When you create a paper in PERRLA Online, how page numbers appear as you write depends on when your paper was created.
How Page Numbers Appear
Papers created after July 28, 2026
PERRLA Online shows true page breaks as you write, so page numbers and running heads render live on every page. Since your paper is broken into actual pages as you type, you can see your page count simply by looking at how many pages appear in the Editor.
Papers created before July 28, 2026
The Editor divides your paper into separate sections – the title page, abstract, body, and so on. The body is one continuous section of text that hasn't yet been divided into pages, so page numbers in these sections are replaced with a "#" placeholder until you download your paper.
Once you download your paper as a Word document or PDF, PERRLA compiles all sections into a properly formatted paper with correct page numbers and page breaks.
Show Page Count
Note: Show Page Count is available for Research Papers in the classic Editor only. If your paper uses the new PERRLA Online Editor, you can see your page count directly by looking at the pages in the Editor.
- Click the View menu in the Editor.
- Click Show Page Count.
This shows a breakdown of how many pages are in each section, along with the total page count for the entire document.
Print Preview
- Click the File menu in the Editor.
- Click Print.
This opens your browser's Print Preview screen so you can see exactly how your paper will look once downloaded.
Note: There is also a Print Document button in the Editor toolbar that does the same thing.