How to Add Page Numbers in Google Docs?

November 29, 2021

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In this tutorial, we turn on page numbers in Google Docs. We recommend you study this manual carefully and start practicing!

Checklist of crucial points we aim to highlight here:

Advanced Possibilities
All Options Review
Page Numbers via the Menu

Watch the video from thegoodocs.com and learn How to add page numbers in Google Docs:

The quick and straight way first. And then, if you keep reading, you’ll see more features of page numbering in Google Docs.

Now the fastest way from the document. Go to the Insert item on the toolbar on top. Press it, and drag the mouse down to the Page numbers

In this new window on the right, for example, you want to select the most common layout, which is when the numbers are put in the bottom right corner of the page. So, hit the left layout on the bottom line

And here’s your result. The tool has created the footer on every page of the document and numerated all pages accordingly

NB! And when you add and delete pages, the numeration updates as well and adapts to your actions. So, it will clear the extra numbers along with the deleted pages and add numbers to all newly created pages.

Advanced Possibilities

Now let’s see other options of page numbers layout on the Google Doc.

Let’s get back to the menu with page numbers by going to the Insert button on the toolbar, pressing it, and going down to the Page numbers line. So, these four squares are the previews of the layouts for the page numbers

These two on top will make the page number appear in the top header of the document

And the two on the bottom will make it appear in the document’s footer

So, the Page numbers function creates either header or footer if there wasn’t one in the document, which is sections at the top and bottom of the page that stay consistent across multiple pages or the whole document

Except for page numbering, there might be section titles, author information, dates, footnotes, and similar data you want to permanently stay there. For example:

NB! The difference between these on one line is that selecting this first item on the left will start numbering from page 1, and the second option will start numeration from the second page bypassing the first title page.

All Options Review

Now let us show you each option in turn.

You’ve already seen this one. But the flaw of this layout is that it also enumerates the title page, which now, for example, we really want to skip in numbering

So, we select the next one on the right, and the number on the first page will disappear. The numbering will start from page 2

Let us get back to the menu. And these two remaining on top do the same thing but in the document’s header. They put numbers in the top right corner of the document. Let us press one as a sample. There we go

So, yes, what’s funny is that you can insert page numbers both in the header and the footer of the document. But now that’s just to show you the difference

Page Numbers via the Menu

And the last one is in the header as well. But the one that bypasses the title page

People frequently ask how to start a numeration from the third page, for instance. And to do that, we go in a kind of extended features menu. Back to Insert on top, down to the Page numbers, and selecting More options here below these previews

Basically, it’s the same thing but in one menu. So, here on top, you select where you want to insert page numbers. In the Header or the Footer. And you can choose whether you want to put a tick in Show on first page. Then it’s a checkbox to skip the title page in Numbering. And the custom page to start Numbering from. So, you just enter 3, for example, and click Apply here. There you have it

We hope this tutorial will help you learn how to add page numbers in Google Docs. Good luck!

Written by

Team TheGoodocs

We are a team of creative people who dream of sharing knowledge and making your work and study easier. Our team of professional designers prepares unique free templates. We create handy template descriptions for you to help you choose the most suitable one. On our blog, you'll find step-by-step tutorials on how to use Google Products. And our YouTube channel will show you all the ins and outs of Google products with examples.