Use cases
See exactly how people use PdfPix for everyday document tasks. Each workflow includes the scenario, audience, step-by-step process, tools used, and the result. Find the workflow closest to yours and adapt it to your needs.
Small business, freelancer, bookkeeper
You've been collecting invoices, statements, and receipts as separate PDFs all month. At month-end, you need to combine them into a single PDF organized by date for your accountant.
How to do it
- 1Collect all PDF invoices and receipts into one folder on your computer
- 2Open the Merge PDF tool and drag all the files into the upload area
- 3Drag the file cards to reorder them — oldest first, newest last, or by category as your accountant prefers
- 4Click 'Merge' and download the combined PDF
- 5Open the Compress PDF tool to reduce the file size before emailing
Result
A single organized PDF ready for accounting, sent in under a minute, with all files processed entirely in your browser (no confidential invoices uploaded to a server).
Student, academic, journalist
You have a PDF research paper you need to quote, paraphrase, and cite. The PDF is text-based (not scanned), so you need it in Word format to copy and edit passages.
How to do it
- 1Open the PDF to Word tool and upload the research paper
- 2The tool extracts text, headings, lists, and basic tables, then re-creates the document as a .docx
- 3Download the .docx file and open in Word, Google Docs, or LibreOffice
- 4Use Find & Replace to locate specific passages you want to quote
- 5Make sure citations are accurate and use a proper citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago)
Result
An editable Word document preserving the original structure, ready for annotation, quoting, and citation.
Anyone who needs to sign a contract (business, freelancer, tenant)
You received a PDF contract via email. You need to sign it and return it. The old way: print, sign, scan, email. The new way: sign directly in your browser.
How to do it
- 1Download the contract PDF to your computer
- 2Open the Sign PDF tool and upload the contract
- 3Draw your signature with your mouse, trackpad, or finger — or type your name and choose a handwriting font
- 4Drag the signature to position it on the signature line and resize it to fit
- 5Download the signed PDF and email it back to the sender
Result
A signed contract in 30 seconds, no printer or scanner required. The signature is embedded as a real PDF signature object that's recognized by Adobe Reader and other PDF viewers.
Legal, HR, healthcare, insurance
You have a document containing personal information (names, addresses, SSNs, account numbers) that you need to share with a third party. You must permanently remove sensitive data, not just hide it visually.
How to do it
- 1Open the Redact PDF tool and upload the document
- 2Draw redaction boxes over the sensitive information — names, SSNs, account numbers, etc.
- 3Verify the redactions by selecting and trying to copy the redacted text — it should be unrecoverable
- 4Click 'Apply' to save the redacted PDF
- 5Share the redacted document — the underlying text is permanently removed, not just hidden behind a black box
Result
A document with sensitive data permanently removed. Unlike simple black highlights (which leave the underlying text intact), true redaction deletes the bytes — the text cannot be recovered even by copy-paste or OCR.
Anyone who needs to email a large PDF
You need to email a 200 MB PDF (perhaps a high-resolution catalog or technical manual) but email providers cap attachments at 10-25 MB. The recipient needs a readable file, not a low-quality mess.
How to do it
- 1Open the Compress PDF tool and upload the PDF
- 2Select 'Recommended' compression — this uses lossless techniques for text and gentle optimization for images
- 3Click 'Compress' to process the file (typically 5-10 seconds for a 200 MB document)
- 4The result is usually 30-70% smaller with no visible quality loss
- 5If still too large, try 'Extreme' compression — the file may shrink to 20-30 MB with minor image artifacts
- 6Email the compressed file — it now fits in standard attachment limits
Result
A 60-100 MB PDF (down from 200 MB) that fits in email attachments, with text and images still sharp and readable.
Anyone who needs to digitize paper documents (students, professionals, archivists)
You have a stack of paper documents (a contract, a stack of receipts, lecture notes) that you need to digitize. You don't have a scanner, just your phone.
How to do it
- 1Open the Scan to PDF tool on your phone browser
- 2Tap the camera button to open your phone's camera
- 3Hold the phone over each page, capturing one at a time — the tool automatically detects page edges and corrects perspective
- 4Adjust the crop and apply a black-and-white filter for crisp text
- 5Reorder pages by dragging if needed
- 6Tap 'Create PDF' to download a multi-page PDF of all your scans
Result
A digital, multi-page PDF ready to email, store, or share — captured in 2-3 minutes with no scanner needed.
