PDF Editor

#What it is

The PDF Editor (app id pdf) is Octoolo's app for working on PDF files, for the jobs people use Adobe Acrobat, Smallpdf, iLovePDF or Sejda for. Every page shows in one window: the pages down the left, the document in the middle, and settings on the right.

It can merge PDFs and pictures into one PDF, split and extract pages, delete, turn and reorder pages, add blank pages, type text anywhere on a page, highlight, cover things with White-out, black out private information for good (redaction), put pictures and a drawn or typed signature on pages, add page numbers and a text watermark, fill in a PDF's fillable form, and save pages as new PDFs or as JPG pictures.

It cannot change the words already in a PDF, compress a PDF, add or remove a password, or make scans searchable (OCR); see "Limits and what the PDF Editor cannot do".

Everything runs on the PC: files are read and written on the computer, nothing is uploaded, and it works offline.

#Opening the PDF Editor and what it costs

• On the home screen the PDF Editor is in the Documents group, with Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations. The home screen also has a Merge PDFs quick link. The home search finds the app by words such as "pdf", "acrobat", "merge", "split" or "sign", and finds each of its tasks (Merge PDF, Split PDF, Sign PDF...).
• Its address inside Octoolo is #/app/pdf; a task's is #/app/pdf/<task id>, for example #/app/pdf/pdf-merge. A shortcut can open it with Octoolo.exe --open=app/pdf or Octoolo.exe --open=app/pdf/pdf-sign. This opens the app or a task; it cannot open a particular file.
• Octoolo does not register itself with Windows for PDF files, so double-clicking a PDF in File Explorer opens it in the PDF reader Windows uses. To open a PDF in the PDF Editor, press Open files (or PDF > Open a PDF or pictures…, Ctrl+O) in the app, or drag the file onto the PDF Editor's window.
• The PDF Editor needs Octoolo Cloud (the subscription) or its free trial. Prices, the trial and the free apps are in Prices and limits.
• The Help and feedback button (speech bubble) in the PDF Editor's title bar opens Octoolo's Help and feedback page about the PDF Editor, where a message can be sent to Octoolo's support.

#Tasks of the PDF Editor

These tasks work in version 0.8.0. Each one opens the PDF Editor with a tip at the top (and some with a tool already chosen):

• Edit PDF text (pdf-edit-text): cover the old words with White-out, then press Text and type the new words on top. It does not change the PDF's own words or use its fonts; see "How to change or add text in a PDF with the PDF Editor". Opens with White-out chosen.
• Merge PDF (pdf-merge): open a PDF, add pages from other PDFs and pictures, drag them into order, save. See "How to merge PDFs with the PDF Editor".
• Split PDF (pdf-split): pick pages and save them as a new PDF, or save each page as its own PDF. There is no box for typing page ranges. See "How to split a PDF or extract pages with the PDF Editor".
• Extract pages (pdf-extract): pick pages, then PDF > Save these pages as a new PDF….
• Delete pages (pdf-delete): pick pages and press Delete, or the bin in the page bar.
• Rotate PDF (pdf-rotate): pick pages and press Turn left or Turn right.
• Reorder pages (pdf-reorder): drag the page thumbnails on the left into a new order.
• Add page numbers (pdf-page-numbers): turn on Page numbers in the Document panel.
• Watermark PDF (pdf-watermark): turn on Watermark in the Document panel and type its words.
• Sign PDF (pdf-sign): draw or type a signature and click where it goes. Opens with the signature window open. It is a picture of a signature, not a certificate-based digital signature.
• Fill PDF forms (pdf-forms): type into a fillable form's fields under The form in the Document panel, or press Text and type anywhere on a form that is not fillable. Opens with Text chosen.
• Redact PDF (pdf-redact): press Black out and drag over what must go; those pages are saved as pictures, so the words under the black are really gone. Opens with Black out chosen.

