User Manual
PDF Toolbox
Your complete guide to 20+ offline PDF tools for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Merge, compress, sign, OCR, and edit PDFs — entirely on your device.
Getting Started
PDF Toolbox is organized into three tabs at the bottom of the screen: Documents, Tools, and Settings.
Documents Tab
Browse, organize, and manage your PDF files. Create folders, rename files, and open documents in the advanced viewer. Supports importing via the + button or drag-and-drop. Available on iPhone and iPad only.
Tools Tab
Access all 20+ PDF tools, organized into categories: Organize, Optimize, Create & Convert, Secure, and Edit. Use the search bar to quickly find a tool. Tap any category header to expand or collapse it.
Settings Tab
Customize appearance (Light, Dark, or System), choose your language, set your default save location (On My iPhone or iCloud Drive), manage cached files, and view app information.
Managing Documents
The Documents tab is your file manager - browse, search, and organize your PDFs. Available on iPhone and iPad only.
Document Browser
Your documents are displayed in a grid with thumbnail previews, file names, and file sizes. Folders show item counts.
- Import files - Tap the + button to import PDFs from Files, Photos, or other apps
- Search - Use the search bar to find documents by name
- Context menu - Long-press any file for quick actions: rename, duplicate, move, delete, or apply tools directly
- Multi-select - Tap the ⋯ menu, then "Select" to select multiple files for batch operations
- Folders - Create folders to organize your documents
Import & Create
Tap the + button in the top-right corner to access import options:
- New Folder - Create a folder to organize your documents
- Scan Document - Use your camera to scan paper documents into PDF
- Import from Photos - Select images from your photo library to convert to PDF
- Import from Files - Browse and import PDFs from the Files app or other locations
Quick Actions
Long-press any document to open the context menu with quick access to common actions:
- Tools - Apply Compress, Merge, Split, Searchable PDF, or access more tools directly without switching tabs
- Get Info - View file details such as size, page count, and metadata
- Rename - Change the file name
- Duplicate - Create a copy of the document
- Move to… - Move the file to a different folder
- Share - Share the PDF via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, or other apps
- Delete - Remove the document permanently
Advanced PDF Viewer
Tap any PDF to open it in the full-featured viewer with thumbnail navigation and editing tools. Available on iPhone and iPad only.
Read & Navigate
The viewer shows your document with a scrollable thumbnail sidebar on the left for quick page navigation.
- Page indicator - Shows current page number and total pages (e.g., "11 / 90")
- Thumbnail sidebar - Tap any thumbnail to jump to that page. The current page is highlighted
- Zoom controls - Pinch to zoom or use the zoom buttons in the toolbar
- Page navigation - Use the up/down arrows to move between pages
- Reading position - Your last-viewed page is remembered during the session
- Quick tools - Use the toolbar at the bottom to rotate, extract, or share pages
Fill Forms
Open any PDF with interactive form fields and the form filling toolbar appears automatically at the bottom of the screen.
- Text fields - Tap any text field to type directly into it
- Checkboxes - Tap to check or uncheck form boxes
- Done button - Tap Done when finished to save your changes
- Edited indicator - An orange "Edited" badge shows unsaved changes
All form data stays in the PDF — save or share the filled document when you're done.
Annotate
The annotation toolbar provides four tools for marking up your PDF:
- Draw - Freehand drawing with your finger or Apple Pencil
- Underline - Select text and apply underline annotations
- Highlight - Select text and apply color highlights
- Text - Add text annotations anywhere on the page
Customize ink color and line width from the color palette. Tap Done to finish annotating and save your changes.
Sign
Add your signature to any PDF in two steps. First, create your signature using one of four modes:
- Draw - Sign with your finger or Apple Pencil directly on the canvas
- Type - Type your name and choose from multiple handwriting-style fonts
- Image - Import a signature image from your photo library
- Saved - Reuse a previously saved signature
You can customize the stroke color and clear to start over.
Then, position your signature on the document page. Drag to move, pinch to resize, and use the opacity slider to adjust transparency. Tap Apply to permanently embed the signature into the PDF.
