PDF tools
Tools for the PDF jobs that come up most: putting documents together or taking them apart, making them smaller, locking or signing them, and turning other formats into PDF.
What each group of tools is for
Most PDF jobs fall into two groups. The first is rearranging documents: the PDF Merger joins files in the order you set, the PDF Splitter pulls out pages or cuts a long file into parts, and the PDF Rotator fixes pages that were scanned sideways. Image to PDF belongs here too, for when your "document" is a set of phone photos.
The second group protects or marks a document: PDF Add Password, PDF Remove Password, PDF Watermark and the PDF Signer. The third creates a PDF from something else: HTML to PDF and Markdown to PDF, with Markdown to Word for when the other person wants a file they can edit.
Choosing between similar tools
If a PDF is too big to email, try the PDF Compressor first. Most of the size in a large PDF is usually images, and compression works by re-encoding them, so a stronger setting means a smaller file with softer pictures. If you only need a few pages, splitting those out is often the bigger win, and it does not touch image quality at all.
PDF Remove Password is not a password cracker. It needs the correct password and is meant for files you already have the right to open and edit, such as your own bank statements. If you only want a signature image to paste somewhere else, the Signature Drawer in Utility Tools makes a PNG; the PDF Signer places the signature on the page for you.
Where your file goes
The merger, splitter, rotator, compressor, watermark, both password tools, Image to PDF and HTML to PDF upload your file to the Fix42 server and send the result back. The signer, and both Markdown converters run in your browser, so the file stays on your device. If the document is sensitive, that difference is worth checking in the table below before you start.
PDF Tools compared
| Tool | Best for | Input | Output | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF Merger | Joining several PDFs into one, in an order you choose | Two or more PDFs | One PDF | On the Fix42 server |
| PDF Splitter | Pulling out pages or cutting a long PDF into parts | One PDF | PDF files in a ZIP | On the Fix42 server |
| PDF Add Password | Locking a PDF before you send it | PDF and a password | Encrypted PDF | On the Fix42 server |
| PDF Remove Password | Removing a password you know from your own PDF | Protected PDF and its password | Unlocked PDF | On the Fix42 server |
| PDF Rotator | Fixing sideways or upside-down pages | On the Fix42 server | ||
| Image to PDF | Turning photos of pages into one document | JPG or PNG images | On the Fix42 server | |
| PDF Watermark | Marking drafts or copies | PDF plus text or an image | Watermarked PDF | On the Fix42 server |
| PDF Compressor | Getting under an email or upload size limit | Smaller PDF | On the Fix42 server | |
| PDF Signer | Signing a PDF by drawing, typing or uploading a signature | PDF and a signature | Signed PDF | In your browser |
| HTML to PDF | Saving HTML or a web page as a PDF | HTML code or a URL | On the Fix42 server | |
| Markdown to PDF | Notes, READMEs and docs as a formatted PDF | Markdown | In your browser | |
| Markdown to Word | Sending Markdown to someone who works in Word | Markdown | DOCX | In your browser |
"On the Fix42 server" means the file or text you give the tool is uploaded, processed and sent back. See the privacy policy for how uploads are handled.