PDF Workspace

PDF Workspace changes PDFs in your browser. A PDF you open is read from your device, or from Secure Files, Mail, Invoicing, Expenses or Client Portal, and processed in the browser tab. It is not uploaded to Magpie unless you save the result to Secure Files or send it for signature. The file you open is never changed; every tool makes a new PDF.

/pdf lists the tools. Choose Open PDF, or drop files on the page: one PDF opens in the editor, several PDFs open in Merge PDFs, and images open in Images to PDF.

Quick tools

Each quick tool takes files, makes a result and lists it with Download, Save to Secure Files, Open in editor and Send for signature. When a tool makes several files, Download all as ZIP downloads them together.

• Merge PDFs combines PDFs in the order shown. Drag a file or use Move up and Move down to change the order. To use only some pages of a file, list them under Pages, such as 1-3, 5. Add again adds the same file a second time, so pages from it can go in two places, such as pages 1 to 3 of one file, then page 2 of another, then page 4 of the first.
• Split PDF makes one file for each page, files of a set number of pages, one file for each range you list, or a new file after each page you list.
• Extract pages makes one PDF from the pages you list, in that order.
• Compress PDF re-encodes photos and scans as JPEG and reduces images that have more pixels than the page needs. Smaller file uses 96 DPI, Balanced 150 DPI and Higher quality 220 DPI; Advanced sets the resolution and JPEG quality directly and can remove document properties. Text, drawings and fonts are not changed, and an image is replaced only when the new version is smaller. The result shows the original and new sizes. If the PDF cannot be made smaller, no file is produced.
• Images to PDF makes one page from each image. Choose images from your device or Choose from Your images. Set the page size, orientation, whether the image fits inside the page or fills it, and the margin. Photos are turned upright using the orientation the camera saved; Turn rotates an image by 90 degrees. JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF work in all supported browsers. HEIC photos work only in browsers that can read them, such as Safari; elsewhere, convert them to JPEG first.
• PDF to images saves pages as PNG, JPEG or WebP at 72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI. Leave Pages empty to convert every page. Very large pages are drawn at a lower resolution where the browser limits image size.
• Protect with a password encrypts a PDF with AES-256. Anyone with the password can open it. You can also ask PDF readers not to allow printing, copying, or changes; some readers ignore these requests. Magpie cannot recover a forgotten password.
• Remove a password makes a copy that opens without a password. You must enter the PDF's current password. PDF Workspace does not try to find or bypass passwords.
• Recognise text (OCR) reads the text on scanned pages and adds it to a copy as invisible text, so the pages look the same and can be searched, selected and copied. Choose the languages on the pages; see Recognise text.
• Compare PDFs compares two PDFs page by page: page 1 with page 1, and so on. For each page that differs it lists the words removed and added, and shows both pages with an image that marks in red what looks different. Compare makes no file.
• Letterhead and overlay puts the pages of a second PDF, such as a letterhead, on the pages of the first: its first page on every page, page by page, or its pages in turn. Choose whether it goes over or under the page content. Each overlay page is scaled to fit the page.
• Bates numbering numbers every page of one or more PDFs with a prefix, a number with a set number of digits and a suffix, such as ABC000001. Numbers continue from one file to the next in the order shown. Each file is saved with its first and last numbers as its name.
• Change several PDFs makes the same change to many files: compress, add a watermark, add page numbers, rotate every page, remove document properties, or protect with a password. Each file gets its own result; a file that cannot be changed is named in the summary.

Edit a PDF

The editor at /pdf/edit shows the pages down the left and the current page beside them. Choose a page to show it, or use Previous page, Next page and the page number box. + and − zoom the page.

Pages

Page actions apply to the pages whose boxes are ticked, or to the current page when none are ticked. Select all ticks every page.