These PDF tasks are not available yet (the home search shows them with a Soon tag, and opening one shows the PDF Editor with a line saying it is on its way). Do not promise a date:

• Compress PDF (pdf-compress): making a PDF smaller. Not available yet. The line shown: "Making PDFs smaller is on its way. Everything else is here already."
• Protect PDF (pdf-protect): locking a PDF with a password. Not available yet. The line shown: "Locking PDFs with a password is on its way. Everything else is here already."
• Unlock PDF (pdf-unlock): removing a password you know. Not available yet. The line shown: "Unlocking PDFs is on its way. Everything else is here already."
• Make scans searchable (pdf-ocr): recognising the text of scanned pages. Not available yet. The line shown: "Making scans searchable is on its way. Everything else is here already." (Text can be copied out of a picture with Image to text in the Photo Editor, one picture at a time.)

These PDF conversions are in the Converters app, not in the PDF Editor (see Converters): JPG to PDF (images-to-pdf, with page size and margin choices), PDF to JPG (pdf-to-jpg), PDF to Word (pdf-to-word) and Word to PDF (word-to-pdf). The PDF Editor itself can also open pictures as pages and save pages as JPG pictures (see "Saving from the PDF Editor").

#The PDF Editor's window

• Title bar: the document's name and "N pages · kept as you work" (or "N pages · a new PDF, kept as you work", see "Saving from the PDF Editor"), the PDF menu and the Save button.
• PDF menu: Open a PDF or pictures… (Ctrl O), Add pages from other files…, Save (Ctrl S), Save this page as a new PDF… (or Save these N pages as a new PDF… when several pages are picked), Save each page as its own PDF…, Save the pages as pictures… and Close this PDF.
• Toolbar: Select (pick and move what is on the pages), Text, Highlight, White-out, Black out, Sign, Picture, Undo, Redo, and at the right Smaller, the zoom in percent, Larger and Fit (fit the width).
• Page bar (left): a thumbnail of every page with its number (a dot on a thumbnail means something was added to that page), and buttons Turn left, Turn right, Delete, Add a blank page and Add pages from files.
• The pages (middle), one under the other; each is drawn as it scrolls into view.
• Right side: the selected item's settings (Text, Picture, Highlight, White-out or Black out, each with Remove); with the Text or Highlight tool, that tool's settings; or else the Document panel: Name, Page numbers, Watermark and, when the PDF has fillable fields, The form.
• With nothing open, the middle says Open a PDF with an Open files button: "Or drop PDFs and pictures here: they become one PDF. They stay on this computer."

#How to merge PDFs with the PDF Editor

1. Open the PDF Editor and press Open files. Pick one PDF, or several at once (they become one document, in the order Windows gives them). Pictures (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP) can be mixed in: each becomes a page.
2. Add more: press Add pages from files (the + in the page bar), choose PDF > Add pages from other files…, or drop files on the window ("Drop to add the pages"). The new pages go after the current page (the page last clicked in the page bar, or the one in view after scrolling). Click the page they should follow first: right after a document is opened, before any click or scroll, they can land at the end or at the start. The message says "Added N pages."
3. Drag thumbnails in the page bar to put the pages in order (one page per drag).
4. Optionally change the Name in the Document panel (it starts as the first file's name).
5. Press Save (Ctrl+S): Windows' Save dialog suggests "<Name>.pdf". The files you opened are not changed unless you choose one of them in the Save dialog.

There is no set limit on how many files or pages can be merged. A merged PDF is a new PDF made of copied pages: bookmarks and fillable form fields of the originals do not come with it (see "Saving from the PDF Editor").

#How to split a PDF or extract pages with the PDF Editor

• Pick pages in the page bar: click a page, Ctrl+click to add or remove pages, Shift+click to pick every page between.
• Extract (pdf-extract) or one part of a split (pdf-split): PDF > Save these N pages as a new PDF… (with one page or none picked, the current page: Save this page as a new PDF…). The file name suggested is "<Name> (part).pdf". Pages are saved in the editor's order.
• Every page as its own PDF: PDF > Save each page as its own PDF… makes one .zip, "<Name> pages.zip", with "<Name> page 1.pdf", "<Name> page 2.pdf"... When several pages are picked, only those are saved; otherwise every page. The message says "Saved N PDFs in a zip."
• There is no box to type page ranges (such as "1-3, 7") and no automatic split every N pages: pick each part with a click and a Shift+click and save it.
• Pages are copied, not redrawn: text stays sharp and searchable, pictures keep their resolution.
• Choosing Save this page as a new PDF… before any page was clicked or scrolled to gives "There are no pages to save." Click a page in the page bar first.

