Organising pages
How do I insert a blank page or a divider into a PDF?
Insert a blank page at the position you want it and the pages after it shift down — useful for double-sided printing, for separating merged documents, and for leaving room to write or stamp.
Adding an empty page sounds like the least interesting thing you can do to a document. It is also one of the most common, and for four quite different reasons.
Why people need one
Double-sided printing. A section that must start on a right-hand page needs the previous section to end on a left-hand one. When it does not, a blank page goes in between. This is why printed books have those "this page intentionally left blank" sheets — they are not mistakes, they are the binding working.
Separating merged documents. When several PDFs are combined into one, the joins are invisible and the reader cannot tell where one document ended. A blank sheet — or better, one with a heading typed on it — makes the structure obvious.
Room to write. Forms, worksheets and meeting packs often need a page for notes, signatures or a stamp that the original does not have.
Fixing a numbering plan. Adding a page shifts everything after it, which is occasionally exactly what is wanted when a document has to line up with an external index.
Where to put it
Position is the part people get wrong. "Insert at page 5" can mean before or after the current page 5, and they are different documents.
Add Blank Page inserts *before* the page you name, so inserting at 5 makes the new sheet the fifth page and pushes the old fifth to sixth. If you want it after, name the next page.
The blank page matches the size and orientation of the document it joins, so it prints on the same paper as everything else.
Then write on it
A blank page is rarely the end of the job. Once it is in, the PDF editor will put a section heading, a note or a signature block on it — which turns an empty sheet into a divider that does something.
The related jobs
| What you want | Tool |
|---|---|
| Add an empty sheet | Add Blank Page |
| Join several documents | Merge PDF |
| Remove pages you do not want | Delete Pages |
| Number the result | Header & Footer |
If you are inserting several blanks to make sections start on the right, do it after merging rather than before — the positions change once the documents are joined.
Common questions
Will the new page match my document's size?
Yes. It takes the size and orientation of the document it is inserted into, so it prints on the same paper as the rest.
Does inserting a page break my page numbers?
If the numbers are printed on the pages already, they will no longer match the new positions. Add the pages first, then number the finished document.