• Rotate left and Rotate right turn pages by 90 degrees. Rotate all turns every page.
• Straighten levels tilted scans. Each page is measured and turned so its lines of text are level, by up to 6 degrees; pages that are already level are left as they are. A straightened page becomes an image of itself at 200 DPI, so text on it can no longer be selected until you use Recognise text again. PDF Workspace asks first when a page has selectable text.
• Duplicate adds a copy after each page, including anything added to it.
• Extract makes a new PDF from the pages. They stay in the PDF you are editing.
• Delete removes the pages. A PDF must keep at least one page.
• Move moves the pages up or down one place, or to the beginning or end. You can also drag pages in the list. With a page focused in the list, the up and down arrow keys change the current page, and Alt with an arrow key moves it.
• Insert pages adds pages from another PDF, from images, or a blank page, before or after the current page or at the end. Image and blank pages are the size of the current page.

Text, highlights, drawings and notes

Choose a tool, then use it on the page. Select chooses something you added so you can drag it to a new place or press Delete to remove it. Double-click added text or a note to change it. With an addition selected, the colour, line and text controls change it.

• Add text types onto the page, for example on a form that has no fillable fields. Choose the size, font and alignment first. Added text becomes part of the page when you export. Text in other alphabets, such as Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, is drawn with Noto Sans in place of the chosen font. Emoji cannot be added.
• Highlight marks text you drag across. On a scanned page, the highlight covers the area you drag.
• Draw, Rectangle, Ellipse and Arrow draw on the page.
• Note places a comment that PDF readers show as a note icon.

Highlights, drawings, shapes and notes are saved as PDF annotations, so other PDF editors can select, move or delete them. Drawing is not a signature request; to have a document signed, use Send for signature.

Links

Choose Link and drag over an area of the page, then choose where it goes: a page in this PDF, or a web address, email address or phone number starting with https://, http://, mailto: or tel:. The PDF's own links are outlined in blue; click one to change or remove it. A link to a page follows that page when pages are moved, and is left out if the page is deleted.

Fill a form

When a PDF has fillable fields, Form shows their number and lists every field with the page it is on. Type in text fields, tick checkboxes and choose options. Values are added to the exported PDF, where the fields stay fillable. To make the values fixed, tick Flatten form fields when you export; the fields will then no longer be editable. Signature fields are listed but cannot be filled; use Send for signature.

Create form fields

Choose Form field and drag where the field goes. Then choose its type and name: one line of text, several lines of text, a checkbox, a list of choices (one choice on each line) or an option button. Option buttons with the same name form a group in which one can be chosen. Tick Required for a field that must be filled. Click a field with the Form field tool to change or remove it. The new fields are fillable in the exported PDF and are not flattened. Field names and list choices can use Latin letters, numbers and common punctuation.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks lists the PDF's bookmarks with the page each one opens. Type a title and choose Add bookmark to add one for the current page. Each bookmark can be renamed, moved up or down with the bookmarks under it, indented under the one above, outdented, pointed at the current page or deleted. Bookmarks follow their pages when pages are moved, and bookmarks to deleted pages are left out of the exported PDF. Inserting a PDF adds its bookmarks at the end.

Recognise text

More, then Recognise text, reads the text on scanned pages with optical character recognition (OCR). Choose the pages (those without selectable text, the current page, the selected pages or all pages) and the languages on them. The recognised words are added to the exported PDF as invisible text over the words on the page, so the page looks the same and can be searched, selected and copied, and Find and Find and redact can use it.

Recognition runs in your browser. The first time a language is used, its data (1 to 3 MB) is downloaded from Magpie and kept in the browser. Each page takes several seconds. Recognition can misread words, especially in faint, small or handwritten text. Languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Korean, Arabic and Hindi.

Page size and crop

More, then Page size and crop, changes the current page, the selected pages or all pages.

• Change page size puts each page on A4, Letter, Legal, A3, A5 or a size you enter in millimetres, in the same orientation as the page or the one you choose. The content is scaled to fit the new size, or kept at its size and centred. Use the original size undoes it.
• Crop pages cuts the margins you enter from each edge, as the page is viewed. You can also choose Crop and drag over the part of a page to keep. Cropped areas are shaded in the editor. Remove crop undoes it.

