📄 Free PDF Toolkit 20+ Tools
Merge, split, optimize, convert, protect, OCR & more — all in your browser. No uploads. No sign-ups. Forever free.
🧰 All PDF Tools — Jump to Any Tool
Hi, I'm Buli Goswami. I built this toolkit so you can work with PDFs without uploading files to third‑party servers. Everything runs locally in your browser using open‑source libraries. Your files stay on your device — always.
📘 Understanding PDF Technology
PDF (Portable Document Format) is an open standard (ISO 32000) used by billions worldwide. A PDF can hold text, images, vector graphics, form fields, annotations, metadata, and embedded files.
🔧 Common PDF Use Cases
- Business & Legal: Contracts, NDAs, invoices.
- Education: Research papers, e‑books, worksheets.
- Publishing: Magazines, brochures, catalogs.
- Archiving: Scanning and preserving old documents.
- Collaboration: Sharing drafts with annotations and signatures.
⚙️ The Open‑Source Libraries Powering This Toolkit
pdf‑lib — Creates, modifies, and manipulates PDFs. Handles merging, splitting, encryption, decryption, rotation, resizing, and embedding images.
PDF.js — Renders PDF pages and extracts text and metadata. Powers PDF‑to‑Word, PDF‑to‑Excel, PDF‑to‑JPG, Metadata Viewer, and OCR tools.
Tesseract.js — OCR engine that converts scanned images to machine‑readable text.
Additional libraries: docx, xlsx, JSZip, html2canvas, jsPDF.
All libraries run entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server — your documents stay private.
📊 Free PDF Toolkit vs. Adobe, iLovePDF, Smallpdf
Here's how this free toolkit stacks up against popular paid alternatives:
| Feature | This Toolkit | Adobe Acrobat | iLovePDF | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $14.99/mo | $9/mo | $12/mo |
| File uploads | None (local) | Server | Server | Server |
| Privacy | Your files stay on device | Uploaded to cloud | Uploaded to cloud | Uploaded to cloud |
| Merge PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Split PDF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| OCR | ✓ (Tesseract) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF to Word | Text only | Full layout | Full layout | Full layout |
| File size limit | 100 MB (50 MB mobile) | Unlimited | 100 MB | 100 MB |
| Mobile friendly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
This toolkit is ideal for users who value privacy, simplicity, and zero cost.
📊 Tool Comparison — What Each Tool Does
| 🛠️ | Tool | What It Does | Best Used When… |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🔗 | Merge | Combines multiple PDFs into one | You have several PDFs for one document. |
| ✂️ | Split | Splits one PDF into multiple files by page ranges | You only need certain pages. |
| 📦 | Optimize | Attempts to reduce file size (results vary) | File is large and you want to try reducing it. |
| 🔄 | To Word | Extracts plain text to .DOCX (no layout) | You only need the text content. |
| 📊 | To Excel | Extracts plain text to .XLSX by page | You need text in a spreadsheet. |
| 🖼️ | To JPG | Renders each page as a JPEG image (ZIP) | You need images of each page. |
| 🔐 | Protect | Attempts password protection (experimental) | You want to add basic security. |
| 🔓 | Unlock | Removes password protection (requires password) | You have the password and need to edit. |
| ✏️ | Edit | Adds text annotations to any page | You need to add a note or correction. |
| 🖊️ | Sign | Adds text‑based signature mark (not cryptographic) | You need a visual signing indication. |
| 🔄 | Rotate | Rotates all pages by 90°, 180°, or 270° | Pages are upside‑down or sideways. |
| 📄 | Extract | Extracts specific pages into a new PDF | You only need selected pages. |
| 🔢 | Page Numbers | Adds page numbers in "1 / 10" format | Your document lacks page numbers. |
| 📎 | Attach | Embeds any file as an attachment | You need to include supporting files. |
| 📐 | Resize | Changes page canvas size to A4, Letter, Legal | Page dimensions don't match required size. |
| 🌐 | HTML to PDF | Captures the current web page as a PDF | You need to save a web page offline. |
| 📷 | Image to PDF | Converts JPG/PNG/WebP images to a PDF | You have photos or scans to combine. |
| 📝 | OCR | Extracts text from scanned pages (Tesseract) | Your PDF is image‑based and you need searchable text. |
| 🧩 | Repair | Basic recovery: reloads and resaves a PDF | Your PDF won't open; may not fix severe corruption. |
| 🔍 | Metadata | Views title, author, subject, keywords, page count | You need to check the file's properties. |
All tools are 100% client‑side. Keep file sizes under 100 MB for desktop, 50 MB for mobile.
