PDF guides
Plain-language explanations of how PDF work actually works — written to be useful whether or not you use our tools. No fluff, no jargon, and honest about what tools can and cannot do.
How to Split a PDF: Ranges, Every N Pages, Exact Cuts
The three ways to split a PDF — page ranges, every N pages, and exact cut points — when each one is right, and how to do it without uploading your file.
How to Merge PDFs and Keep Pages in the Right Order
Combining PDFs is easy — getting the order, orientation and page sizes right is the real work. A practical guide to merging without surprises.
PDF Compression Explained: Why Some Files Shrink, Some Don't
Why one PDF shrinks 90% and another barely moves: what's actually inside a PDF, what compression really removes, and how to pick a quality level.
Make a Scanned PDF Searchable: OCR Explained Simply
A scanned PDF is a photograph of text — Ctrl+F finds nothing. OCR adds an invisible text layer that makes scans searchable and copyable. Here's how it works.
How to Redact a PDF So the Text Is Actually Gone
Drawing a black box over text does not remove it — the words are still there under the box. What real redaction is, why fake redaction keeps leaking, and how to do it right.
Password-Protect a PDF: What It Really Does (and Doesn't)
Open passwords, permission passwords, AES-256 — what each one actually protects against, what it can't, and how to send a protected PDF sensibly.
Sign a PDF Without Printing It — and When That's Enough
The print-sign-scan ritual is dead. How electronic PDF signatures work, the difference between a drawn signature and a certificate, and when each is legally fine.
PDF Won't Open? How to Repair a Corrupted File
“Failed to load PDF document” doesn't always mean the data is gone. Why PDFs break, which corruption is recoverable, and the repair steps worth trying in order.
PDF to Word: What Converts Cleanly and What Never Will
Why PDF-to-Word conversion is reconstruction, not translation — what survives (text, simple layout), what struggles (tables, columns), and how to get the best result.
Are Online PDF Tools Safe? Where Your File Actually Goes
Paste a contract into a random PDF site and where does it go? Upload-based vs in-browser tools, the questions worth asking, and how to check what a tool really does.
Prefer to just do it?
Every guide above pairs with a free tool that runs in your browser — your files are never uploaded. Start from the full tool list, or open the web app directly.