#How to delete, turn and reorder pages in the PDF Editor

• Delete pages (pdf-delete): pick pages (Ctrl+click or Shift+click) and press Delete, or press the bin (Delete) in the page bar, which also works on the current page alone. The Delete key works only on picked pages (or on a selected added item). The last page cannot be deleted: "A PDF needs at least one page." Ctrl+Z brings deleted pages back.
• Rotate PDF (pdf-rotate): pick pages (or click one) and press Turn left or Turn right in the page bar: quarter turns only. The turn is saved in the PDF as the page's rotation, so other readers show and print the page turned; the page's content is not redrawn.
• Reorder pages (pdf-reorder): drag a thumbnail up or down in the page bar; a line shows where it will go. One page moves per drag.
• Add a blank page: the page button in the page bar adds an A4 page (portrait) after the current page.
• Turn pages before adding text, signatures or other items to them: added items stay where they are on the screen when a page is turned afterwards, so they end up in a different place on the page's content.

#How to add page numbers with the PDF Editor

1. Open the PDF. With Select chosen and nothing selected, the right side shows the Document panel.
2. Turn on Page numbers (Show).
3. Where: Left, Middle or Right at the bottom, or Top (top right).
4. How: 1, Page 1 or 1 of 9.
5. No number on the first page leaves a cover page without a number; the second page is then numbered 1 (and "of" counts the pages after the cover).
6. Save. The numbers show on the pages in the editor as they will be saved.

The numbers are real text in a dark gray sans-serif font (Helvetica), sized to the page (about 1.7% of the page's shorter side, at least 8 points), on every page. Numbering always starts at 1; the font, size and color cannot be changed; top left and top middle are not offered. Numbers are always in English ("Page 1", "1 of 9").

#How to add a watermark with the PDF Editor

1. Open the PDF; in the Document panel turn on Watermark (Show).
2. Type the words, or press DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, COPY, PAID or SAMPLE.
3. Across the page, slanted (on by default) runs it corner to corner; off, it is level in the middle.
4. See-through (5% to 90%, 82% at first) and the color (red, black, gray, blue, green, or Another color).
5. Save.

The watermark is text, in bold Helvetica, on every page, at about 14% of the page's shorter side (the size cannot be changed). The panel says "On every page, in the standard font: Latin letters only." A watermark with letters outside that set (Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, emoji...) is left out of the saved file. Pictures or logos cannot be a watermark (use Picture on each page instead), and a watermark cannot go on some pages only.

#How to sign a PDF with the PDF Editor

1. Open the PDF and press Sign (the Sign PDF task opens the window at once).
2. In Your signature, choose Draw it and draw with the mouse, pen or finger (Clear starts again), or Type it and type your name (it is written in a handwriting font, Segoe Script). Pick a color: black, dark blue, blue, or Another color.
3. Press Place it, then click on the page where the signature goes ("Click where your signature goes."). It is placed at about 28% of the page's width.
4. Drag it to move it; drag its corner to resize it (it keeps its proportions). Remove or Delete takes it away.
5. Save.

• Used before: at the top of the window shows the last three signatures made in the PDF Editor; click one to place it again. They are kept on this PC only. There is no button to forget them.
• To sign with a picture of a handwritten signature (a scan or a photo), use Picture instead of Sign; a PNG with a transparent background shows only the ink.
• A drawn or typed signature is saved with a transparent background, drawn into the page as a picture.
• It is not a digital signature. The PDF Editor does not add certificate-based (cryptographic) digital signatures, does not use ID cards or signing services, and does not lock the document against changes. Whether a drawn or typed signature is accepted depends on the person or organization asking for it.
• Saving a PDF that already has a certificate-based digital signature rewrites the file, so readers such as Adobe Acrobat no longer show that signature as valid.

