Frequently asked questions

How many PDFs can I merge at once? As many as your upload limit allows — each file becomes a card and you combine them in the order shown. Drag the cards to reorder before saving, and the pages keep their quality.

What happens to bookmarks and links? They carry over — each document's outline joins the combined file, and the merge options let you keep every file's bookmarks as its own group, add a table of contents, or discard them.

Can each file's name appear on its pages? Yes — the “Add filename to page footer” option prints a light footer like “contract.pdf · page 3” at the bottom of each file's pages, handy in bundles where the source must stay identifiable.

What is Alternate & Mix for? The classic two-pass scanning trick: scan all fronts into one PDF and all backs into another, then let the tool interleave them back into reading order. Each file can have its own step and reversed order.

What can I do in Organize? Reorder pages by dragging the cards, delete what you don't need, rotate sheets and insert blank pages — the change is previewed live before you save.

Is my original file changed? No — reordering, rotating and deleting happen on a copy. Download when it looks right; the uploaded file (deleted after two hours anyway) was never touched.

How do I keep only some pages? Type the pages to keep — like 1-3,7 — or pick them on the cards, then save. Everything else is left out of the new PDF you download.

Is deleting pages permanent? Only in the copy you save — your upload is never modified. If you change your mind, upload the file again and the pages are back.

Will I get one file or several? One PDF per range you set — like 1-3 and 4-8 — delivered together as a zip, so every part arrives as its own document.

Can I split a password-protected PDF? Unlock it first with the password you know — the Unlock tool removes the protection from a copy — then split that copy. The tools never guess or crack passwords.

Do the parts keep their quality? Yes — pages are copied into the new files, not re-rendered, so text stays sharp and images stay byte-identical to the original.

When would I split every N pages? When each sheet or section should stand alone — one file per invoice, per chapter, per form. Pick the step and every group of N pages becomes a separate PDF.

How does splitting by size work? Set the maximum KB per part and the tool packs as many pages as fit under it into each PDF — the handiest fix for upload limits on other websites.

What text should I mark? The words that start each new document — like “Invoice” or “Chapter”. The tool finds every occurrence, shows you a preview, and cuts before each match.

Does it use the PDF's own bookmarks? Yes — the tool reads the document's outline and splits at the level you choose, so each chapter or section becomes a file without any manual page counting.

When do I need a vertical split? Scanned two-page spreads: each sheet holds a left and a right page. Split down the middle and the halves are resequenced into single pages in reading order.

Can I rotate only some pages? Yes — turn single cards, or use the scope choices (all pages, only odd, only even). Rotation is written into the file itself, so it holds in every viewer and when printing.

Will cropping delete content? The crop box hides what's outside it rather than deleting it — the page's underlying data stays in the file, and cropping a little less brings things back.

Resize versus margins — what's the difference? One mode changes the paper size (A4 to Letter, or custom) and scales the content to fit; the other keeps the paper and builds margins by adding white space around the existing page.

How many pages can I fit per sheet? 2, 4, 8 or 16 — laid out in reading order or column first, kept straight or rotated to fit. It's the standard way to turn slides or long reports into handouts and to save paper when printing.

Why would I flip a PDF? Mirror printing on transparent film and scanning the backs of pages are the classics. Flipping mirrors the page horizontally or vertically — the text is untouched, just reflected.

Can I edit existing text? Yes — choose Edit existing text and retype a line; the replacement keeps the original font, size and colour where the PDF allows. You can also add new text, images, shapes and whiteouts.

Does the editor change my original file? No — edits apply to a copy. Download when you're happy with the result; the file you uploaded is never modified.

Can I save a signature for later? Yes — typed, drawn and uploaded signatures join your saved gallery the first time you save one, so the next document takes a single click.

Is a signature added here legally valid? In most countries a simple electronic signature on a document you sign yourself is binding — ESIGN (US) and eIDAS (EU) both recognize them. Check your counterparty's requirements if the contract calls for certified or witnessed signatures.

Will the form fields work in every reader? They're standard AcroForm fields — text boxes, multiline, radio, checkbox, dropdown and signature — so they fill correctly in Acrobat, browsers and most PDF viewers, including Fill & Sign here.

Can I watermark only some pages? Yes — set pages like 1-3 or even and the mark lands only there. Text or image, any colour, size, rotation and opacity, over or under the content.

Can I skip numbering the cover page? Yes — switch first-page-off on and the cover stays clean while headers start on page two. You can also choose the starting number and exactly what the line says.

Can the numbering say “Page 3 of 10”? Yes — the text box takes {n} for the current number and {p} for the total. Facing pages can have mirrored numbering, and the count can start from any value.

What is Bates numbering for? Legal, medical and insurance filing: a unique sequential stamp (often with a case prefix) on every page, so any page can be cited exactly. Styles and result names are customizable.

Does grayscale ruin the colour original? No — the copy you download is grey; your upload keeps its colour. Images can stay in colour while only the text is converted, if you prefer.

When do I need deskew? Scans that came out a degree or two tilted, usually from a feeder. The tool measures the lean and straightens each page — automatic, or page by page with a rotation dial.

