Skip to content
PDFLeanDocs
Go Pro

PDFLean Documentation

Welcome to the PDFLean documentation center. PDFLean is built on in-browser WebAssembly sandboxing with optional encrypted cloud processing, keeping document workflows fast, private, and compliant. Every page below is organized into one of nine sections — pick the one that matches what you are trying to do, or start with the Quick Start.

Most used

Section titled “Most used”

Browse by section

Section titled “Browse by section”

Basics

Start here: the documentation entrance, FAQ, and release notes.

Tool Guides

How to use each tool — task-shaped guides written around real document jobs.

  • Compress PDFs — The compress family hub — every compression guide, what each tool does, and which one fits the file in front of you
  • Convert PDF Files — The conversion family hub — every direction in and out of PDF, which tool handles it, and what the output keeps
  • Merge and Split PDFs — The merge and split family hub — every guide, every tool, and which one fits the shape of the job in front of you
  • Sign and Fill PDF Forms — The form and signature family hub — every guide, every tool, and the order the steps run in
  • Tool Guides — Task-shaped guides for working with PDFLean tools — how each one works, when to choose it, and the safe-by-default workflow it belongs to
  • Free PDF Templates You Can Download — Three ready-to-fill PDF templates with real form fields — a packet cover sheet, a consent acknowledgement, and an invoice — and how to use each one
  • How to Convert PDF Files — The whole conversion map — which tool handles each direction in and out of PDF, what the steps are, and which conversions keep text editable
  • How to Create and Fill a PDF Form — Build a fillable PDF form, fill one in, check its fields, and lock the values — the tool for each step and the order to run them in
  • How to Merge PDF Files — Combine several PDFs into one file in the order you choose — which tool fits each merge shape, the exact steps, and what merging cannot do
  • How to Split a PDF — Turn one PDF into several files — range, fixed-count, bookmark, and keyword splits, the exact steps, and how to check the result
  • Archive a Year of Invoices — Turn a year of statements and bundled PDFs into a numbered, split, spreadsheet-backed archive — the whole job runs in your browser
  • Build a Searchable Archive — Turn a box of scans into an archive you can search — clean up, OCR on-device, and store as PDF/A, with nothing uploaded
  • Collect Signed Consents — Build the consent form once, let respondents fill it in their browsers with nothing installed, and collect the values back intact
  • Compress a PDF for Email — Get a document under an email size limit and opening fast — the full send-ready job: merge, compress, flatten, and linearize, all without uploading
  • Compress a PDF to 200KB — Hit an exact size gate with the document intact — the decision ladder from lossless structural compression to exact-KB iteration, and when 200KB costs quality
  • Compress a PDF Without Uploading It — Shrink a PDF on your own device so the file never leaves your browser — how client-side compression works and its limits.
  • How to Compress a Scanned PDF and Keep the Text Crisp — The size-versus-quality trade for image-heavy PDFs — compress the source images before rebuilding, find the stopping point, and verify legibility
  • How to Redact a PDF Properly — The redaction family overview — what counts as removal, the workflow from finding to verifying, and the proof that a redaction is real
  • How to Shrink a PDF to a Target Size — The method behind target-size compression — where the target comes from, how the iteration works, and how to drive it without sacrificing legibility
  • Make a Scanned PDF Searchable — Add a text layer to one scanned PDF — clean the capture, OCR on-device with no upload, then verify by searching and selecting
  • Prepare a Filing for Public Disclosure — Take a document from sensitive original to public-ready filing — find PII, remove it from the content stream, verify, scrub metadata, and control access
  • Redact an SSN From a PDF — A black box is not redaction. Permanently remove SSNs and ID numbers from a PDF and verify they are really gone.
  • Sign a Contract and Return It — Read, fill, sign, and return a contract — the full sequence, which parts run in your browser, and what the encrypted cloud signing step actually does

People & Roles

Every document job for one role — task-chain indexes for legal, finance, HR, and more.

