Most PDF tasks people actually need day to day are simple, but desktop PDF software is often overkill (or not installed at all) for a one-off job. Here's a practical rundown of the common tasks and the quickest way to handle each one directly in a browser.

Merging multiple PDFs into one

The most common request: you have several separate PDFs — a cover letter, a report, and some scanned attachments — and need them as a single file for submission. Upload them in the order you want (or reorder afterward with the page thumbnails), and merge them into one document. This is useful for combining scanned annexes into a main report, or assembling a multi-part application into one submission-ready file.

Try it: merge PDF files.

Splitting a PDF into separate pages

The reverse problem: you have one large PDF (say, a 40-page report) and need just a few pages out of it, or need to hand out each page as its own file. Splitting produces one PDF per page, so you can pick out exactly what you need afterward.

Try it: split a PDF.

Rotating, deleting, and reordering pages

Scanned documents are notorious for having a page or two rotated the wrong way, or pages in the wrong order after a mis-fed scanner. Fixing this page-by-page, rather than re-scanning, is almost always faster.

Try it: rotate, delete & reorder PDF pages.

Adding a watermark, page numbers, or document metadata

Before sharing a draft externally, a "DRAFT" or "CONFIDENTIAL" watermark across every page is standard practice. Page numbers make a long document easier to reference in meetings, and setting the document title/author metadata is a small touch that makes a PDF look properly finished rather than a raw export.

Try it: add a watermark, page numbers & metadata.

Converting images to PDF, and PDF to images

Scanned receipts or photographed documents as JPG/PNG files often need to become a single PDF for submission. Going the other way, pulling a specific page out of a PDF as an image is useful for dropping a figure or table straight into a slide deck or a chat message.

Try it: convert images to PDF or convert PDF pages to images.

Extracting text from a PDF

When you need to copy content out of a PDF that doesn't cooperate with normal text selection, or want a quick plain-text version of a document's content for search or reference, pulling all the text out page-by-page into a .txt file solves it in one step. Note this only works for PDFs with real embedded text — scanned image-only PDFs need OCR first, which is a separate step this tool doesn't perform.

Try it: extract text from a PDF.

A note on privacy

All of the above happens locally in your browser using client-side PDF libraries — your files are never uploaded to a server for processing, which matters if the documents involved are official, confidential, or otherwise not something you want passing through a third-party server.