Insert blank pages into a PDF — anywhere, any number

How to use the PDF blank page inserter

1. Drop a PDF onto the box or press Choose a file.
2. In Insert before page, type the page number the blank pages should come before. Leave it at 0 to add them at the end.
3. Set How many blank pages to add (1 to 500).
4. Choose a Page size: Same as neighbouring page, or A4, US Letter, US Legal, A3 or A5 (all portrait).
5. Press Insert blank pages and download the file, named with -blank-pages added.

What it does and when to use it

Blank pages sound pointless until you print or bind a document:

• Booklets and theses. Many style guides want each chapter to begin on a right-hand page. Add one blank page wherever a chapter would otherwise start on a left-hand page.
• Covers. Keep the inside of the front cover empty when printing double-sided.
• Space to write. Add pages for notes, sketches or answers after each worksheet in a class pack.
• Making the count right. Booklet printing needs a page count divisible by 4; add the missing one to three pages at the end.

Check the count before and after with the PDF page counter. If you have a blank page you do not want, remove it with the PDF page deleter.

How it works

pdf-lib (@cantoo/pdf-lib) opens the file in your browser and inserts new empty pages into the page list at the chosen position, one after another. The size is either read from the neighbouring page as it is displayed (so a landscape page gives landscape blanks) or taken from the standard paper sizes, such as 595.28 × 841.89 points for A4. The rest of the document, including the existing pages, bookmarks and properties, is untouched. Nothing is uploaded or downloaded.

Worked examples

These come from a 12-page A4 report.

One blank page at the end. Insert before page 0, How many 1, Same as neighbouring page. The summary reads 1 blank page inserted at the end and the file now has 13 pages, the last one an empty A4 page.

Two pages after the cover. Insert before page 2, How many 2, A4. The summary reads 2 blank pages inserted before page 2. The file has 14 pages: the cover, two blank pages, then the old page 2 as page 4.

Booklet padding. A 13-page handout needs 16 pages for a folded booklet. Insert before page 0 with How many 3.

Limits and tips

• Only one position per run. For blanks in several places, run the tool again on the result, working from the back of the document so earlier page numbers do not shift.
• The fixed paper sizes are always portrait; use Same as neighbouring page next to landscape pages.
• If you add page numbers later with PDF page numbering, the blank pages get numbers too.
• Password-protected files must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.