Nobody puts a page number on a cover. The same usually goes for a title page, a contents page, or a blank divider. But most people add page numbers, look at the result, and find a big "1" stamped in the corner of their beautiful cover — then either accept it or start over.
The fix uses two settings that look similar and do completely different things: Start from Page and Start Numbering at. Understanding the difference is the whole trick, and it's what this guide is about.
The two settings, and why you need both
They answer two separate questions:
- Start from Page — which page gets the first stamp? Set it to
2and page 1 (your cover) gets no number at all. It stays clean. - Start Numbering at — what number does that first stamp say? Set it
to
1and the first numbered page reads "1", regardless of where it physically sits in the document.
Use only the first, and your cover is clean but the numbering starts at "2" — because the tool counts your cover even though it didn't stamp it. Use both, and you get exactly what a printed book does.
The steps
Open Blackpdf's Add Page Numbers tool and drop your PDF in.
Set "Start from Page" to the first page you want stamped. For a single cover page, that's
2. For a cover plus a contents page, that's3.Set "Start Numbering at" to the number you want it to show. Usually
1, so the first numbered page reads "1".Set your Position, Format, and styling as usual (the main guide covers those).
Click Generate PDF and download.
Worked examples
A report with one cover page — you want the cover clean, and the first content page to read "1":
- Start from Page: 2
- Start Numbering at: 1
A cover plus a table of contents — neither should be numbered, and the first chapter page should read "1":
- Start from Page: 3
- Start Numbering at: 1
A chapter that continues an earlier document — this file is pages 41 onwards of a larger work, and there's no cover:
- Start from Page: 1
- Start Numbering at: 41
That last one is why the two settings are separate: the number stamped on a page doesn't have to match its physical position in the file.
Common questions
I set "Start from Page" to 2 but numbering begins at 2. Why?
Because you only told the tool where to start stamping, not what to
start counting from. It still counts your cover as page 1, so the next
page is 2. Set Start Numbering at to 1 as well, and the first
stamped page will read "1".
Can I use this to skip more than one page at the front?
Yes — set Start from Page to the first page you actually want numbered.
Cover + contents + a blank? Start from Page 4.
What about "Page X of Y" — does the total change?
The total reflects the document, so be aware that a "Page 1 of 20" on a document with a cover may not match a reader's mental count. If exact totals matter, our Page X of Y guide covers that format in detail.
Can I number the front matter separately with Roman numerals?
Yes, and that's the classic book layout — Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for the front matter, then Arabic (1, 2, 3) for the body. It takes two passes; see our Roman numerals guide.
Can I remove the numbers later if I get it wrong?
Page numbers are stamped into the page content, so there's no undo inside the PDF. Always keep your original un-numbered file and re-run the tool on a copy if you need to change something.
Wrap-up
The rule to remember is that these are two different questions:
- Start from Page = which page gets the first stamp (skip the cover).
- Start Numbering at = what number that stamp shows.
For a normal report with one cover page: Start from Page 2, Start Numbering at 1. For everything else about position, format, and styling, see the main page numbers guide.