Student, academic, professional report writer
You've written a 30-page report with separate documents: a cover page, the main body, references, and appendices. You need to combine them into a single, properly-ordered PDF.
How to do it
- 1Open the Merge PDF tool and drop all four files into the upload area
- 2Drag the cards to order them: cover page → body → references → appendices
- 3Use the 'Sort A-Z' button if you want to order by filename
- 4Click 'Merge' to download the combined PDF
- 5If the table of contents references page numbers, use Edit PDF to add page numbers first
Result
A professionally assembled 35-page PDF in the correct order, with page numbers if needed — ready to submit or print.
Finance, accounting, data analyst, business
You have a PDF report with tables of monthly sales, expenses, or inventory data. You need to analyze the data in Excel — sort, filter, create charts, run formulas.
How to do it
- 1Open the PDF to Excel tool and upload the PDF
- 2The tool detects tables, rows, and columns automatically
- 3Download the .xlsx file and open in Excel or Google Sheets
- 4Verify that the data is correctly placed — check the first few columns and rows
- 5Make any necessary corrections (the tool handles most cases correctly; complex layouts may need touch-ups)
- 6Now you can sort, filter, and chart the data in Excel
Result
Editable spreadsheet data extracted from the PDF, ready for analysis. Hours of manual data entry eliminated.
Business, academic, anyone working with international documents
You have a PDF document in another language (a contract, a research paper, a manual) and need an English translation. The document is text-based, not scanned.
How to do it
- 1Open the Translate PDF tool and upload the document
- 2The tool extracts the text in your browser and sends it to a translation model
- 3Choose your target language and click 'Translate'
- 4Download the translated PDF — original layout preserved, text replaced with translation
- 5Review the translation for technical terms and proper nouns (AI translation is excellent for general text but may need human review for specialized content)
Result
A translated PDF preserving the original layout, ready to read or share with English-speaking colleagues.
Executive, researcher, journalist, consultant
You have a 100-page PDF report (industry analysis, academic paper, market research) and need to extract the key points in under 5 minutes.
How to do it
- 1Open the AI Summarizer tool and upload the PDF
- 2The tool extracts the text in your browser and generates a structured summary
- 3The summary includes: TL;DR (2-3 sentences), key findings (5-7 bullet points), main arguments, and conclusions
- 4Download the summary as a PDF or copy it to your notes
- 5Use the summary to decide if you need to read the full document, or extract specific sections using Split PDF
Result
A 1-2 page summary of a 100-page document, saving hours of reading and letting you quickly decide which sections deserve deeper attention.
Business, legal, anyone sharing internal documents
You need to share a draft document or contract with internal stakeholders. The document should be clearly marked as not-yet-final or confidential, but you don't want a permanent mark that requires editing out later.
How to do it
- 1Open the Add Watermark tool and upload the document
- 2Choose 'Text' watermark and type 'DRAFT', 'CONFIDENTIAL', or your custom text
- 3Set the rotation to 45° for the classic diagonal watermark
- 4Adjust the opacity (around 30% is usually right — visible but not obscuring text)
- 5Choose the position (center is most common)
- 6Click 'Apply' to download the watermarked PDF
Result
A clearly watermarked document that everyone recognizes as draft or confidential, ready to share with the appropriate audience.
Anyone who has a damaged PDF (failed downloads, disk errors, incomplete transfers)
You have a PDF that won't open, displays garbled text, or only shows some pages. The original file may be corrupted from a failed download, disk error, or incomplete transfer.
How to do it
- 1Try opening the file in a different PDF viewer (Adobe Acrobat, Chrome, Preview) to confirm it's corrupted
- 2Open the Repair PDF tool and upload the file
- 3The tool rebuilds the PDF's internal structure, fixing missing cross-references, broken object tables, and damaged streams
- 4Download the repaired file and verify the content is correct
- 5If the repair tool can't fully recover the file, the document may be too severely damaged — try a dedicated PDF recovery service for critical documents
Result
A working PDF recovered from a corrupted file, in most cases preserving all original content. A 90%+ recovery rate for typical corruption.
With 30+ tools, the combinations are nearly endless. Tell us about your workflow and we'll suggest the best tools to use.
