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discreetpdf.com

Prepare a PDF set for court filing

Bates numbers run across the set, not per file: end at ABC-000042 and the next document starts at ABC-000043. Drop the production in order and it is numbered, stamped and locked.

Every step runs by default. Untick any you want to skip.

  1. Step 1Bates numbering000001
  2. Step 2Header & footerCONFIDENTIAL
  3. Step 3Protect PDFAES-256

These steps are set for this job. You can change each one’s settings.

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Password for this run

This recipe locks the finished files. The password is used for this run only, and is never saved with the recipe.

Enter a password to unlock the drop area.

Your PDF never touches a server. There's nothing here to ration.

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Your PDF never leaves your device.

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Doing the same few steps to a folder of PDFs? Run several tools in one pass

About this tool

A production set has to arrive numbered, marked and locked, and the numbering is the part that goes wrong. Bates numbers run across the whole set rather than restarting at each document: if the first file ends at ABC-000042, the second starts at ABC-000043. Number the files one at a time in a tool that only handles one and you get four documents that all begin at one, which in a set that has already been cited is not a formatting problem.

Drop the whole production here in order and the sequence runs through it: every page numbered continuously, a CONFIDENTIAL stamp in the margin, and an AES-256 password on the way out. Each step is adjustable: the prefix, how many digits, which corner, what the stamp says, which permissions the password allows. Because the numbering spans the set, the file list is locked once a run starts; adding a file halfway would extend a sequence you have already delivered.

The password is asked for when you run the recipe and is never stored: not in your browser, not in an exported copy, not in a shared link. Neither is anything else about your documents: every step runs inside this tab on your own machine, which for a privileged production is the difference between a promise about a server and no server at all.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Bates numbering continue across several files?
Yes, that is the job it is built for. Drop the documents in the order they belong and one sequence runs through all of them, so the second file picks up where the first stopped. The Bates step shows the first label in the sequence, like ABC-000001, so you can check the format before the run starts; the range each file ended up with is not listed afterward, so read the numbers off the pages themselves if you need them.
Is my password stored anywhere?
Never. It is asked for each time you run the recipe, used to encrypt, and discarded. A saved recipe holds the encryption strength and the permission settings, but no password, so nothing sensitive can end up in your browser storage, an exported file, or a link you send someone.
Can I change the prefix and the numbering format?
Yes: prefix, suffix, starting number, how many digits it pads to, and which corner it sits in. Numbers grow rather than truncate if they run past the padding, because a duplicate Bates number in a production is a serious error and a slightly wider label is not.
Why can I not add a file once the run has started?
Because one numbering sequence spans the whole list. A file added partway through would either extend a set you have already produced or renumber files that were already delivered. If the set changes, run it again from the top.
What do the permission settings actually do?
They ask the reader to allow or refuse printing, copying and modification. They are only enforced when the owner password differs from the open password, which is why the run asks for both. Treat them as a courtesy to honest readers rather than a security control.
Are my documents uploaded?
No. Numbering, stamping and encryption all happen in this browser tab. You can confirm it in the network panel (no request carries your file), and the site’s Content-Security-Policy blocks the page from sending one at all.

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