PDF Tools
PDF Tools Suite
86 offline tools for merging, splitting, securing, and converting PDFs — 85 live, 1 in progress
Overview
The PDF Tools Suite lists 86 offline PDF tools, of which 85 are built and usable today. The remaining one — Edit Attachments — appears in the grid with a Coming Soon panel listing its planned features, so you can see it is on the way rather than wonder why it is missing.
Privacy Guarantee: Every PDF tool operates 100% offline in your browser. Your sensitive production documents, scripts, call sheets, and invoices never leave your device. No data is sent to external servers.
Requirements
Functional Requirements
| ID | Requirement | Acceptance Criteria | Priority | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REQ-PDF-001 | The system shall list 86 distinct PDF tools across eight categories: Organize & Manage, Edit & Annotate, Convert to PDF, Convert from PDF, Optimize & Repair, Secure PDF, Image Tools, Automation | Every registry tool reachable from the dashboard; an unimplemented tool renders its Coming Soon panel rather than a broken link | Must | config/tools.js |
| REQ-PDF-002 | All PDF processing shall occur 100% client-side — no files shall be uploaded to any server | Network tab shows zero outgoing requests during processing; no API calls from pdf-tools modules | Must | processor.js |
| REQ-PDF-003 | Each tool shall support drag-and-drop file upload and file picker | Drop PDF on zone → file accepted; click zone → native picker opens; invalid file type → error message | Must | FileUploader |
| REQ-PDF-004 | Multi-file tools (Merge, Image-to-PDF) shall support drag-to-reorder and individual file removal | Drag file in list → order changes; click remove → file gone; merged output reflects new order | Must | GenericMultiFilePdfTool |
| REQ-PDF-005 | The Sign PDF tool shall support draw-on-canvas and typed signature placement at arbitrary page positions | Draw → signature appears on canvas; type → text renders; place on page → positioned correctly in output PDF | Must | PdfToolPage |
| REQ-PDF-006 | The Encrypt tool shall allow password-protecting PDFs; Decrypt shall accept current password to remove protection | Encrypt → output requires password to open; Decrypt with correct password → protection removed; wrong password → error | Must | processor.js |
| REQ-PDF-007 | Each tool shall display a file information bar (name, size, page count, processing status) | Upload file → info bar shows name, formatted size, page count; during processing → progress indicator | Should | FileInfoBar |
| REQ-PDF-008 | The system shall provide a search bar to filter the tool grid by name | Type "merge" → only Merge tool visible; clear → all tools visible; case-insensitive match | Should | PdfToolsDashboard |
Non-Functional Requirements
| ID | Requirement | Metric | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFR-PDF-003 | CSP shall include wasm-unsafe-eval for WebAssembly-based tools | Security policy | Must |
| NFR-PDF-004 | All tool UIs shall be keyboard-navigable and screen-reader compatible | WCAG 2.1 AA | Should |
Two budgets — 5 s processing for files ≤50 pages, and 500 MB memory for files ≤200 pages — were removed in v0.773.25. Nothing measured either, and an unmeasured budget in a requirements table reads as a guarantee. The practical file-size ceiling is still stated under Constraints & Limits.
Data Requirements
- No server storage: All files remain in browser memory during processing
- Nothing is kept except the Edit / Annotate draft: uploaded files and results are discarded when you navigate away. The one deliberate exception is the Edit / Annotate session, which is autosaved to this browser's private OPFS storage (
current_edit_session.pdf) so a reload does not lose your form entries — see Your work in Edit / Annotate is saved automatically below. This guide said "no persistence" flatly until v0.773.25. - WASM dependency: Some tools use WebAssembly (pdf-lib, mupdf); CSP must include
wasm-unsafe-eval
Constraints & Limits
- Available to all tiers (Free and Pro)
- File size limited by browser memory (practical limit: ~200 MB per file)
- Compression quality depends on input file characteristics
Offline Behavior
- Every built tool is fully available offline with zero network dependency
- No service worker or cloud sync required
Dependencies
- Requires: None — PDF Tools are fully self-contained
- Required by: None — no other features depend on PDF Tools
Accessing PDF Tools
Navigate to Additional Tools → PDF Tools in the sidebar. Tools are organized into categories with a search bar for quick filtering.
Organizing Pages
Tools to structure and rearrange existing PDFs:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Merge | Combine multiple PDFs into one document |
| Split | Break a PDF into individual pages or page ranges |
| Extract Pages | Pull specific pages into a new PDF |
| Remove Pages | Delete unwanted pages |
| Rotate | Rotate pages by 90°, 180°, or 270° |
| Reverse | Flip the entire page order |
| Add Blank Page | Insert empty pages where needed |
| N-Up | Stitch multiple pages onto one sheet (2-up, 4-up) |
Common Workflow: Merging Call Sheets
- Navigate to PDF Tools → Merge
- Drag and drop multiple PDF files into the upload area
- Reorder files by dragging thumbnails
- Click Merge → download the combined PDF
Editing & Annotating
Tools to alter visual content:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit / Annotate | Draw, highlight, or type onto PDF layers |
| Sign PDF | Place signatures (draw or type) onto contracts |
| Watermark | Overlay custom text (e.g., "CONFIDENTIAL", "DRAFT") |
| Headers & Footers | Stamp headers or footers globally |
| Page Numbers | Automatically paginate the document |
| Crop | Trim visual margins |
| Bookmarks | Add or edit navigation bookmarks |
Your work in Edit / Annotate is saved automatically
A long form-fill is no longer at the mercy of a reload. While a document is open in Edit / Annotate, the app writes your in-progress version to this browser's private storage a couple of seconds after you stop typing, and again when you switch away from the tab. If the page reloads — the app picking up a new version, a browser tab discarded under memory pressure (Safari does this on its own), or a crash — reopening PDF Tools → Edit / Annotate brings back the document with your entries in it, not the blank original.
