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Add Custom Borders to PDF Pages Add decorative borders to all pages of a PDF.

PDF Border Add illustration
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PDF Border Add

Add decorative borders to all pages of a PDF.

1

Upload PDF

Drop your PDF file.

2

Customize Border

Set border width, color, and margin from edge.

3

Apply

Download PDF with borders on every page.

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What Is PDF Border Add?

The PDF Border Add tool draws customizable frames on every page of your PDF. Set the width (0.5pt to 10pt), choose any color, and control the distance from the page edge using the margin setting. Frames are rendered as rectangles with adjustable line thickness. Use thin lines for subtle framing or thick ones for bold decorative effects. It is drawn on top of existing content at the specified margin. Perfect for adding a professional frame to certificates, reports, or printed documents.

Why Use PDF Border Add?

  • Adjustable border width and color
  • Customizable margin from page edge
  • Applies to all pages automatically
  • Works with any page size

Common Use Cases

Certificates

Add elegant borders to award certificates.

Reports

Frame pages for professional presentation.

Handouts

Add borders to printed educational materials.

Art Prints

Frame artwork pages with consistent borders.

Technical Guide

The tool utilizes the pdf-lib library to load and modify PDF files. When a file is dropped or selected, it is loaded into memory as an array buffer, which is then passed to pdf-lib's PDFDocument.load method with the ignoreEncryption option set to true. This allows the tool to handle encrypted PDFs. The loaded document's page count is retrieved using the getPageCount method and stored in the component's state. When the user initiates the border addition process, the tool iterates over each page of the document, drawing a rectangle on each one using the drawRectangle method. The rectangle's position and dimensions are calculated based on the margin setting, with its top-left corner at (margin, margin) and its width and height set to (width - 2*margin, height - 2*margin), where width and height are the page's dimensions.

The tool uses the URL.createObjectURL method to create a blob URL for the modified PDF document, which is then stored in the component's state. This URL can be used to download the bordered PDF or display it in the browser. The color of the border is converted from a hex string to an RGB value using bitwise operations, with the resulting values passed to pdf-lib's rgb function to create an RGB object. This object is then used as the borderColor parameter for the drawRectangle method. The tool also uses React hooks such as useState and useEffect to manage its state and handle side effects, like cleaning up object URLs when the component unmounts. The FileDropzone component handles file uploads, while the InputWithHelp component provides input fields with helpful hints for settings like border width and margin.

Tips & Best Practices

  • 1
    2pt width is good for standard borders
  • 2
    Match border color to document theme
  • 3
    20pt margin keeps borders away from content
  • 4
    Thin borders (0.5pt) for subtle framing

Related Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

Q Where is the border drawn?
On the existing page, offset from edges by the margin amount.
Q Can I use different borders per page?
Currently applies the same border to all pages.
Q Does this change the page size?
No, borders are drawn within the existing page dimensions.
Q Can I make rounded corners?
Currently rectangular borders only. Rounded corners planned.
Q Will borders overlap content?
Borders are drawn at the margin distance. Set a larger margin if content is near edges.

About This Tool

PDF Border Add is a free online tool by FreeToolkit.ai. All processing happens directly in your browser — your data never leaves your device. No registration or installation required.