#How to fill in a PDF form with the PDF Editor

A fillable form (one with form fields, AcroForm):

1. Open the PDF. With Select (or White-out or Black out) chosen and nothing selected, the Document panel shows The form, with each field of the form by its internal field name: a text box for text fields, a tick box for check boxes, and a list for drop-downs, list boxes and radio buttons ("—" is no choice).
2. Type the answers there.
3. Save. The answers are written into the form's own fields, so the form stays fillable for the next person (the PDF Editor does not flatten forms), and saving and reopening a half-filled form keeps the answers.

Things to know:

• The pages on screen keep showing the form as it was in the file; the answers typed under The form appear in the saved PDF.
• Only the fields of the first PDF opened are listed. Signature fields and buttons are not listed.
• The form keeps its answers only when the PDF is saved with its pages as they came (no pages added, deleted or moved; turning is fine). Otherwise the panel warns "The form keeps its answers only while the pages stay as they came." and the answers are not saved.
• Answers with letters outside the Latin set (Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese, Arabic...) make the save fail (see Troubleshooting).
• Forms made only as XFA (Adobe LiveCycle Designer "dynamic" forms) are not supported: their fields are not listed, and saving such a PDF in the PDF Editor leaves its XFA form out of the saved copy. Fill those in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

A form that is not fillable (a scan, or a PDF without fields): press Text, click where the answer goes and type (see the next section). Tick boxes can be made by typing an "X". A signature goes on with Sign.

#How to change or add text in a PDF with the PDF Editor

The PDF Editor cannot edit the words that are already in a PDF, and it cannot write in the PDF's own fonts. To change words (pdf-edit-text), cover them and type new ones on top:

1. Press White-out and drag a box over the old words: a white box covers them.
2. Press Text, click on the white box (or anywhere on a page) and type. Enter starts a new line. Esc, or clicking elsewhere, finishes; a text left empty goes away.
3. Choose the look before or after typing (select the text to change it): Font Clean (Helvetica, close to Arial), Classic (Times) or Typewriter (Courier); Size (the slider shows points for an A4-height page, about 7 to 67; dragging the text's corner makes it bigger or smaller); Bold; and a color (six colors, or Another color).
4. Drag the text to move it. Remove or Delete takes it away.
5. Save.

Things to know:

• White-out only covers. The old words stay in the file underneath: they can still be selected, copied and found by search in other readers. To remove words for good, use Black out.
• Text with letters the three standard fonts cannot write (Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, emoji...) is saved as a picture of the text, so it looks right but cannot be selected or searched. Text in Latin letters is saved as real text.
• Matching the document's font is only possible when it uses Helvetica/Arial, Times or Courier.
• There is no italic, underline, strikethrough, text border or background (drag a White-out box first for a white background).

#How to black out (redact) a PDF with the PDF Editor

1. Press Black out (the Redact PDF task opens with it chosen).
2. Drag a box over each thing that must go. Check headers, footers and every page where a name or a number repeats: the PDF Editor does not search for words or black out the same word everywhere.
3. Save, and keep the original if you may need it again.

What happens when it is saved (pdf-redact):