Two things to know:
- Autosave keeps one in-progress document. Loading another file, or pressing Clear, replaces it.
- Autosave is a safety net, not a delivery step. Use Save As to get the finished file out of the browser and onto your disk.
Common Workflow: Signing a Deal Memo
- Navigate to PDF Tools → Sign PDF
- Upload the document
- Click where you want to place your signature
- Draw your signature with mouse/trackpad or type it
- Click Apply → download the signed PDF
Security & Metadata
Tools for handling sensitive files:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Encrypt | Add password protection to lock a document |
| Decrypt | Remove password protection (requires current password) |
| Sanitize | Flatten form fields and annotations |
| View Metadata | Read internal Title, Author, Subject, Keywords |
| Edit Metadata | Change metadata fields |
| Remove Metadata | Strip all hidden identifying information |
| Compress | Reduce file size for email attachments |
| Attachments | Extract or add files embedded in a PDF |
Common Workflow: Securing a Budget
- Navigate to PDF Tools → Encrypt
- Upload the budget PDF
- Set a password
- Click Encrypt → download the protected file
Conversion
Tools to bridge formats:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Image to PDF | Convert JPG/PNG images into a combined PDF |
| PDF to Image | Render pages as JPG or PNG (for sharing in messaging apps) |
| JSON to PDF | Convert structured JSON data into formatted PDFs |
| PDF to JSON | Extract PDF metadata as JSON |
| TXT to PDF | Convert plain text files into formatted documents |
| Form Filler | Fill in PDF form fields interactively |
Scanning & OCR
Tools that turn camera captures or scanned PDFs into searchable text:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Scan to PDF | Camera-based document scanner with auto-quad detection. Captures multi-page documents, applies Adobe-Scan-parity filters (Auto / Color / Grayscale / B&W / Whiteboard), and assembles a multi-page PDF with optional embedded OCR text layer (searchable PDF). |
| OCR (background) | When you scan a receipt via Accounting → Expenses, or upload a PDF / image via the same flow, OCR runs in the background (Tesseract.js, DE + EN) and pre-fills the expense form. Smart PDF routing: native-text PDFs (Lexware / sevDesk / e-invoices) extract in <500 ms with no OCR cost. |
Scanner reliability v1 (v0.226.0)
The OCR pipeline ships with a reliability layer that is exposed through subtle UX cues you may notice:
- "From cache" badge. If you re-scan the exact same document (byte-identical) within 30 days, the cached OCR text is returned instantly and a pill badge marks the result. Click Run again to re-run OCR (useful when the previous attempt mis-read a field).
- Page-cap warning. PDFs over 10 pages have their OCR fallback capped at the first 10 pages — the rest of the text from native-text PDFs is still extracted in full. A yellow banner explains which pages were skipped.
- Encrypted PDFs rejected. Password-protected PDFs are rejected with a typed error — the app will never prompt you for a password. Remove the password locally (e.g. via the Decrypt tool above) and re-upload.
- Typed error messages. Failures surface specific messages: "OCR took too long — fields can be entered manually" (timeout), "Scan cancelled" (you navigated away), "Scanner stopped unexpectedly. Retry available" (worker crash), "This file type can't be scanned" (unsupported MIME), etc.
- Abort on retake. Tapping "retake" or navigating away cancels the in-flight OCR within ~50 ms — no zombie work, no battery drain.
- Per-page status (Scan-to-PDF). Each scanned page carries a status indicator (
pending/ok/timeout/error). You can retry an individual page or skip it.
Common workflow: scanning a multi-page receipt
- Navigate to PDF Tools → Scan to PDF.
- Tap the capture button — the auto-quad overlay will lock when the page is stable.
- Repeat for additional pages.
- Review the captured pages (re-order, re-capture, delete).
- Tap Export → choose filename, toggle Embed OCR text for a searchable PDF, then Save (web download or native share).
How Every Tool Works
Every built tool follows the same pattern:
- Select the tool from the PDF Tools grid
- Upload your file(s) via drag-and-drop or file picker
- Configure options (tool-specific settings)
- Preview the result before downloading
- Download the processed PDF
File Information
Each uploaded file shows a compact info bar with:
- File name, size, and page count
- Processing status indicator
Multi-file Tools
Tools like Merge and Image-to-PDF support multiple file uploads:
- Drag to reorder files
- Remove individual files before processing
- Combined output respects file order
Tips
- Compress before emailing: Run large PDFs through Compress to stay under email limits
- Remove metadata before sharing: Strip hidden info from docs sent to external parties
- Batch operations: Merge first, then watermark — saves processing one file instead of many
- All offline: Safe for confidential scripts, budgets, and contracts
Related Documentation
- User Guide — PDF Tools
- User Guide — PDF Export
- Accounting (Expense Tracking) — receipt scanner uses the same OCR pipeline
- Glossary — definitions for OCR, native-text PDF, searchable PDF
Last Updated: 2026-09-10 Version: 0.790.2