How to Prepend Cover Page
Adding a professionally designed cover page to the front of an existing PDF instantly elevates reports, proposals, white papers, and e-books. Instead of editing the original document, prepending a cover keeps the body content untouched while adding branding, a title page, or a table of contents at the front. SublimePDF merges a cover page PDF with your main document in a single API call.
Follow the step-by-step instructions below, then use the free tool directly — no registration or download required.
Open Tool →How to Prepend Cover Page — Step by Step
Design your cover page
Create a single-page PDF for the cover. Use any design tool (Canva, Figma, InDesign) or generate it from HTML via SublimePDF. Include your title, subtitle, author, date, and company logo. Match the page size to your main document (A4, Letter).
Upload both files to the merge endpoint
POST to /api/v1/merge with the cover PDF as the first file and the main document as the second: { "files": [coverPdf, mainPdf] } using multipart/form-data. The order of files determines page order in the output.
Adjust page numbering
If your main document has page numbers, they won't automatically account for the new cover page. Use the 'pageNumberOffset' option to shift numbering, or regenerate the main document with a starting page number of 2.
Verify the merge
Download and open the merged PDF to confirm the cover page appears first, page sizes are consistent, and no content was clipped or scaled. Check that bookmarks and links in the main document still work.
Automate for recurring documents
For reports generated regularly, automate this workflow: generate the report PDF, then call the merge endpoint to prepend the cover page. Store the cover page template and regenerate it with updated dates/titles as needed.
Pro Tips
- 💡 Ensure your cover page and main document use the same page dimensions. Mismatched sizes (e.g., Letter cover on A4 body) result in jarring size changes when scrolling through the PDF.
- 💡 Use the merge endpoint rather than manually combining in your template — it's faster and lets you reuse the same cover PDF across many documents.
- 💡 Add a blank page after the cover if your main content should start on a right-hand (odd) page for professional booklet printing.
- 💡 For dynamic cover pages with the document title and date, generate the cover via the render API with template variables, then merge it with the body PDF.
Privacy & Security
All processing happens directly in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to any server — they remain on your device throughout the entire process. SublimePDF uses WebAssembly technology for fast, secure, client-side processing.
Works Everywhere
This tool works on any modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge — on desktop, tablet, or mobile. No software to install. PDF is an open ISO standard supported by all major platforms.
How to Prepend Cover Page — FAQ
Will bookmarks in my main document still work after prepending a cover?
Can I prepend multiple pages (like a TOC and cover)?
Does prepending change the original file?
How do I match the cover page size to my document?
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