• Every page that has at least one Black out box is saved as a picture of the page (a JPG at 180 dots per inch), with the black boxes painted into it.
• The page's own content (its text, fonts, pictures and drawing), its form fields, its links and the page itself are taken out of the file, and then everything nothing refers to any more is removed. The words under the black are not in the page any more: they cannot be selected, copied or searched, and are not drawn under the black.
• The whole page becomes a picture, not only the part under the black: nothing on that page can be selected or searched any more. Pages without Black out are unchanged.
• Text, highlights, pictures and signatures added on that page are put on top of the picture as usual.
• The file usually gets bigger, as a page picture is often larger than the same page as text.
• Answers typed under The form for fields on a blacked-out page are not kept.
• Black out works on the pages only. When the PDF is saved with its pages as they came, the document's properties (title, author, subject), its bookmark titles and a form field that also appears on another page stay as they were: if they hold the private words, they are still in the file. Check them in another PDF reader before sharing the file.
• Safest order: black out first, in the PDF with its pages as they came, and save. When pages were also added, deleted or moved (the title bar says "a new PDF, kept as you work"), and for Save this page / these pages as a new PDF… and Save each page as its own PDF…, a link on another saved page that points to the blacked-out page (for example a table of contents) or a form field shared with it can bring a hidden copy of that page's original content into the new file. To be sure, black out and save the PDF with its pages as they came, then open the saved copy and merge, delete, move or extract pages there.
• Save the pages as pictures… does not apply Black out (or anything else added): those pictures show the private words in full. To share pictures of a blacked-out page, save the PDF first, then turn the saved copy into pictures with Converters' PDF to JPG.
• The file you opened is not changed (unless you pick it in the Save dialog), and the PDF Editor keeps a copy of it (with the words) in its draft on the PC until PDF > Close this PDF.

On screen, before saving, a Black out box is just a black box that can be moved, resized or removed. Its panel says "This page is saved as a picture, so the words under the black are gone for good, not just hidden."

#Highlight, White-out and pictures in the PDF Editor

• Highlight: drag a box over words; pick a color (yellow, green, blue, pink, orange, or Another color). Saved as a see-through colored box drawn into the page, so every reader and printer shows it. It is not a PDF comment or annotation: it has no note and other apps cannot edit it as a highlight. It works on scans too.
• White-out: drag a white box to cover something. It covers only; what is under it stays in the file (use Black out to remove things).
• Picture: press Picture, pick a picture (PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP...), then click where it goes ("Click where the picture goes."). It is placed at 30% of the page's width; drag to move, drag its corner to resize (proportions kept). Pictures larger than 1,600 pixels are scaled down to 1,600 on their long side. Pictures go on top of the page; they cannot be put behind its text, cropped or turned in the PDF Editor.
• Every added item can be selected with Select, moved, resized and removed (Remove on the right, or Delete) for as long as the document stays open in the PDF Editor (also after Octoolo is closed and opened again), until PDF > Close this PDF; in the saved file it is part of the page.

#Files the PDF Editor opens

• PDF files, any number of pages, and pictures: JPG/JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP (and AVIF). Each picture becomes one page, its long side as long as an A4 page's (about 29.7 cm), keeping its proportions; JPG and PNG pictures go in as they are, other formats are converted to PNG.
• Open with Open files / PDF > Open a PDF or pictures… (Ctrl+O, several files at once) or by dropping files on the empty window. Opening replaces the document that was open, without asking (see "Undo, drafts and recovery in the PDF Editor"). Files dropped on the window while a document is open are added to it as pages, like Add pages from files.
• Files that are not PDFs or pictures: "<file> is not a PDF or a picture." A picture the PDF Editor cannot read (for example an iPhone HEIC photo): "<file> does not open as a picture." A damaged PDF: "<file> does not open: it seems damaged." A PDF that needs a password to open: "<file> is locked with a password." (see "Password-protected PDFs in the PDF Editor").
• It cannot open Word, Excel, PowerPoint or other document files; Converters turns them into PDFs (Converters).
• The PDF Editor has no list of recent files; it reopens the last document by itself (see "Undo, drafts and recovery in the PDF Editor").

