Part two of my report must continue from page 45 of part one; how do I start the PDF numbering at 45?

Why this comes up

Long reports are often produced in pieces. Finance exported part one, which stops at page 44, and procurement put part two together as a separate file. When both are printed and bound as one volume, the reader expects page 45 to follow page 44, not a count that restarts at 1 halfway through. It matters even more when the contents page in part one points to pages that live in part two.

The settings, step by step

1. Open PDF page numbering and choose the part two file.
2. Pick a format, such as Page {n} of {total} or {n} / {total}.
3. Type 45 in Start number and leave the pages field empty so the whole file is numbered.
4. Watch the line under the settings: before anything runs, it tells you how many pages will be numbered and what the first label will be, here 'Page 45 of 64'.
5. Press Add numbers, confirm in the result line that the first is 45 and the last is 64, then download.

What the total means here

In this tool {total} is not the page count of the file. It is the last number printed: the start number plus the numbered pages minus one. In our case 45 + 20 − 1 = 64, so the first page reads '45 / 64' and the last '64 / 64'. That is exactly right when part two is the end of the report.

If a part three follows and you want the grand total of the whole report, say 120, do not use {total}. Choose Custom template and type the number yourself: 'Page {n} of 120'. The tool fills in {n} and leaves everything you typed alone, so the first page reads 'Page 45 of 120'.

Small details that prevent mistakes

• With Arabic-Indic digits selected, only the inserted number and the total are converted. A number you type into the template stays as typed, so type it in Arabic-Indic digits too, such as ١٢٠, to keep the look consistent.
• If part two has its own cover that should stay unnumbered, turn on Skip the first page and 45 will start on the second page of the file.
• If you are going to combine both parts with Merge PDFs anyway, skip all this: merge first, then number the merged file once from 1.
• The start number accepts any whole number up to 999999, so very long multi-volume sets are not a problem.