Add Headers/Footers on Specific Pages
from ironpdf import *

# Instantiate Renderer
renderer = ChromePdfRenderer()

multi_page_html = """
    <p> This is 1st Page</p>
        <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 2nd Page</p>
    <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 3rd Page</p>
    <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 4th Page</p>
    <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 5th Page</p>
    <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 6th Page</p>
    <div style = 'page-break-after: always;' ></div>
        <p> This is 7th Page</p>
"""

# Create a PDF or Load an existing PDF using PdfDocument.FromFile()
pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)

# Create a Header
header = HtmlHeaderFooter()
header.HtmlFragment = "<div>THIS IS HEADER {page} of {total-pages}</div>"

# Create a Page Range  0 .. 7
all_page_indexes = range(pdf.PageCount)

# Example 1
# Apply header to even page index only. (page number will be odd number because index start at 0 but page number start at 1)
even_page_indexes = [i for i in all_page_indexes if i % 2 == 0]
pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 1, ToPageList(even_page_indexes))
pdf.SaveAs("even_page_indexes.pdf")

# Example 2
# Apply header to odd page index only. (page number will be even number because index start at 0 but page number start at 1)
new_pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)
odd_page_indexes = [i for i in all_page_indexes if i % 2 != 0]
new_pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 1, ToPageList(odd_page_indexes))
new_pdf.SaveAs("odd_page_indexes.pdf")

# Example 3
# Apply header to last page only.
new_pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)
new_pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 1, ToPageList([new_pdf.PageCount - 1]))
new_pdf.SaveAs("last_page_only.pdf")

# Example 4
# Apply header to first page only.
new_pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)
new_pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 1, ToPage(0))
new_pdf.SaveAs("first_page_only.pdf")

# Example 5
# Skip the first page.
new_pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)
new_pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 1, ToPageRange(1, new_pdf.PageCount))
new_pdf.SaveAs("skip_first_page.pdf")

# Example 6
# Skip first page and make second pages label as 1.
new_pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(multi_page_html)
new_pdf.AddHtmlHeaders(header, 0, ToPageRange(1, new_pdf.PageCount))
new_pdf.SaveAs("skip_and_dont_count_the_first_page.pdf")
pip install ironpdf
Add Headers/Footers on Specific Pages

Add Headers/Footers on Specific Pages

IronPDF for Python provides fine-grained control over which pages receive headers and footers, allowing you to target even pages, odd pages, first or last pages, or custom page ranges within a single document.

Getting Started

Render a multi-page PDF, create an HtmlHeaderFooter object, then use AddHtmlHeaders with one of the page-targeting helpers to apply the header selectively. Multiple calls with different page lists can add different headers to different sections of the document.

Understanding the Code

  • HtmlHeaderFooter: The header object containing the HTML fragment to stamp on each targeted page. Dynamic fields like {page} and {total-pages} are supported.
  • AddHtmlHeaders(header, firstPageNumber, pageList): Applies the header to the pages specified by the page list. firstPageNumber controls the value of the {page} merge field on the first targeted page.
  • ToPageList(indexes): Converts a Python list of zero-based page indexes into the page list format required by AddHtmlHeaders.
  • ToPage(index): Targets a single page by its zero-based index.
  • ToPageRange(start, end): Targets a contiguous range of pages by their zero-based indexes.

Page-Targeting Examples in This Code

ExampleDescription
Even page indexesHeader on pages 1, 3, 5... (0-based even indexes)
Odd page indexesHeader on pages 2, 4, 6... (0-based odd indexes)
Last page onlyHeader applied only to the final page
First page onlyHeader applied only to the first page
Skip first pageHeader starts from the second page onward
Skip and recountSecond page starts at page number 1
Learn to add headers and footers to PDFs with IronPDF for Python!

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