be reused.

? 7. Frequently asked questions

The questions that come up most often on this topic.