#Saving from the PDF Editor

• Save (the button, PDF > Save, Ctrl+S) always shows Windows' Save dialog with "<Name>.pdf" filled in (the Name from the Document panel). It never writes over the file you opened unless you pick that file in the dialog. The message after saving is "Saved <Name>.pdf".
• Pages left as they came are saved by changing the original. When the document is one PDF with all its pages in their order (turning pages, adding text, highlights, White-out, signatures, pictures, page numbers, a watermark and form answers are fine), the saved file is the original PDF with those changes: its fillable form (with the answers), links, bookmarks and document properties stay. The title bar then says "kept as you work".
• Otherwise the pages are copied into a new PDF: after merging, adding blank pages or pictures, deleting or moving pages, and always for Save this page / these pages as a new PDF… and Save each page as its own PDF…. The pages' content and the links on them (to web pages) come along, but bookmarks, the document's properties (title, author) and the fillable form do not; answers typed under The form are not saved. The title bar then says "a new PDF, kept as you work". A copied page with links to other pages of the same PDF (for example a table of contents) can bring hidden copies of those linked pages into the new file, which makes it bigger: check what a part saved with Save this page / these pages as a new PDF… contains before sharing it.
• Saving rewrites the whole file (it is not an incremental update): a certificate-based digital signature already in the PDF no longer validates afterwards. The saved PDF's Producer is "Octoolo" and its Creator "Octoolo PDF Editor".
• Pages are copied as they are: text stays text, pictures keep their resolution, nothing is compressed or redrawn, except pages with Black out (saved as pictures, see "How to black out (redact) a PDF with the PDF Editor").
• Save the pages as pictures… saves JPG pictures at 144 dots per inch (quality 90%): one page gives "<Name> page N.jpg"; several pages give "<Name> pictures.zip" ("Saved N pictures in a zip."). It saves the picked pages when several are picked, otherwise every page. These pictures show the pages as they are in the file you opened (turned as in the editor), without the text, signatures, highlights, White-out, Black out, page numbers, watermark and other things added in the PDF Editor: what was blacked out shows in full in these pictures. To get the changes, save the PDF first and use Converters' PDF to JPG on the saved copy, which also offers PNG, WebP and other resolutions (Converters).
• Saving writes the whole file at once. If the target file is open in another program that locks it, the message is "Could not save <path>: <reason>"; close it there or save under another name.

#Password-protected PDFs in the PDF Editor

• A PDF that needs a password to open does not open: "<file> is locked with a password." The PDF Editor has no place to type a PDF's password. Remove the password in the program that set it (or print it to a new PDF there), then open the copy. Unlock PDF (pdf-unlock) is not available yet.
• A PDF with restrictions only (it opens without a password but has an owner password that limits printing or changes) opens and shows, but saving it fails with "Input document to PDFDocument.load is encrypted. You can use PDFDocument.load(..., { ignoreEncryption: true }) if you wish to load the document anyways." Its fillable fields are not listed. Save the pages as pictures… still works. Remove the restrictions in the program that set them to edit it.
• The PDF Editor cannot add a password to a PDF: Protect PDF (pdf-protect) is not available yet.

#Large PDFs, thumbnails and zoom in the PDF Editor

• The PDF Editor sets no limit on pages or file size. Very large PDFs take longer to open, to draw and to save, since everything happens on the PC.
• The page bar draws a thumbnail of every page when a document opens; the big pages in the middle are drawn as they come near the screen, so scrolling a long document draws pages as it goes.
• Zoom: Smaller and Larger go from 20% to 400%; Fit fits the widest page to the window's width (up to 300%) and follows the window when it is resized.
• The whole document, with the files' contents, is kept as the draft on the PC (see "Undo, drafts and recovery in the PDF Editor"), so very large documents also take room there until Close this PDF.

#Printing from the PDF Editor

The PDF Editor has no Print button. Save the PDF, then open the saved file in a PDF reader (for example Microsoft Edge, which comes with Windows) and print it from there. Page numbers, watermarks, highlights, signatures and added text are part of the saved pages and print with them.

#Keyboard shortcuts in the PDF Editor

While text is being typed on a page, the keys act on that text only (Ctrl+S and Ctrl+O do nothing then): press Esc to finish the text first. In a box on the right (such as Name or a form field), Ctrl+Z, Delete and Backspace work on that box, not on the document.