  • People & Roles — Every document job for one role — task-chain indexes for legal, finance, HR, operations, and development teams

Glossary

Plain-language definitions of PDF, privacy, and compliance terms used across the docs.

  • Glossary — Plain-language definitions of the PDF, privacy, and compliance terms used across PDFLean documentation
  • Bates Numbering — A sequential identifier stamped on every page of a document set so any page can be cited precisely
  • Bookmarks (Outline) — The document's table of contents, stored separately from the pages and shown in the reader's sidebar
  • Cross-Reference Table — The index that tells a PDF reader where every object in the file sits, and what breaks when it is damaged
  • Factur-X and ZUGFeRD — The standard for embedding a machine-readable invoice inside a PDF/A-3 file, so one document serves people and software
  • Flattening — Converting form field values into permanent page content so they display in every viewer
  • Font Embedding and Subsetting — Including a document's fonts inside the file so it renders identically everywhere, and subsetting to embed only the glyphs used
  • Form Field — An interactive region on a PDF page that holds a value, identified by a name the file carries
  • Grayscale — Converting a document's color to shades of gray, for ink cost and often for smaller files
  • Imposition and N-Up — Arranging a document's pages onto printed sheets — multiple pages per sheet, folded booklets, or tiled posters
  • Incremental Update — The way PDF editors append changes at the end of a file instead of rewriting it, and a hidden source of size growth
  • Linearized PDF (Fast Web View) — A PDF reorganized so the first page renders before the rest of the file finishes downloading
  • Lossless and Lossy Compression — The one distinction the whole compression family turns on — identical output, or smaller at a visible cost
  • Object Streams — Compressed containers inside a PDF that hold many small objects, and the main lever of lossless size reduction
  • OCR Text Layer — Invisible text placed over a page image so a scan can be searched, selected, and read by machines
  • PAdES — The PDF standards family for digital signatures applied and verified with certificates
  • Page Content Stream — The sequence of drawing operators that describes everything a page looks like
  • PDF Encryption and Permissions — A user password that opens a file and an owner password that controls what may be done with it — and why neither removes content
  • PDF Metadata — Information about the document stored separately from the page content, and a common place for leaks
  • PDF/A — The ISO 19005 subset of PDF built for long-term archiving, where everything needed to render the file is inside it
  • PDF/UA (Accessible PDF) — The ISO 14289 standard for PDFs that screen readers and other assistive technology can actually read
  • PII (Personally Identifiable Information) — Data in a document that identifies a specific person, and the usual target of a redaction pass
  • Preflight — Checking a print-ready PDF against production requirements before it goes to press
  • Raster and Vector — The two ways a page's appearance can be carried — a grid of pixels, or drawing instructions that scale
  • Redaction — Removing content from a PDF so it is gone from the file, rather than covered up by a box
  • Watermark — Text or an image placed across every page to carry status or origin, from DRAFT to a company logo
  • ZIP Archive — A compressed container holding many files, and the usual way multiple PDF outputs are delivered together

Compare & Choose

Side-by-side comparisons to help you pick the right mode, tool, or plan.

Help & Reference

The authoritative pages for file limits, formats, browser support, retention, and billing scope.

Plans & Billing

How plans, credits, invoices, and refunds work (coming soon).

  • Plans & Billing — Plain-language guides to PDFLean plans, credits, invoicing, refunds, and cancellation

Teams

Workspaces, seats, roles, shared quota, and central billing (coming soon).

  • Teams — Guides for PDFLean team workspaces — seats, roles, shared quota, and central billing

Developers

Guides for the API, Skills, and MCP integration lines (coming soon).

  • Developers — Guides for building on PDFLean — the API, Skills, and MCP integration lines

Beyond the docs

Section titled “Beyond the docs”
  • All Tools: Browse 114+ online utilities categorized by workflow
  • Automated Pipeline: Chain multiple tools sequentially — merge, compress, watermark, and protect in one run
  • Security Whitepaper: Privacy-first architecture and compliance posture
  • Pricing & Plans: Local tools are free; paid plans unlock larger cloud jobs
Section titled “Related reading”