Guides
How PDFs actually work, and how to get the result you wanted — written by the people building the editor.
- 6 min read
PDF vs Word: which should hold the document
Word is for writing, PDF is for what you send — and converting between them costs you the layout. How to decide, and how to edit a PDF without a round trip.
compareedit text - 7 min read
Is it safe to edit PDFs online?
It depends on one thing: whether your file is uploaded. How to tell, what questions to ask any online PDF tool, and what happens to a document in the browser.
trustcompare - 7 min read
How to sign a PDF without printing it
Draw, type or upload a signature and place it on the page in a browser — plus where a drawn signature is enough, and where you need a certificate instead.
signhow to - 7 min read
How to reduce PDF file size
Why a PDF is large, what image compression can and cannot recover, and how to get a heavy scan under an email limit without turning the text into mush.
fileshow to - 6 min read
How to rotate PDF pages so they stay rotated
A page that snaps back to sideways was rotated in the viewer, not in the file. How to rotate pages permanently, and why some scans still print crooked.
pagestroubleshooting - 6 min read
How to extract pages from a PDF
Pull the pages you need into a new file without touching the original — how extracting differs from splitting and deleting, and how to pick the right pages.
pageshow to - 6 min read
How to delete pages from a PDF
Remove the pages you do not need and export a clean file — plus what deleting a page really removes, and why it is not the same thing as redacting one.
pageshow to - 6 min read
How to split a PDF into separate files
Split a PDF by page range, one file per page, or into a single trimmed document — and how to name the parts so nobody has to open them to know what they are.
fileshow to - 6 min read
How to merge PDFs and keep the page order
Merging is easy; getting the pages in the order you meant is the actual work. How file order, page order and reordering after the merge fit together.
fileshow to - 7 min read
How to fill in a PDF with no form fields
A PDF that was never built as a form has nothing to click into. Here is how to type on the page itself, keep the alignment straight, and sign the result.
formshow to - 7 min read
Why your edited PDF still shows the old text
You changed the PDF, exported it, and search still finds the original wording. Here is what happened to the file, how to check it, and how to fix it properly.
edit texttroubleshooting - 7 min read
Add text to a PDF vs edit the existing text
Adding text puts a new object over the page; editing rewrites the words that are already in it. What each one does to the file, and when you want which.
edit textcompare - 9 min read
Why can't I edit this PDF?
Six reasons a PDF refuses to be edited — scans, outlined text, missing fonts, encryption, form fields and overlay-only editors — and how to tell which one you have.
edit texttroubleshooting - 6 min read
How to edit text in a PDF without converting it
Most editors add a text box over the old words instead of changing them. How to tell the two apart, edit the original text in a browser, and check the export.
edit texthow to