User Guide & Help Centre

Contents

What's new in 1.16

Updated for Windows 1.16.4 and macOS 1.16.4.

Version 1.16 makes the app quicker to get around and adds optional add-ons. The core workflows cover Windows and macOS; tool availability, purchase terms and limits can vary by edition.

• A Tools menu in the top bar. Click Tools ▾ at the top of the window to see every tool in one list, grouped the same way as the dashboard. Choose one to open it. With the menu open, the arrow keys, Home and End move through it and Esc closes it.
• Hide the sidebar. The sidebar button at the far left of the top bar hides the sidebar so the document gets the whole width of the window. Press it again to bring the sidebar back. The app remembers your choice.
• Scroll bars you can always see. Long screens and dialogs now show a scroll bar all the time, including on a Mac, so it is clear when there is more below.
• You can see an update installing. After you choose Restart and install, an Installing the update… screen shows a running timer until the app closes and opens the new version. On a Mac this can take a minute or two while macOS checks the new version.
• Add-ons. Six optional tools for bigger jobs: Commercial Redaction, OCR & Document Capture, Legal Document Production, Forms Automation, Data Extraction and Document Sanitization. Each one can be tried free for 3 days. See Add-ons quick guide.
• "100% Local". The green badge in the top bar means what it says: documents are processed on this computer and are never uploaded.

Buying and trying

The direct Windows and Mac editions can be tried free for 7 days from first launch, with no account and no payment card. You buy them at app.pdfpropanel.com/buy. The Microsoft Store edition is bought and restored through the Microsoft Store, and Android through Google Play. A store edition follows its store's purchase terms.

1. Getting started

Every job follows the same five steps.

1. Open a document. Drag a PDF onto the window, click Open PDF at the top of the dashboard, double-click a PDF in File Explorer or Finder, or pick one from Recent Documents.
2. Choose a tool. Click its card on the dashboard, choose it from the Tools ▾ menu in the top bar, or press Ctrl + K (⌘ + K on a Mac) and type part of its name.
3. Add your files. Drop them on the tool's box or click the box to choose them. If a document is already open in the viewer, choose Use open document, or use the Tools menu inside the viewer, which works on the open document and keeps it open.
4. Pick the options and press the button at the bottom of the tool, such as Compress Document or Merge Documents. A progress bar with a Cancel button appears for longer jobs.
5. Save the result. A save dialog asks where to put the new file. Your original is never changed. Each saved file is also listed in Processed History.

Everything runs on this computer. Nothing is uploaded, and no tool needs an internet connection. The internet is used only for licensing, purchases and updates.

Not sure where something is? Type in the search box at the top of this guide. It searches the text of every topic.

2. Finding your way around

The sidebar

The sidebar on the left holds the places where work happens:

• Local Tools (Offline): the dashboard with every tool.
• PDF Viewer & Reader, Live Visual Editor, Word Document Editor and eBook & Comic Reader.
• Bookmarked Folders and Processed History.
• Settings & Advanced ▸, a menu with Extensions (add-ons), the Module Manager, the log folder, Privacy & Data Safety, Night Mode, Check for Updates, your licence, About and this guide.

The top bar

• Sidebar button (far left): hides or shows the sidebar.
• Tools ▾: every tool in one menu.
• Theme: switches between day and night colours.
• Language: the app is available in 27 languages. Topics of this guide that have not been translated yet appear in English.
• Licence status: your trial or licence. Click it to activate or review your licence.
• Version number: click it to check for updates.
• ● 100% Local: a reminder that documents never leave this computer.

The dashboard

Tools are grouped by job: Quick access (the most used tools), Open & Edit, Organize & Optimize, Convert, Extract & Recognize, Protect & Privacy, Enterprise & Workspace and More Tools. Add-ons you have installed or are trying appear in an Add-ons group. Recent Documents sits above the tools.

Inside a tool

A tool opens in a window over the dashboard. At the top is a box for your files. The list of chosen files has ▲ and ▼ buttons to change their order and × to remove one. Options are below, and the button that runs the tool is at the bottom. Esc or × in the corner closes the tool without doing anything.

3. All the tools at a glance

Open & Edit

• PDF Viewer & Reader: read, search, select and copy text, print, and run any tool on the open document.
• Live PDF Editor & Signer: add text, shapes, sticky notes, freehand ink, stamps, highlights, signatures and initials, and edit the document's own text.
• Mark & Sign PDF: highlight, tick ✓, cross ✗, draw and add text, for quick marking up.
• Sign PDF (Contracts): draw or type a signature, add initials and today's date, and place them on one page or every page.
• Fill & Flatten PDF Forms: fill in a form's fields, including many XFA government forms, then save an editable copy or a flattened final copy.

Organize & Optimize

• Merge PDFs: join two or more PDFs into one, in the order you choose.
• Split PDF: take out a page range, save every page as its own PDF, or split every N pages.
• Organize PDF: a page grid to reorder, rotate, duplicate and delete pages.
• Rotate Pages: turn all, odd, even or chosen pages by 90°, 180° or 270°.
• Compress PDF: make a file smaller. See How to: organize and compress for which setting to use.
• Repair PDF: rebuild a damaged file and recover every page that can still be read.