Add Watermark
Overlay text watermarks on your PDF pages with full customization:
- Watermark Text - Enter any text such as "CONFIDENTIAL", "DRAFT", or "COPY"
- Position - Choose Center, Diagonal, Top Left, or Bottom Right placement
- Font Size - Adjust the text size with the slider
- Opacity - Control transparency so content remains readable beneath
- Rotation - Set the angle of the watermark text
- Color - Pick any watermark color
- Apply To - Apply to all pages or a specific page range
Tap Preview Watermark to see exactly how it looks on your document before applying. Use the Edit button to go back and adjust settings, or tap Apply to permanently embed the watermark into the PDF.
PDF Tools
All 20+ tools are available from the Tools tab. Each tool follows a consistent workflow: select a file, configure options, and process.
How to Use Any Tool
Open the tool
Go to the Tools tab and tap the tool you need. You can also search for it by name.
Select your PDF
Tap "Select PDF" to choose a file from your documents. Some tools accept multiple files (e.g., Merge, Images to PDF).
Configure settings
Adjust tool-specific options such as page range, compression level, watermark text, or signature style.
Process & save
Tap the action button to process. The result is saved to your chosen save location and can be shared immediately.
Complete Tool Reference
A detailed guide to every tool in PDF Toolbox, organized by category.
📁 Organize
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Merge PDF | Combine multiple PDFs into a single document. Drag to reorder files before merging. |
| Split PDF | Divide a PDF into multiple documents by page ranges, individual pages, or equal parts. |
| Rotate Pages | Rotate selected pages by 90°, 180°, or 270°. Apply to individual pages or all pages at once. |
| Delete Pages | Remove specific pages from a PDF. Preview pages before deletion to avoid mistakes. |
| Extract Pages | Extract a range of pages into a new PDF document. |
| Reorder Pages | Rearrange pages via drag-and-drop with thumbnail previews. |
⚡ Optimize
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Compress PDF | Reduce file size with four quality levels (Low, Medium, High, Maximum). Shows before/after size comparison with savings percentage. |
| Resize PDF | Change page dimensions to standard sizes (A4, Letter, etc.) or custom dimensions. |
| Flatten PDF | Permanently bake annotations, form fields, and interactive elements into the page content. |
🔄 Create & Convert
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| PDF to Images | Convert PDF pages to PNG or JPEG images. Choose individual pages or export all pages. |
| Images to PDF | Create a PDF from multiple images. Reorder images before conversion. |
| Camera to PDF | Scan physical documents using your device camera. Automatically detects page edges and creates multi-page PDFs. |
| Searchable PDF (OCR) | Make scanned PDFs searchable using on-device text recognition. Supports auto-detect or manual language selection with Fast and Accurate modes. |
| PDF/A Converter | Convert PDFs to the PDF/A-1b archival format (ISO 19005-1). Analyzes embedded fonts and conformance level before conversion. |
🔐 Secure
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Unlock PDF | Remove password protection from a PDF. Requires the current password to unlock. |
| Protect PDF | Add password encryption to a PDF with configurable permission controls (printing, copying, editing). |
| Edit Metadata | View and modify document properties: title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer. |
| Remove Metadata | Strip all metadata from a PDF for privacy. Removes title, author, keywords, and all other properties. |
✏️ Edit
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Page Numbers | Insert page numbers with customizable format, position, font, and starting number. |
📖 Advanced PDF Viewer
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Sign PDF | Add signatures via drawing, typed text, or image import. Place and resize the signature on any page. |
| Fill Forms | Tap interactive form fields to fill them in directly. Supports text fields, checkboxes, and other standard PDF form elements. |
| Annotate | Mark up PDFs with drawing, highlighting, underlining, and text annotations. Choose ink color, line width, and text size. |
| Add Watermark | Overlay text watermarks on PDF pages. Customize text, position, font size, opacity, rotation, and color. |
OCR & Searchable PDF
Turn scanned documents into searchable, selectable text using Apple's on-device Vision framework.
Text Recognition Settings
- Language - Choose "Auto-detect" for most documents, or manually select a specific language for better accuracy
- Recognition Level - "Fast" for quick processing, "Accurate" for better results on complex documents
- Page Range - Process all pages or select specific pages to OCR
All text recognition happens entirely on your device - no data is sent to any server.