Which fields can I change? Title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer and the created/modified dates — plus custom fields of your own. Viewers, search engines and document managers all show this information.

Why add bookmarks to a PDF? They give the reader a table of contents — click straight to a chapter in any viewer. Existing outlines can be renamed, renumbered or extended too.

What counts as an annotation? Highlights, strikeouts, notes, free text, shapes, stamps and links — everything readers overlaid on the page. Tick the types to strip and the pages to clean.

What quality do extracted images come back in? The original embedded pixels — no re-compression, often far better than a screenshot. Everything arrives as a zip, or convert whole pages to JPG instead.

Will compression hurt the quality? Pick the level: Extreme shrinks most, Recommended balances both, Low preserves fine detail. The size inspector shows the exact result before you commit.

How much smaller will my file get? It depends on what's inside: scans and photos shrink the most, text-only PDFs the least. The size inspector shows the exact before/after on your file before you commit.

It's still over the limit after compressing — now what? Go one level stronger, or split the PDF by size: the Split by size tool packs pages under a KB ceiling so each part fits the upload limit you're fighting.

What kinds of damage can it fix? Truncated uploads and broken internal structures — the tool rebuilds what it can, page by page. Whatever can't be read comes back blank, so nothing silently disappears.

What does flattening do to form fields? It bakes fields and overlays into the pages — values stay visible as plain text but nothing is fillable anymore. Ideal before printing or archiving a signed document.

How strong is the password protection? Up to AES-256 encryption, with an optional separate owner password for permissions — readers can open the file but be blocked from copying, printing or editing if you choose so.

User password and owner password — what's the difference? The user password opens the document; the owner password guards the permissions (printing, copying, editing). You can set either or both — with no owner password, the permission toggles are advisory only.

Can it open any locked PDF? Only files you can open or own. The tool removes the password and permission locks when you know the password — it never guesses or cracks anything.

What happens to the restrictions in the unlocked copy? They're gone — the copy opens with no password and no permission limits, in every viewer. Keep it somewhere safe, since anyone holding it can open it freely.

What resolution do the images come in? Choose Small (75 dpi), Medium (150) or Large (220) — as JPG, PNG or TIFF, all pages or a selection, delivered together in a zip.

JPG, PNG or TIFF — which should I choose? JPG for screens and email (smallest files), PNG when edges must stay crisp, TIFF for print workflows. Resolution is the bigger lever: 150 dpi for screens, 220 for print.

Does the text keep its layout? The words come back in reading order — perfect for quotes, searching and scripts. Tables built from real table text keep their structure; scanned pages need OCR first.

My PDF has no selectable text — now what? That's a scan: the pages are pictures with no text layer. Run OCR first (in-browser, nothing uploaded for it) and the words become selectable — then extract again.

Will the Word document be editable? Yes — text, headings and images land in a .docx you can edit straight away. Pick Keep layout for fidelity, or plain text when you mainly want the words.

Why did my scanned PDF convert with no text? Scanned pages are pictures — there is no text to bring across. Run OCR first: it adds a real text layer (recognition happens in your browser), and the same conversion then returns editable paragraphs.

Should tables go to Word or Excel? Excel — Word stores tables as layout, not data. Send the PDF to PDF to Excel when the numbers need calculating, charting or importing.

Excel or CSV — which should I pick? CSV when one table goes into another system; Excel (.xlsx) when the sheet should open ready to use with its structure intact.

What comes across to PowerPoint? Each page becomes a slide, so a PDF deck is editable again in one step — positions, text and images carried over slide by slide.

Can I combine many images into one PDF? Yes — drop them in, choose page size, orientation and margins, and every image becomes a page of one document. Switch merging off if you'd rather get one PDF per image.

Will converting shrink my photos? The images are embedded page by page at their own resolution — the PDF keeps what your camera captured. If the result is heavy, compress it afterwards; the size inspector shows the savings first.

Will the fonts and layout survive? Layout, images and formatting carry into the PDF, rendered page by page so long documents stay consistent. The output keeps its selectable text.

Do hyperlinks and images survive? Images, text and basic layout carry over page by page. Elaborate layouts — multi-column text boxes, exotic fonts — are approximated: give the result a quick read before sending it out.

What input can I give it? A web address, an uploaded .html file, or pasted code — the page is fetched and printed to PDF with its styles, ready to archive or send.

Does OCR upload my scan? No — recognition runs inside your browser (Tesseract), so the scanned content never leaves your device. The searchable PDF is built locally too.

Which languages can OCR read? A long list — pick the language in the box before running. English is the default; other Tesseract language codes are accepted.

How accurate is the recognition? Very good on clean, straight scans — it's the same Tesseract engine desktop tools use. Skewed or low-resolution pages do better after deskewing, and 300 dpi is the sweet spot for scanner settings.

What are the name patterns? Use [BASENAME] to keep the original name and wrap anything around it — like [BASENAME]-final — and the download arrives named exactly so.

What can a workflow chain together? Several tools in one pass — rotate then compress, watermark then protect, and so on. Build the chain once and run any document through it; each step costs its own credits on the API.