📸 Toolkit Screenshot
The PDF Toolkit interface – all tools accessible from the main grid.
🔧 All Tools — How to Use Each One
Choose a tool below, upload your file(s), and get your result instantly.
🔗 Merge PDF — Combine Multiple PDFs
Merge several PDFs into a single document. Perfect for combining monthly bank statements, course notes, or project reports.
⚠️ Common mistake: Forgetting to hold Ctrl (or Shift) when selecting multiple files.
⚠️ Limitations: Very large files (>100 MB) may slow down your browser; on mobile, file selection depends on your device's file picker.
✂️ Split PDF — Divide by Page Ranges
Extract a subset of pages from a large PDF. Great for sharing only the relevant chapters of an e‑book or a few slides from a presentation.
1-3, 5, 7-10), then click Split PDF.1-3, 5, 7-10 extracts pages 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10.⚠️ Common mistake: Forgetting that page numbers start at 1.
⚠️ Limitations: Page numbers start at 1; the split output is a single PDF with the selected pages.
📦 Optimize PDF — Try to Reduce File Size
Shrink your PDF to make it easier to email or upload. Useful for large scanned documents or image‑heavy files.
⚠️ Limitations: Not all PDFs shrink – results vary; some may even become slightly larger.
🔄 PDF to Word — Extract Text Only
Get the text out of a PDF so you can edit it in Microsoft Word. Ideal for reusing content from reports, articles, or old documents.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting formatting preservation – this tool extracts plain text only.
⚠️ Limitations: Only plain text – no images, tables, or formatting.
📊 PDF to Excel — Extract Text to XLSX
Turn a PDF into a spreadsheet – each page becomes a row of text. Great for collecting data from multiple invoices or forms.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting tables to be preserved – this tool extracts raw text only.
⚠️ Limitations: Does not preserve tables or layout.
🖼️ PDF to JPG — Render Pages as Images
Convert each page of a PDF into a high‑quality JPG image. Perfect for creating thumbnails, sharing individual pages on social media, or inserting into presentations.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting editable text – these are images, not searchable PDFs.
⚠️ Limitations: Large PDFs may produce many images; processing time depends on number of pages.
🔐 Protect PDF — Add Password (Experimental)
Attempt to add a password to your PDF. This is experimental – it works with many PDFs but may not be supported by all.
⚠️ Common mistake: Assuming all PDFs can be encrypted – some may not support this method.
⚠️ Limitations: May not work with all PDFs; password protection is basic.
🔓 Unlock PDF — Remove Password Protection
Remove a password from a PDF so you can edit or print it freely. You must know the current password.
⚠️ Common mistake: Forgetting the password – there's no way to recover it.
⚠️ Limitations: Not all encryption types are supported.
✏️ Edit PDF — Add Text Annotations
Insert a text note directly onto any page of your PDF. Useful for adding comments, corrections, or labels.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting to edit existing text – this tool only adds new text annotations.
⚠️ Limitations: Only adds a single text annotation on the first page.
🖊️ Add Signature Mark — Text‑Based Only
Add a visual signature (your name + date) to your PDF. Perfect for quickly signing digital forms or approvals.
⚠️ Common mistake: Treating this as a legally binding digital signature – it is not.
⚠️ Limitations: This is a visual mark, not a cryptographic digital signature.
🔄 Rotate PDF — Fix Page Orientation
Fix upside‑down or sideways pages with a single click. Great for scanned documents that were saved in the wrong orientation.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting to rotate only selected pages – this tool rotates all pages.
⚠️ Limitations: Rotates every page the same way – cannot rotate individual pages separately.
📄 Extract Pages — Pull Specific Pages
Extract a selection of pages from a larger PDF. Ideal for pulling out a few key pages from a long report or manual.
