EasyArchive › Guides

Fill PDF forms in Arabic, write Arabic on a PDF and add Arabic page numbers

Last updated:

Need to fill a PDF form in Arabic, write Arabic on a PDF online or add Arabic page numbers? The most common job is page numbering: Arabic documents usually use the "صفحة ١ من ٣" (page 1 of 3) format with Eastern Arabic digits. Some tools get this wrong: the words appear in the wrong order or multi-digit numbers come out reversed. This guide explains the format, how to add it correctly with the free EasyArchive Arabic PDF Tools, and how the same tool lets you type Arabic in PDF text boxes and form fields.

Steps

  1. Understand the format

    "صفحة ١ من ٣" reads, from right to left: صفحة (page) ١ (1) من (of) ٣ (3) — that is page 1 of 3. The current page comes right after the word صفحة, and the total comes after من. Seen in a left-to-right layout the same line can look like "٣ من ١", which is why people sometimes describe it that way, but the meaning is still page 1 of 3.

  2. Know that numbers stay left-to-right

    Inside Arabic text, the digits of a number are still written most-significant first, left to right: ١٢ is twelve, ١٠٠ is one hundred. A tool that reverses the whole line will turn page ١٢ into ٢١. Check pages 10 and above when you review the output.

  3. Choose digits: Eastern Arabic or Western

    Eastern Arabic digits (٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩) are common in Gulf government and formal documents; Western digits (0123456789) are also widely used in Arabic, including in parts of North Africa. Follow your organization's style guide.

  4. Add the numbers with Arabic PDF Tools

    Open EasyArchive Arabic PDF Tools, drop one or several PDFs, choose the format صفحة {n} من {p}, select Arabic-Indic digits, then position (for example bottom center), font size and margin. You can skip the cover page, start from a number other than 1, or limit to page ranges. Optionally add a Hijri (Umm al-Qura) or Gregorian date.

  5. Preview, then process all files

    Check the preview of the first file, especially a page with a two-digit number. Then process all files and download them as one ZIP or as separate files.

  6. Check the result in another viewer

    Open the output in a second PDF viewer and spot-check a few pages. Copy-pasting Arabic text out of a PDF may show odd spacing in some viewers; that is a known extraction quirk and not necessarily a display problem.

"Arabic numerals" vs Eastern Arabic digits

In English, "Arabic page numbers" usually means ordinary digits 1, 2, 3 (as opposed to Roman numerals i, ii, iii), for example in Word. This guide is about something else: page numbers written in Arabic script, such as صفحة ١ من ٣, using Eastern Arabic (Arabic-Indic) digits ١٢٣. If you only need 1, 2, 3 in an English document, any PDF page-numbering tool will do.

"Page X of N" in English

For English documents choose the "Page {n} of {p}" format with Western digits: Page 1 of 3, Page 2 of 3, and so on. You can skip the cover or start from another number.

Write Arabic on a PDF file online

The same tool can add free Arabic text (for example a department name, "سري" or a reference number) to every page: type the text, click the preview to place it, and choose size, alignment and color. Arabic letters are joined and ordered right-to-left.

Fill PDF form fields in Arabic

If a PDF has fillable text fields, the tool lists them so you can type Arabic values; afterwards you can keep the fields editable or flatten the text into the page. PDFs without fillable fields show a message instead.

Right-to-left books and page order

Arabic books open from what a Western reader would call the back cover, because they are read right to left. In a PDF, however, the first page of the file is still page 1, so normal numbering is correct. The tool numbers pages in file order; it does not number in reverse.

Common formats

صفحة ١ من ٣ (page 1 of 3) · صفحة ١ (page 1) · الصفحة ١ · ١ / ٣ · - ١ -. With a custom template you can combine the page number, total and date, for example الصفحة {n} من {p} — {date}.

Related guides

Number your Arabic PDF now

Open Arabic PDF Tools

Labelling the boxes those documents go into? Try the Barcode & QR Label Generator

Frequently asked questions

How do I fill a PDF form in Arabic?

Open Arabic PDF Tools and add a PDF that has fillable text fields. The fields are listed so you can type Arabic values; then keep the fields editable or flatten the text into the page.

Can I type Arabic in a PDF that has no form fields?

Yes. Use "Add Arabic text": type the text, click the preview to place it, and choose size, alignment and color.

Is there a free tool to add Arabic page numbers to a PDF?

Yes. EasyArchive Arabic PDF Tools is free: add your PDF, choose صفحة {n} من {p} with Arabic-Indic digits, pick a position and download.

Are "Arabic numerals" the same as Arabic page numbers?

Not in this guide. "Arabic numerals" in English are 1, 2, 3 (vs Roman numerals). Arabic-script page numbers use words like صفحة and usually Eastern Arabic digits ١٢٣.

Can I write Arabic on a PDF online?

Yes, the tool can add Arabic text lines to PDF pages and place them where you click on the preview.

Does "١ من ٣" mean page 1 of 3 or page 3 of 1?

Page 1 of 3. The current page comes right after صفحة, the total after من.

Why do my page numbers appear reversed (٢١ instead of ١٢)?

The tool reversed the whole line instead of applying the Unicode bidirectional algorithm, which keeps numbers left-to-right inside RTL text.

Can the tool number pages in reverse (back to front)?

No. It numbers pages in file order. For Arabic PDFs this is normally right, because the first page of the file is page 1.

Related tools