Edit PDF

Four changes applied to a copy

Watermark PDF, Add Page Numbers, Crop PDF and Edit PDF Metadata all leave the original file alone and return a new download. None of them reflows text or edits the words on a page: a watermark and a page number are drawn on top of the existing content, a crop changes the visible box, and the metadata page rewrites the document information fields. That makes the group safe for a file that must stay legible but has to be marked or tidied.

Watermark PDF

The page takes a Text field, a Font size that starts at 60, an Opacity control running from 0.05 to 1 and starting at 0.15, a Rotation in degrees starting at 45, a colour choice of Gray, Red, Blue or Black, and an Apply to selector for all, even or odd pages. Words such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL are typed straight in, and the low default opacity is what keeps the underlying text readable.

Add Page Numbers

Six anchor positions, three number formats and a starting value are the whole set of choices, with the stamp drawn above the page content rather than pushing it aside. Starting at a number other than one is the usual reason to open the page, since a cover sheet or a title page should not be counted in the sequence.

Crop PDF and Edit PDF Metadata

Crop PDF exposes four margins - Top, Bottom, Left and Right - each starting at zero and applied to every page, which is how a scanner's grey border is removed from a whole batch at once. Edit PDF Metadata holds Title, Author, Subject and Keywords, the last as a comma-separated list; leaving a box empty keeps the value already stored, so a single correction does not erase the rest of the record.

Checking before the file goes out

A watermark at very low opacity can vanish against a dark photograph, so the finished download should be opened and scrolled before it is sent. After a crop, confirm that a page number or a footer has not been trimmed away with the margin. After a metadata change, reopen the document and check the fields that were left blank, because empty means unchanged rather than cleared.

The order to make the changes

Where more than one edit is wanted, sequence matters. Crop first, since a margin removed after numbering can cut the number away. Watermark before numbering if the number should sit above the stamp. Edit the metadata last, because every earlier pass writes its own Producer value into the file. Each step returns a new download, so the intermediate copies are worth keeping until the final one has been opened.