1,3,5-7), then click Extract Pages.⚠️ Common mistake: Using spaces after commas – the tool works best with no spaces (e.g.,
1,3,5-7).⚠️ Limitations: The extracted pages are combined into a single PDF.
🔢 Add Page Numbers — Number Your PDF
Add page numbers to your PDF in the format “1 / 10” at the bottom of each page. Essential for organizing long documents.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting custom positioning – the numbers always appear at the bottom centre.
⚠️ Limitations: The numbering style is fixed; you cannot change the font or position.
📎 Attach Files — Embed Any File
Embed an external file (image, spreadsheet, etc.) as an attachment inside your PDF. Great for including supporting documents.
⚠️ Common mistake: Assuming the attachment is visible – it's embedded and may not be obvious in all PDF readers.
⚠️ Limitations: The attachment is embedded, but not all PDF readers display attachments prominently.
📐 Resize PDF — Change Page Canvas Size
Resize your PDF pages to A4, Letter, or Legal. Useful when you need to print on a specific paper size.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting content to scale – only the canvas size changes, content stays the same size.
⚠️ Limitations: The content is not scaled – only the page canvas changes.
🌐 HTML to PDF — Capture Webpage
Take a snapshot of the current webpage and save it as a PDF. Perfect for archiving articles, saving receipts, or creating offline versions.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting selectable text – the PDF is an image of the page.
⚠️ Limitations: The PDF is a high‑quality image of the page – text is not selectable.
📷 Image to PDF — Convert Photos to PDF
Turn a batch of JPG, PNG, or WebP images into a single PDF. Excellent for creating photo albums, scan collections, or product catalogs.
⚠️ Common mistake: Uploading very large images – they may slow down conversion.
⚠️ Limitations: Very large images may slow down conversion; PDF size depends on image quality.
📝 OCR PDF — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs
Turn scanned documents (e.g., photos of paper pages) into editable text using Tesseract OCR. Perfect for digitising old books, invoices, or handwritten notes.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting instant results – OCR takes time, especially on multi‑page documents.
⚠️ Limitations: Requires internet to load Tesseract; accuracy depends on image quality.
🧩 Repair PDF — Basic Recovery
Attempt to fix a corrupted PDF by reloading and resaving it. Works for minor corruption; for severe issues, try Adobe Acrobat.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting to recover all data – if the PDF is severely damaged, recovery may not be possible.
⚠️ Limitations: Cannot fix all types of corruption.
🔍 PDF Metadata — View Document Properties
Extract and view the hidden metadata of a PDF – title, author, subject, keywords, creation date, and more.
⚠️ Common mistake: Expecting metadata to always be present – it depends on what the creator included.
⚠️ Limitations: Only shows what the creator embedded; some metadata may be missing or empty.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
Double‑check the exact password (case‑sensitive). If forgotten, there's no recovery.
Try the Repair tool. If that fails, open in Adobe Acrobat.
Your PDF is likely a scanned image. Use OCR first.
Check your internet connection and refresh. Some networks block CDNs.
Files over 200 MB may cause crashes. Split or compress first. On mobile, keep files under 50 MB.
Try using Chrome or Firefox. Disable strict security extensions temporarily.
Still having issues? Visit my Contact page.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Are my files secure?
All processing is client‑side. No file is ever uploaded to any server.
What file size can I process?
Up to 100 MB on desktop, 50 MB on mobile for best performance.
Do I need an account?
No. Just open the page and start using the tools.
Can I use these on my phone?
Yes, the toolkit is fully responsive, but large files may be slower on mobile.
Is there a limit on the number of files?
No. Process as many as you want, completely free.
What browsers are supported?
Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (latest versions).
📋 Privacy
No data is collected or stored. All operations are local to your browser.
⚠️ Disclaimer
Tools are provided "as is". Always keep backups.
🔒 Security
No data is transmitted. Use with standard browser precautions.
📌 About Digital Tools 111
A passion project by Buli Goswami providing free, private, browser‑based tools.
🌐 digitaltools111.blogspot.com
📚 References: Open Source • pdf-lib • PDF.js • Tesseract.js • ISO 32000
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