This tutorial shows how to add headers and footers to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
Plus, we will look at how to use more than one font format and position header and footer text on opposite sides of pages by adding multiple headers and footers.
Quick Links:
If you want to insert page numbers in your headers or footers, please see my other tutorial “How to Add Page Numbers to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.”
This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 100 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. These steps will also work in Adobe Acrobat Standard DC, Adobe Acrobat 2020, and Adobe Acrobat 2017. Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, doesn’t provide a way to add headers or footers to PDFs.
How to Add Headers and Footers to PDFs
This is the basic method to add a header and footer to a PDF. You can add a header and footer at the same time. However, you can’t apply different formatting simultaneously.
If you want to apply different formatting to different parts of your header or footer, create multiple headers or footers (which will look like one seamless header or footer upon completion), as shown below in How to Add Additional Headers and Footers in PDFs.
- Select the Tools tab.
- Select the Edit PDF button in the Tools Center.
- Select the Header & Footer button in the Edit PDF toolbar.
- Select Add from the Header & Footer menu.
- Enter the header or footer text in one or more of the six locations:
-
- Left Header Text
- Center Header Text
- Right Header Text
- Left Footer Text
- Center Footer Text
- Right Footer Text
- (Optional Step) Change the font, font size, underlining, font color, or margins. (Your changes will appear in the Preview Section.)
Optional Steps: Select a Page Range or Select Even or Odd Pages Only
- Select the Page Range Options link.
- Enter a page range or choose Even pages only or Odd pages only from the Subset menu in the Page Range Options dialog box.
- Select the OK button to close the Page Range Options dialog box.
- Select the OK button to close the Add Header and Footer dialog box.
Your new header or footer should appear in your PDF.
Pro Tip: To edit your header or footer, select Header & Footer in the Edit PDF toolbar and then select Update from the menu.
How to Add Additional Headers and Footers to PDFs
You can add additional headers and footers if you want specific text to only appear on even or odd pages or if you want to apply more than one format to the text.
- Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
- Select the Edit PDF button in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
- Select the Header & Footer button in the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 3).
- Select Add from the Header & Footer menu (see figure 4).
- Enter the first text elements in the position textboxes in the Add Header and Footer dialog box (see figure 5).
- (Optional Step) Change the font, font size, underlining, font color, or margins (see figure 6).
- (Optional Step) Select the Page Range Options link (see figure 7).
- (Optional Step) Choose Even pages only or Odd pages only from the Subset menu in the Page Range Options dialog box (see figure 8).
- Select the OK button to close the Page Range Options dialog box (see figure 9).
- Select the OK button to close the Add Header and Footer dialog box (see figure 10).
- Reselect the Header & Footer button in the Edit PDF toolbar (see figure 3).
- Reselect Add from the Header & Footer menu (see figure 4).
- Select the Add New button in the information dialog box to acknowledge that you want to add another header or footer.
- Enter the second text elements in the position textboxes in the Add Headers and Footers dialog box (see figure 5).
- Repeat steps 6 through 10 to create the second header or footer with different formatting or positioned on even or odd pages only.
Related Resources
How to Add and Format Text in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
How to Insert and Modify Images in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
How to Duplicate Links Across Pages in Adobe Acrobat
How to Create a Blank PDF in Adobe Acrobat
How to Attach Files to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat
Updated July 03, 2022