A crop hides what is outside it; that content is still in the file. To remove it, use Redact.

Header and footer

More, then Header and footer, adds text at the top and bottom of every page when you export: left, centre and right in each. {page} is replaced with the page number, {total} with the number of pages, {date} with the export date and {file} with the file name. Choose the first page number and how many pages at the start have none, such as a cover. They are shown in grey while you work.

Watermark

More, then Watermark, adds text such as DRAFT across the pages when you export, diagonally or horizontally, in the colour and strength you choose. Or choose An image, such as a logo, choose the image and its width (a quarter, half or three quarters of the page); it is centred on each page and outlined in blue while you work. Over the page content it is drawn on top; under the page content it is hidden where a page has a white background, such as most scans. Leave Pages empty for every page, or list pages such as 1-3, 5.

Page numbers

More, then Page numbers, adds numbers when you export. Choose the position, the format (1, Page 1, 1 of 24, Page 1 of 24 or your own wording, such as Seite {page} von {total}), the first number and how many pages at the start have no number, such as a cover. Numbers are shown in grey while you work. They count pages in the order shown in the editor. The PDF's own page labels, such as i, ii and iii, are shown next to the page numbers in the list of pages.

Find

Find searches the text of every page and lists each page with matches. Choose a result to show that page. Scanned pages have no text to search.

Properties

More, then Properties, shows the file size, page size, PDF version, whether the file has a password, form fields, selectable text, bookmarks, attachments, digital signatures or scripts, and its title, author, subject, keywords, creating application and dates. Tick Remove document properties when exporting to leave them out of the exported PDF.

Redact

Choose Redact and drag over the text or images to remove. Marked areas are shown dark with a red outline, and can be moved or deleted until you export.

When you export, PDF Workspace asks you to confirm, then:

• replaces each page with marks by an image of the page with the marked areas painted black, so nothing underneath remains in the file. Text on those pages can no longer be selected or searched;
• flattens form fields and removes document properties and annotations from those pages;
• checks the exported file: the redacted pages must contain no text or annotations, and nothing from the original pages may have been copied into it. If the check fails, nothing is exported.

Other pages keep their text. The marks stay in the editor, and the file you opened is not changed. Words recognised by Recognise text inside a marked area are left out of the exported PDF. Attached files are left out of a PDF with redactions; bookmark titles are kept, so check them in Bookmarks.

Find and redact

More, then Find and redact, finds words or phrases (separate several with commas), email addresses, phone numbers or web addresses on every page. For words, you can match upper and lower case and whole words only. Each match is listed with its page and outlined in red on the page; choose a match to show its page. Untick matches to leave them, then choose Mark for redaction. The marks are placed from the page's text, so check each page and adjust a mark with Redact where it does not cover the whole word. Scanned pages have no text until you use Recognise text.

Export, save and send

Export PDF (Ctrl+S or ⌘S) sets the file name and where the PDF goes:

• Download only downloads it.
• Secure Files: when the PDF is ready, choose Open Secure Files. Secure Files opens in a new tab, where the PDF is encrypted and uploaded. Unlock Secure Files if it asks. Choose the button within 10 minutes; after that, export again.
• Replace the original in Secure Files appears for a PDF opened from Secure Files. The new file is saved in the same folder and the original is moved to Trash, where it can be restored.

Export can also flatten form fields, remove document properties, compress images and protect the PDF with a password. The PDF is exported without a password unless you add one, even if the file you opened had one.

When pages are kept in their original order and nothing is redacted, the export keeps the PDF's bookmarks, page labels, attachments and form structure. When pages are added, removed or reordered, the PDF is rebuilt page by page. Bookmarks, page labels and links between pages follow their pages, and those for deleted pages are left out. Attached files are kept unless the PDF has redactions. Document-level scripts are not kept. Quick tools such as Merge and Split keep bookmarks, page labels and attached files the same way.