#Undo, drafts and recovery in the PDF Editor

• Undo and Redo (toolbar, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y) go back and forward up to 100 steps. The undo history is lost when the PDF Editor is closed or another PDF is opened.
• The document is kept as you work: less than a second after each change, the whole document (the files' contents, the page order, everything added, page numbers, watermark and form answers) is kept as a draft on the PC. Opening the PDF Editor again (also after a crash or a restart) brings back the last document as it was left, without asking.
• Saving does not end the draft: the PDF Editor keeps showing the document until PDF > Close this PDF, which empties the editor and deletes the draft (without asking).
• Opening another PDF replaces the open document without asking, and the replaced document cannot be brought back with Undo. Save before opening something else.
• There is one draft for the PDF Editor.

#Where the PDF Editor keeps things

• Your files: where you save them. The PDF Editor does not change the files you open.
• Draft: inside the storage of Octoolo's window (WebView2), in the EBWebView folder of %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.octoolo.app. It holds a copy of the open files, so a private PDF stays in that storage until Close this PDF.
• Signatures: the last three signatures (as pictures), in the same window storage. There is no button to delete them.
• Recent files: none; the PDF Editor has no recent list.
• Uninstalling Octoolo keeps %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.octoolo.app (with the draft and the signatures) unless Delete the application data is ticked in the uninstaller.

#Downloads the PDF Editor needs

None. The PDF reader (pdf.js) and writer (pdf-lib) are part of Octoolo. Nothing is downloaded the first time, and the PDF Editor works fully offline.

#Privacy in the PDF Editor

Nothing you open, add, black out or save leaves the PC: pages are drawn and files written on the computer. The only thing sent is Octoolo's usage statistics (that the app or a task was opened and for how long, that a file was saved, and error messages with file names, paths and names removed), which Send anonymous usage statistics in Octoolo's Settings turns off. A copy of the open document stays in Octoolo's storage on the PC until PDF > Close this PDF. See Privacy and data.

#Troubleshooting the PDF Editor

#"<file> is locked with a password."

The PDF needs a password to open, and the PDF Editor cannot open password-protected PDFs (Unlock PDF is not available yet). Open it in the program that set the password (or any reader that knows it), remove the password or print it to a new PDF, and open that copy.

#Saving fails with "Input document to PDFDocument.load is encrypted…"

The PDF has an owner password (restrictions on printing or changes) even though it opens without a password. The PDF Editor can show it and save its pages as pictures, but cannot save it as a PDF. Remove the restrictions in the program that set them, then open the new copy.

#"<file> does not open: it seems damaged."

pdf.js could not read the file. Try opening it in another reader; if it opens there, print or save it to a new PDF and open that copy. A file that is not really a PDF (renamed from another format) gives the same message.

#"<file> is not a PDF or a picture." or "<file> does not open as a picture."

Only PDFs and pictures (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF) open. iPhone HEIC photos do not: export them as JPG first. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files become PDFs in Converters (Converters).

#Saving the form fails with "WinAnsi cannot encode …"

An answer typed under The form has letters outside the Latin set (for example Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese or Arabic), which the form's standard font cannot write. Remove those letters from the field, or leave the field empty and type the answer on the page with Text instead (such text is saved as a picture of the text).

#My form answers are not in the saved PDF, or do not show on screen

• The pages on screen show the form as it was in the file; answers typed under The form appear only in the saved PDF.
• If pages were added, deleted or moved, the form's answers are not saved ("The form keeps its answers only while the pages stay as they came."). Save the filled form on its own first, then merge or rearrange the saved copy.
• Fields on a page with Black out are taken out with the page's content.

#"The form" section is missing

It appears only for a PDF with fillable fields (AcroForm), only for the first PDF opened, and only when the Document panel shows (choose Select and click an empty part of a page so nothing is selected). Forms that are not fillable, and XFA-only forms, have no fields to list: use Text.

#The watermark is missing from the saved PDF

The watermark uses the standard font, Latin letters only. Words in other alphabets or with emoji are left out of the saved file. Use Latin letters, or put text on each page with Text.

#My added text cannot be selected in the saved PDF, or looks like a picture

The text has letters the standard fonts cannot write (other alphabets, emoji), so it was saved as a picture of the text. Latin text is saved as real text.

