Merge, split, compress: choosing the right PDF tool

We handle PDF files every day without always knowing which operation to choose. Here is a short note: start from what you need, and the right action becomes obvious.

01Choose by the need

• "I have several files to bring together into one" → Merge PDF files. Assemble receipts, a complete file, one PDF per client.
• "I want to pull out a few pages" → Split a PDF. Take a certificate out of a statement, or cut a large document into parts.
• "My PDF is too heavy to send" → Compress a PDF. Brings the size down while keeping it readable.
• "My file is not a PDF" → Convert to PDF (an image, an office document). And the other way round to get a PDF back out as a word processor file, as text or as images.
• "I have to remove a password I know" → Remove the password, on a PDF you legitimately hold.
• "The file looks corrupted" → Repair a PDF, which tries to recover a damaged document.

02The less known operations, and still useful

• Edit the metadata: correct the title, the author and the keywords embedded in the file, useful for filing and for search.
• Extract the images: pull the visuals contained in a PDF back out, one by one.
• The fingerprint of a file: get the checksum of a file to check that it has not changed.

A healthy rule: transform a copy, keep the original intact. You can always start again.

03Do it, then archive it

A PDF operation is only useful if the result can be found again. The habit to build: after a merge or a compression, file the document in the right folder, with a clear name and a date. That is exactly what PDF Archive joins together: the tools and the archive, in the same place.