Practical PDF guides
Choose the task you are doing. Each guide gives a short workflow, a specific export check and a direct link to its tool.
- How to edit text in a PDF without disturbing the layout — A practical sequence for finding selectable text, replacing a short field and checking the exported page.
- How to merge PDFs in the correct page order — A page order checklist for invoices, contracts, reports and travel document packages.
- How to reduce PDF size while keeping it readable — Choose Light, Balanced or Strong compression based on the document’s images and intended use.
- How to redact confidential information in a PDF — Find every occurrence, use the Redact tool and test the downloaded copy before sharing.
- Invoice PDF corrections: a verification checklist — What to check after changing supplier, customer, tax, line items or totals in an invoice PDF.
FROM FIRST EDIT TO FINAL EXPORT
A better way to work with your PDFs.
PDF is a fixed-layout format. A document may contain text, images, forms, attachments or digital signatures. PDF Buddies provides practical tools for everyday edits, with clear limits: it cannot losslessly edit every kind of PDF.
1. Open a document or start fresh
Choose a PDF or drop it into the opening area. Select multiple PDFs to combine them in selection order. A workspace supports up to 100 MB and 300 pages in total; performance also depends on device memory and page complexity. Start with a blank PDF to create an A4 page.
2. Replace text and fill in documents
Choose Replace text to automatically list all detected text on the current page. Use Find text to filter the list, then edit any field directly. Changes apply when you leave the field. You can also click a highlighted text box on the page. Switch pages to edit the next page; rotated text is included in detection. Replacement paints a white background over the original region and draws new text, so review colored backgrounds, unusual fonts and overlapping text carefully. On export, changed pages preserve their background appearance and receive a fresh searchable text layer. Replaced original text is excluded; new text uses embedded fonts and can be copied and searched. Text does not automatically reflow. Scans without a text layer still require OCR.
Choose Add text and click the page to type, including multiple lines and Chinese. This is useful for visually filling contracts, forms and applications. Added text is exported as selectable PDF text using embedded fonts for Latin, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Hindi. This version does not edit interactive form structures, recalculate invoice totals or perform document-wide search and replace.
3. Sign, annotate and add images
Drag to place highlights, rectangles and redactions. Draw / sign works with a mouse, stylus or touchscreen. It creates handwriting, not a certificate-based digital signature. Add image accepts PNG and JPEG. Choose an image, then click to place it. Use Select to move added objects; the properties panel lets you resize images or delete objects. Up to 40 editing actions can be undone.
4. Merge, split and organize pages
Merge PDFs appends documents to the workspace. Select a page to rotate, duplicate, move or delete it. Keep at least one page. To rotate a page with annotations, export and reopen the document first, so the annotations remain aligned. Extract / split pages accepts ranges such as 1-3,5 and downloads those pages as a new PDF. Your original stays unchanged.
5. Choose an export format
| Format | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Default PDF | Keeps original body text and vector content on unmodified pages. Added text is selectable and searchable. Replaced or redacted pages use a sanitized page image with a fresh searchable text layer. Covered text is excluded, so old or redacted words are not left underneath. Other annotations keep their visual appearance. |
| All pages as images | A fixed visual copy. Searchable text is removed. Original interactive forms, attachments and hidden content are not copied into the new file. |
| Current page as PNG | An image of the current page and its edits, ready to include in a report or share as a preview. |
Exports do not retain digital signatures, interactive forms or bookmarks. Keep your original. When removing sensitive data, redact every occurrence and choose all-page image export. Check whether the same information appears on other pages or in the file name.
Scans, protected files and large documents
Scans support text overlays, images, annotations and redaction. OCR is not included, so scanned text cannot be automatically recognized and edited as body text. Password-protected PDFs must first be unlocked in software you are authorized to use. Damaged or unsupported files show an error; the tool does not bypass passwords. Use a recent browser for the best compatibility.
Do my documents get uploaded?
No. The app processes PDFs, images and editing content in browser memory and has no document upload endpoint. Closing or refreshing the page clears the workspace. Export regularly; browser memory is not a backup.
What should I check after export?
Open the downloaded file and review page count, order, fonts, text positioning, signatures and amounts. For redacted or replaced content, try searching for and copying the original text. Verify that sensitive information was removed from every relevant page. Compare formal documents against the original before submitting them.