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PDF guides: merge, split, compress, convert and clean up

Most PDF jobs are small and annoying: one file too many, one page too few, a document too big to email. These guides show the quickest way to do each one on a Mac, a Windows PC or a phone, and how to do it without handing a private file to a stranger's server. Every guide ends in a free tool that runs in your own browser tab.

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PDF

How to combine PDF files for free, without uploading them

A PDF stitcher that runs in your browser tab. Put contracts, receipts and scans in one file, in the right order, on a Mac, a Windows PC or a phone.

6 min readRead

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PDF

The contract draft went out without DRAFT on it. Stamp it on every page first

Put DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or a logo on the pages you choose, with the opacity, angle and tiling you want. A watermark labels a file. It does not lock it.

6 min readRead

PDF

Page 7 should be page 2, and re-merging everything is how you lose an hour

Put the pages in order in one thumbnail view, fix a backwards or two pass scan, and save once. The pages are copied, not redrawn, so scans keep their quality.

6 min readRead

PDF

Is it safe to upload a PDF to a free website? What to check first

You are about to hand a contract, an ID scan or a tax form to a server you know nothing about. Here is what that means, and a two minute test that shows whether a tool uploads your file at all.

6 min readRead

PDF

The scan came out sideways? Rotate the PDF and save it for good

Turn every page, only the odd or even ones, or a single page, and keep a new file that stays turned. Nothing is uploaded and the pages are not recompressed.

5 min readRead

PDF

You merged twelve files and the page numbers are missing or wrong? Add them again

Put real numbers on a PDF where you want them, in the format and start number you choose, with the cover left out. The rest of the file stays as it was.

5 min readRead

PDF

Your PDF still has your name in it. See what it reveals and how to remove it

The author field, the program that made the file, creation and edit dates, and leftovers you cannot see in a viewer. Read them, change them or remove them, and learn what removing cannot hide.

6 min readRead

PDF

Can't select text in your PDF, or it pastes in the wrong order? Here is the fix

Copy the text out of a PDF page by page, in reading order, with columns and tables handled. Scanned pages are pictures with no text in them, and this page says so plainly.

5 min readRead

PDF

How to save a picture as a PDF (JPG, PNG, WebP and screenshots)

Turn a photo, a scan or a screenshot into a PDF in a few clicks, add several images to one document, and keep the quality. It all happens in your browser.

6 min readRead

PDF

How to compress a PDF on Mac and Windows, and make any PDF smaller

Why PDFs get so big, what Preview can and cannot do, and how to shrink a PDF in your browser to fit an email or an upload form, with the text left untouched.

5 min readRead

PDF

How to convert a PDF to JPG (and when to pick PNG)

Turn PDF pages into pictures you can send, post or paste anywhere. Choose the pages, the resolution and the quality, and keep the document on your own device.

5 min readRead

PDF

How to delete pages from a PDF, or save just one page

Take out blank sheets, cover pages and anything you should not send, check the result, and save a new PDF. Your original is never changed and nothing leaves your device.

5 min readRead

PDF

PDF splitter: how to split a PDF into single pages

Separate the pages of a PDF into their own files in one go, get them as a ZIP, and keep the document on your device. Here is how, and what to use when you need something else.

4 min readRead

Free PDF tools

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