#The words under White-out can still be copied or found

White-out only covers. Use Black out to remove information for good, then save; the old copy saved with White-out still contains the words.

#After Black out, nothing on the page can be selected or searched, and the file is bigger

That is how Black out works: the whole marked page is saved as a 180 dpi picture so nothing under the black stays on the page. Pages without Black out are unchanged. Keep the original if you need the text.

#The blacked-out words show in the pictures I saved

PDF > Save the pages as pictures… draws the pages as they are in the file that was opened, without Black out or anything else added in the PDF Editor. Delete those pictures. Save the PDF first (Black out is applied to the saved PDF), then make pictures of the saved copy with Converters' PDF to JPG (Converters).

#The Delete key does nothing

The Delete key deletes picked pages (Ctrl+click or Shift+click in the page bar) or the selected added item. To delete only the page you are on, press the bin (Delete) in the page bar.

#"A PDF needs at least one page."

Every page was chosen for deleting. Keep at least one page; to start over, use PDF > Close this PDF.

#"There are no pages to save."

Save this page as a new PDF… was chosen before any page of this document was clicked or scrolled to (for example right after opening it). Click a page in the page bar, then choose it again.

#Added pages went to the wrong place

New pages go after the current page (the page last clicked, or the one in view after scrolling). Drag them into place in the page bar, or click the page they should follow before adding.

#My text or signature moved after I turned the page

Added items stay where they are on the screen when a page is turned, so they land on a different part of the page's content. Undo the turn (Ctrl+Z), or move the items again. Turn pages first, then add things.

#I opened another PDF and my work is gone

Opening a PDF replaces the document in the PDF Editor without asking, and the previous document is not kept as a draft or in Undo. If it was saved, open the saved file. Save before opening another PDF.

#The PDF Editor always shows my old document

The PDF Editor reopens the last document it had, as you left it. Choose PDF > Close this PDF to empty it (this also deletes its draft).

#Bookmarks are missing after merging or deleting pages

The pages were copied into a new PDF, which has no bookmarks. Bookmarks are kept only when one PDF is saved with all its pages in their order.

#A digital signature shows as invalid after saving

Saving rewrites the PDF, which breaks a certificate-based signature that was already in it. Sign digitally after all edits, in the program that holds the certificate.

#Saving fails with "Could not save <path>: …"

The file could not be written, often because the same file is open in another program (such as a PDF reader) or the folder is protected. Close the file there, or save under another name or in another folder (for example Documents).

#"The file is not here any more."

The draft lost the contents of one of its files. Choose PDF > Close this PDF and open the files again.

#Limits and what the PDF Editor cannot do

• It cannot edit or delete the words already in a PDF, change their font, or reflow text. It can cover them (White-out) and type new text on top in Helvetica, Times or Courier.
• It cannot compress PDFs, add or remove passwords, or make scans searchable (OCR): Compress PDF, Protect PDF, Unlock PDF and Make scans searchable are not available yet.
• It cannot open PDFs that need a password, or save PDFs that have restrictions.
• It cannot add certificate-based digital signatures; its signatures are pictures.
• It cannot convert PDFs to Word or pictures to PDFs with page sizes and margins; that is in Converters (Converters).
• It cannot print; save and print from a PDF reader.
• It has no page-range box, no automatic split every N pages, and moves one page per drag.
• It cannot crop pages, change page sizes, rotate by angles other than quarter turns, or straighten scans.
• Page numbers always start at 1, in four places, with a fixed font, size and color.
• The watermark is text only, Latin letters only, on every page, at a fixed size.
• It cannot add PDF comments, sticky notes, links or bookmarks; highlights are drawn into the page.
• It cannot fill XFA (LiveCycle) forms, and it lists only the first PDF's fields.
• It has no find-and-replace, no search in the document, and no automatic redaction of a word on every page.
• It has no recent files list and keeps one document (one draft) at a time.
• It cannot delete the signatures it remembers.
• It cannot be set as the program that opens PDFs from File Explorer.