Send for signature creates a signature request in the selected team's E-Signatures with the current PDF. You then add signers and place fields in E-Signatures. It accepts PDFs up to 25 MB and 500 pages.

A PDF with a digital signature can still be edited, but the exported copy will not have a valid signature.

Open PDFs from other places

• In Secure Files, a PDF's More menu has Open in PDF Workspace. The file is decrypted in your browser and opened in the editor.
• In Mail, a PDF attachment has an Open in PDF Workspace link.
• In Invoicing, an invoice has Open in PDF Workspace beside PDF.
• In Expenses, a PDF receipt has an Open in PDF Workspace link.
• In Client Portal, each shared file has Download, and a shared PDF has Open in PDF Workspace.
• E-Signatures links to PDF Workspace from the upload page, so you can prepare a PDF before sending it.
• In Your images (/images), select images on the page and choose Create PDF to open them in Images to PDF.

Undo and work in progress

Undo and Redo (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Shift+Z, or ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z) reverse page changes, additions, form values and settings, one at a time. The button's label names the change.

The editor keeps the open PDF and your changes in this browser, so reloading the page or returning later continues where you stopped. /pdf lists them under Recent in this browser. They are deleted 24 hours after the last change, or when you choose Remove. They are not stored on Magpie and are not available on other devices. A PDF with a password asks for it again when it is reopened, because the password is not stored. Quick tool files and results are not kept after you leave the page.

Limits

• Files up to 200 MB each, up to 50 PDFs in a merge, up to 100 images in Images to PDF, and up to 2,000 pages in the editor. Large files use a lot of the browser's memory; on a phone, smaller files work more reliably.
• Long documents show page images in the list as they are drawn, nearest the current page first.
• Text in other alphabets uses Noto Sans. Right-to-left text is ordered for one line at a time. Form values in other alphabets must use one alphabet in each field; names of new fields and list choices use Latin letters.
• PDF Workspace does not run scripts inside PDFs, and links in the page view do not open.
• Compare PDFs compares text and the look of each page; it does not compare bookmarks, form values or annotations.

In the Magpie app

PDF Workspace in the Magpie app for iPhone, iPad and Android works on files on your device. PDFs, images and passwords are not uploaded to Magpie. Open it from More, or choose + Create to scan a document.

• Scan a document: scan pages with the camera. The scanner finds each page's edges and straightens it. If the scanner is not available on your device, photograph the pages instead; they are saved as photographed. You can retake, rotate, reorder or remove pages before you make the PDF.
• Images to PDF: choose photos from your library. Each image becomes one page, in the order shown.
• Merge PDFs: choose PDFs, put them in order and, for any file, enter the pages to include, such as 1-3, 5, 9-. An open range such as 9- runs to the last page.
• Organize pages: open one PDF to reorder, rotate or delete pages and save the result as a new PDF, extract selected pages to a new PDF, or split it into several files. Split by a number of pages per file, by custom ranges with one file for each range (such as 1-3, 4-8, 9-12), or after the pages you list (such as 3, 8). Page numbers for splitting count the pages in the order shown.
• Protect with a password: save a copy that needs a password to open. It is encrypted with AES-256. Magpie does not keep the password.
• Remove a password: open a protected PDF with its password and save a copy that opens without one. Restrictions on printing, copying or editing are removed too.

Scan a document and Images to PDF have a page size of Same as image, A4 or Letter. When a PDF you open is protected, the app asks for its password. The password is used only while the file is open in the tool.

To reorder pages or files, touch and hold one, then drag it to its new place. You can also select Move up or Move down, which also work with VoiceOver and TalkBack.

Each result shows its file name, number of pages and size. Select Share to send it or open it in another app. On iPhone and iPad, choose Save to Files in the share sheet to keep a copy. On Android, select Save to device and choose a folder.

The original files are not changed. Pages are listed by number and paper size, without previews. In the app, a file can be up to 100 MB. You can merge up to 50 PDFs, make a PDF from up to 100 images or scanned pages, and work with up to 2,000 pages.

For help with PDF Workspace, Contact support.