Tips & Tricks

Smart tips to get more done with your PDFs.

How to Sign a PDF on iPhone and Android
Someone sends you a document to sign while you're away from your desk. You have your phone.
How to Convert Word to PDF Without Losing Formatting
Converting Word to PDF should preserve your formatting exactly — and usually does, if you use the right export method.
PDF on Mobile: What Works and What Doesn't
More PDF work happens on phones than most people expect. The capabilities have improved considerably — today's mobile PDF experience is genuinely...
The Most Common PDF Problems — and How to Fix Them
Most PDF problems aren't random — they're predictable, recurring, and fixable once you know what's causing them.
How to Make a PDF Smaller to Email
You've finished the report. It's ready to go. You drag it into the email compose window and the attachment bar turns red — 34MB, exceeding the limit.
Why Your PDF Won't Upload to a Website or Portal
You're trying to upload a PDF to a government portal, an application form, a client system, or a web platform and it keeps failing.
How to Compress PDF to 100KB, 200KB, or 1MB
A submission portal requires files under 500KB. An email system rejects anything over 2MB. A client asks for a PDF under 1MB.
How to Recover Text From a Damaged PDF
The only copy of a contract from three years ago is a PDF that now opens to an error message.
How to Convert Excel Charts and Graphs to PDF
Converting Excel charts and graphs to PDF seems like it should be simple — and usually it is.
How to Protect a PDF You're Sending to Multiple People
Protecting a PDF you're sending to one person is straightforward — add a password, send the password separately.
How to Remove Blank Pages From a PDF
Blank pages in a PDF are one of those problems that seem like they should be simple to fix — just delete the page, right?
How to Convert Scanned Receipts Into Searchable Records
Tax season arrives and you need to find the receipt for a piece of equipment you bought eleven months ago.
The Best Way to Deliver Client Documents Professionally
The way you deliver documents to clients says something about how you work. A well-named, properly formatted PDF that arrives on time and opens...
How to Add a Table of Contents to a PDF
A table of contents transforms a long PDF from a document you scroll through blindly into one you can navigate.
How to Shrink a PDF That Was Created From a Scan
You've just scanned a stack of documents — ten pages, maybe twenty — and the resulting PDF is 45MB.
How to Use PDF Comments and Annotations Effectively
PDF Annotation tools are more versatile than most people use them for. Most people highlight a line and add an occasional comment.
PDF Batch Processing: How to Handle Multiple Files at Once
Compressing one PDF takes thirty seconds. Compressing fifty takes twenty-five minutes if you do them one at a time.
How to Create a Fillable PDF Form From Scratch
A fillable PDF Forms lets recipients type directly into designated fields — text boxes, checkboxes, dropdowns, signature areas — without needing to...
How to Convert a Book or Long Document to PDF Without Losing Formatting
Converting a long document — a book manuscript, a company handbook, a technical manual, a multi-chapter report — to PDF without losing formatting is...
How to Compare Two Versions of a PDF Document
Someone sends back a revised version of a contract and says "just a few minor changes.