How to actually do the thing
Each of these explains what the operation does to your file, not just which button to press. Where something has a real cost or a real limit, it says so.
Editing and signing
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How to redact a PDF so the text is actually gone
A black rectangle is not redaction, and the text under it is recoverable in seconds. What real removal requires, how to do it, and the copy-and-paste test that proves it worked.
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How to fill out and sign a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
Interactive forms and flat scans are different problems. How to tell which you have, what to do in each case, and how to draw a signature that does not look drawn with a mouse.
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How to OCR a scanned PDF in your browser
A scan is a photograph of a page with no text in it. OCR adds a real text layer without the scan ever leaving your device, and this covers what breaks accuracy.
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How to add Bates numbering to legal documents
Sequential identifiers for a production set: choosing a prefix and padding, why numbering has to come last, and the two things Bates numbers are commonly mistaken for.
Organising and converting
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How to merge PDFs without uploading them
What merging does to the underlying document, how to control the order, what happens when page sizes do not match, and why this is the operation where uploading is worst.
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How to split a PDF and extract specific pages
The page range syntax in full, the trick for reordering pages while you extract them, and the three things worth checking before the file leaves your machine.
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How to rotate, reorder, and delete PDF pages
Fixing sideways scans, dragging pages into order, deleting from the bottom up so numbering does not shift under you, plus duplicating and inserting blanks.
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How to compress a PDF, and what actually makes them big
Compression is the one operation with a real cost: it turns text into pictures of text. What causes large files, which preset to choose, and when compression will not help at all.
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How to convert PDF pages to PNG or JPG
When images are genuinely the right format, how to choose between PNG and JPG, what resolution you get, and how to export a single page instead of all fifty.
Measuring and marking
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How to measure distances and areas on a PDF
Lengths and polygon areas in five units, why a correct reading does not change when you zoom, and how to handle a drawing that is at a scale.
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How to watermark a PDF without uploading it
Placing DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across a page, choosing wording that will not be mistaken for content, and the reason a watermark labels a document rather than protecting it.