How to Add Page Numbers in Google Docs

Page Numbers In Google Docs

Let’s start with how to number pages in Google Docs.

✱ Note: If you have a pageless format, you won’t see this option so first make sure you’re in pages format.

You can check this in: “File” > “Page setup“.

Now that you’re on the Page Mode, you can add page numbers in Google Docs by going to:

“Insert“> “Page numbers“, like this 👇

Use four default options to place the page numbers wherever you want.

What are those 4 options?

So they are locations in the page.

Here is a better view 👇

Or click on “More options“ for better control.

I’ll add the page numbers to the footer for this example.

And now we have the page numbers in Google Docs!

Yay!

🥳🥳🥳

What if I want to start from any page?

Like not from the first page?

Sure, if you want to avoid the first page simply untick “Show on first page“.

What about other pages?

If you want to start numbering from any page, go to that page and place the cursor.

Then follow these steps:

How To Start Page Numbering From Specific Page In Google Docs

“Insert” > “Break” > “Section break (next page)“.

If the page jumped to the next page, it’s ok.

Simply press Backspace to delete the page.

Now add the page numbers like before.

I see two new check marks.

That say: “Different first page“, and “Link to previous“.

Great! Now untick “Link to previous“.

And, select “Options” > “Page numbers“ next to it.

You can see that the option is now set to “This section (section 2)” instead of the whole document.

Hit apply!

You can see that now it starts from 01 where we are.

✱ Note: You need to go back to the page above the current one and remove the page number from it now that you are starting from this page.

How To Add MLA Page Numbers In Google Docs

Let’s look at how to add page numbers in Google Docs MLA format.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is a set of guidelines for formatting and citing academic papers

According to this style, page numbers should be in the upper right-hand corner of every page, 0.5 inches from the top of the page and aligned with the right margin.

To achieve this in Google Docs, we need to select the first option in our page number menu.

I’ll go to “Header format” under the “Options“ dropdown.

Set the value of “Header (inches from top)“ to 0.5.

You now have an MLA styles page number format!

What?

Sorry, I was on my phone …

👀 No problem!

Let’s see how to do this on mobile then.

How To Add Page Numbers In Google Docs Ipad/mobile

For this example, I’ll be using my phone.

Just fire up Google Docs in your ipad or mobile.

Tap the edit button at the bottom.

Also make sure you’re NOT in pageless mode.

To check this tap on the three dots on the top right and go to “Page setup“.

Then disable the “Pageless“ option.

Next, go back and Tap the Plus (+) icon up top.

Tap on “Page number“.

Select from the four options.

(Just like we had before).

And now behold, the page numbers!

Done 👍

Some Tips

•••

Customize Your Page Numbers

If you want to add a prefix or suffix to your page numbers, you can do so by clicking on “More options” when adding page numbers. For example, you can add “Page ” before each number.

Use Roman Numerals or Letters

I didn’t cover this in the post since there is no native way to do this. (At least not yet). You have to edit each page number and replace it with roman numbers.

Update Page Numbers Automatically

Google Docs will automatically update your page numbers if you add or remove pages from your document. (By Default)

We’ve covered the step-by-step process of adding page numbers in Google Docs. We’ve also explored the different options available for customizing your page numbers, including changing the location, format, and style.