Legal scheduled a hearing after I issued an enforcement notice for unsafe egress at 412 Oak. I have site photos, marke…
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Click Tools in the upper-left corner.
Scroll to and select Bates Numbering under the Protect & Standardize section.
Click Add Files and select all the PDF files you want to Bates number in this batch.
Best practiceFor best results, arrange your files in the desired order before adding, as Bates numbering will follow this sequence.
Click OK after all files are added and ordered as needed.
Click Add Bates Numbering and choose Add Bates Numbers from the dropdown.
In the Bates Numbering dialog, set your numbering format, position, and prefix/suffix as needed.
Ensure the Number of digits and Start Number fields are set to apply continuous numbering across all PDFs.
CautionIf you restart numbering for each file, numbering will not be continuous; confirm the start number is set only once.
Click OK to preview the changes.
Choose a location to save the newly Bates-numbered PDFs, then click OK or Save.
You can batch Bates number multiple PDFs at once, and Acrobat will automatically continue the sequence across all selected files.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
The main purpose of Bates numbering is to provide a unique, permanent identifier for every page in a set of documents. This is especially important in legal cases or large projects where many documents need to be organized, referenced, and tracked precisely. It helps ensure no pages are lost or misplaced.
Yes, Bates numbering is designed for sets of documents. When you use the 'Add' function, you can select multiple PDF files. Acrobat Pro will then apply a continuous sequence of Bates numbers across all the pages in those selected files. This makes it efficient for handling large volumes of exhibits or records for court.
| Feature | What it does | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Bates Numbering | Stamps a permanent, unique number onto the page content. | For legal indexing and permanent tracking across document sets. |
| Page Labels/Renumbering | Changes the displayed page number in the navigation pane. | For organizing the PDF's internal page order or display, not a permanent stamp. |
No, Bates numbering is a professional feature. It is only available in Adobe Acrobat Pro. You need the Pro version to access and use this tool for your documents.