Flatten PDF
Permanently bake annotations, form fields, and interactive elements into the page content.
Flatten Modes
Choose the flatten mode that best suits your needs:
- Standard - Bake annotations into page content while keeping text selectable and searchable
- Full Rasterize - Convert each page to an image. Nothing remains selectable or clickable - ideal for locking down content completely
- Rasterize + OCR - Convert pages to images, then run OCR to restore searchable text. Combines the security of rasterization with the usability of searchable text
PDF/A Archival Conversion
Convert documents to the PDF/A-1b standard for long-term digital preservation.
Font Analysis & Conversion
The PDF/A Converter analyzes all fonts embedded in your document and shows their availability status:
- Ready - Font is available and will be embedded correctly
- Unavailable - Font cannot be found; the output may use substituted fonts
The tool converts to PDF/A-1b (ISO 19005-1), which ensures basic visual preservation for long-term archival. Ideal for legal documents, tax records, and compliance requirements.
Editing Metadata
View, modify, or remove document properties for privacy or compliance.
Document Properties
The Edit Metadata tool lets you view and modify:
- Title - The document title
- Author - Document author name
- Subject - A brief description
- Keywords - Searchable keywords
- Creator & Producer - Software used to create and produce the PDF
- Dates - View created and modified timestamps
Use Clear All to remove all metadata, Reset to restore original values, or Remove All Metadata for a complete privacy-focused strip of all properties.
Settings & Preferences
Customize PDF Toolbox to suit your workflow.
App Settings
- Appearance - Choose between Light, Dark, or System to match your device settings
- Language - Choose from 16 languages or follow your device's system language
- Save Location - Set your default save location to "On My iPhone" for local storage, or "iCloud Drive" for cloud sync across devices
- Storage - View cached files and their size. Tap "Clear Cache" to free up space - temporary files, framework caches, and thumbnail data are safely recreated as needed
- About PDF Toolbox - View app version, privacy policy, and find a way to support development
16 Languages
PDF Toolbox is fully localized in 16 languages. Tap Language in Settings to switch:
- English, Français, Deutsch, Español, Italiano
- 日本語, 한국어, 繁體中文, 简体中文
- Português (Brasil), Nederlands, Polski, Türkçe
- العربية, עברית, हिन्दी
Choose System to follow your device language automatically. After changing the language, close the app and reopen it to apply.
Platform Support
PDF Toolbox is a universal app with a native, optimized interface on every platform.
iPad
Takes advantage of the larger screen with a sidebar for quick navigation between Documents and all tools. The main area shows tools in a spacious grid layout. Requires iPadOS 17.1 or later.
Mac
Native macOS experience with a sidebar, search bar, and keyboard shortcuts for every tool. All tools are accessible from the sidebar or the grid view. Requires macOS 15.1 Sequoia or later.
Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac)
Power users on Mac can access tools quickly via keyboard shortcuts.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Merge PDF | ⌘ ⇧ M |
| Split PDF | ⌘ ⇧ S |
| Compress PDF | ⌘ ⇧ C |
| Rotate Pages | ⌘ ⇧ R |
| Delete Pages | ⌘ ⇧ D |
| Extract Pages | ⌘ ⇧ E |
| Sign PDF | ⌘ ⇧ G |
| Flatten PDF | ⌘ ⇧ F |
| PDF/A Converter | ⌘ ⇧ A |
Privacy & Security
Your documents never leave your device.
PDF Toolbox processes everything on-device using Apple's native frameworks. Zero analytics, zero telemetry, zero tracking. No internet connection is required for any feature. For full details, see the Privacy Policy.
Tips & Tricks
Get the most out of PDF Toolbox with these helpful tips.
Quick Actions
Long-press any document in the Documents tab to access context menu tools like compress, rotate, and sign - without switching to the Tools tab.
Search Tools
Use the search bar in the Tools tab to quickly find any tool by name. Type "compress" or "sign" to jump straight to what you need.
Organize with Folders
Create folders in the Documents tab to keep your processed files organized. Move files between folders via the context menu.
Collapse Categories
Tap any category header in the Tools tab to collapse or expand it. This helps you focus on the tools you use most.
Need Help?
If you have questions, feedback, or need support, you can reach the developer on X: