Bates numbering, free and without uploading the bundle

Short answer

Add a Bates numbering step in the editor, set your prefix, starting number, digit padding and position, and run it. Numbers increment across every page, are embedded as real text that survives copying and searching, and can be applied to a whole folder at once. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no page limit.

Bates numbering is a small job with a large downside if it goes wrong. Discovery bundles run to thousands of pages, the numbering has to be continuous and unique, and the documents are usually the most confidential things in the matter.

Which makes the usual options uncomfortable: expensive desktop software, or a free web tool that first requires you to upload the bundle.

Step by step

Bates number a PDF

Applies to one document or a whole folder.

Open your document

Load the PDF in the editor. For a bundle spread across several files, merge them first, or set up a workflow and run it over the folder.

Add a Bates numbering step

Open the Workflows panel and add a Bates numbering step.

Set the format

Choose a prefix such as SMITH-, a starting number, and how many digits to pad to. SMITH-00001 is four zeros and a one at five digits.

Choose the position

Nine anchor positions are available. Bottom right is conventional. Set the text size to suit the margin you have.

Run it, or run it on everything

Apply it to the open document, or point it at a folder of PDFs and get a ZIP back with every file numbered continuously. All of it happens on your machine.

Open the editor

Numbers that survive

Bates numbers are written as real embedded text in a monospaced face, not as a picture of text. That means they can be selected, copied, searched and read by any other PDF tool — which is the whole point of numbering a bundle. The test suite checks this on every build by re-extracting the text from the exported file and confirming the numbers are there and in the right order.

Combine it with everything else

Numbering is rarely the only thing you do. A workflow lets you chain it:

Workflow: "Discovery bundle"
  1. Remove blank pages
  2. Bates number  SMITH-{{counter:5}}  bottom right
  3. Stamp "CONFIDENTIAL" top right
  4. Header "{{filename}} — {{date}}"
  5. Rename {{bates}}.pdf

Save that as a file, run it on the folder, and hand the same file to a colleague so their bundles come out identical to yours.

Why it is free here

Numbering a two-thousand-page bundle is CPU-heavy. On a hosted service that is a real cost, which is why it usually sits behind a paid tier or a page cap. Here it runs on your own processor, so there is nothing for us to charge for and no reason to impose a limit.

Before you rely on it

Check the output. Open the numbered file, confirm the sequence runs correctly from the first page to the last, and confirm the numbers sit clear of the content. The editor verifies the structure of every export and tells you if a check failed — but on a court filing, look at it yourself as well. Your original bundle is never modified, so a bad run costs you nothing but a re-run.

Try it — there is nothing to sign up for.

Open the editor and drop a PDF in. Your file stays on your device, and you can take the whole thing offline whenever you want.

Install itworks offline · no installer · nothing to sign up for

Open the editor How offline works

Questions

Straight answers

Can I continue numbering across several files?

Within one run, numbering is continuous across every page of the document. For a set of separate files, merge them first so the sequence is unbroken, then split them again afterwards if you need them separate.

Can I put the number somewhere other than bottom right?

Yes — nine anchor positions covering all corners, edge centres and the middle of the page. Text size is adjustable to fit whatever margin the document leaves you.

Are the numbers searchable?

Yes. They are embedded as real text, so any PDF reader can select, copy and search them.

Is there a page limit?

No. The practical limit is your own machine's memory. Bundles of several thousand pages are fine on a normal laptop.

Can I number a folder of PDFs at once?

Yes. Build the workflow, choose "Run on a folder", select the files, and you get a ZIP back with each one processed. Every file is handled locally and released from memory as it finishes, so large batches stay manageable.