Convert

• PDF to Word: .docx, .doc, .rtf or .txt, with an editable or an exact layout, and optional OCR for scanned pages.
• PDF to Excel: tables to .xlsx (one sheet per page, with real numbers), .csv or .tsv.
• Office to PDF: Word (.docx, .doc), text, rich text, CSV and OpenDocument files to PDF.
• Images → PDF: photos, receipts and scans (JPG, PNG) to a PDF, one image per page.

Extract & Recognize

• Document OCR: read the printed English text from a scan or photo, then copy it, save it as a text file or save a searchable PDF.
• Barcode / QR Scanner: read QR codes and barcodes from a photo or a PDF page.

Protect & Privacy

• Password Protect: AES-256 encryption, with a choice of what anyone opening the file may do.
• Unlock PDF: remove a password you know from a document you are allowed to unlock.
• Redact PDF: permanently black out words, patterns such as phone numbers, or a fixed area of each page.
• Metadata Inspector & Cleaner: see hidden author, software, date and location details, and strip them out.

Enterprise & Workspace

• Bates Stamping & Indexing: number every page for legal work, with a prefix, suffix, padding and position you choose.
• Local History: the files this app has produced, with quick ways to open them again.

More Tools

• Word Document Editor: write and edit documents and export them to PDF, Word, PowerPoint or Excel.
• eBook & Comic Reader: read EPUB books, CBZ comics and text files with comfortable reading themes.

The optional add-ons are described in Add-ons quick guide.

4. How to: organize and compress

Merge several PDFs into one

1. Open Merge PDFs and drop in two or more PDFs, or click the box to choose them.
2. Put them in order with ▲ and ▼ in the file list. The first file comes first in the result.
3. Press Merge Documents and save the new file. To change pages inside the result, open it in Organize PDF.

Split a PDF

1. Open Split PDF and choose the document.
2. Choose a Split Mode:
   • Extract a page range: type pages such as 1-3, 5. You get one PDF with just those pages.
   • Every page as its own PDF: one file per page.
   • Split every N pages: for example 2 makes files of pages 1–2, 3–4 and so on.
3. Run it and choose where to save. Several files are saved together.

Reorder, rotate or delete pages

Open Organize PDF and choose the document. Every page appears as a thumbnail. Drag pages to reorder them, and use the buttons on each page to rotate, duplicate or delete it. Save when the grid looks right. To turn many pages at once, Rotate Pages is quicker: choose 90°, 180° or 270°, then All pages, Odd pages only, Even pages only or Specific pages.

Compress a PDF

1. Open Compress PDF and choose the document.
2. Choose a Compression setting:
   • Lossless (the default) repacks the file's internal structure. Text, links, bookmarks and form fields stay exactly as they are. It helps most with files saved by older or simpler programs.
   • Scanned document (150 DPI) turns every page into a compressed picture. It is meant for scans and photo-heavy documents. Text can no longer be selected or searched, and forms and links are flattened.
   • Smallest scan (100 DPI) does the same with lower detail, for the smallest possible file.
3. Press Compress Document. After saving, you see the original size, the new size and the saving.

The file did not get smaller? That is normal for many PDFs, especially small ones under about 1 MB. The desktop app never gives you a bigger file: if no setting can make it smaller, the copy you save is the same size as the original. See the FAQ for why, and what you can try.

Repair a damaged PDF

Open Repair PDF and choose the file that will not open, or that other programs complain about. The document is read as far as possible and written out again with a clean structure. This includes a file cut short by an interrupted download or a full disk. Pages damaged beyond reading are left out rather than guessed at. The result tells you how many pages were recovered, so keep the damaged copy until you have checked them.

5. How to: convert documents

PDF to Word

1. Open PDF to Word and choose the PDF.
2. Choose the Output Document Format: .docx (best for most people), .doc for old versions of Word, .rtf, or plain .txt.
3. Choose the Layout. Editable lets the text flow like a normal Word document and is easiest to change. Exact keeps every line where it was on the page, so it looks identical but is harder to edit.
4. If the PDF is a scan, tick Recognize text in scanned pages (OCR, English). Otherwise those pages come out as pictures with no text.
5. Choose all pages, the first page, or a custom range such as 2-5, then convert and save.

PDF to Excel

Open PDF to Excel, choose the PDF and an Output Format. An Excel workbook (.xlsx) has one sheet per page and keeps numbers as real numbers you can add up. CSV and TSV are plain text for other programs. Use the semicolon CSV if your spreadsheet program uses commas in numbers. Pick the pages to read, then convert. Tables with clear rows and columns convert best. Check totals against the original.

Office documents to PDF

Open Office to PDF and choose a Word (.docx, .doc), text, rich text, CSV or OpenDocument file. The app lays out and prints the document itself, so fonts, page size, margins, headers and page numbers come out as they look on screen. Nothing is uploaded.

Images to PDF

1. Open Images → PDF and choose your JPG or PNG images. They become pages in the order you choose them; reorder them with ▲ / ▼.
2. Choose a Page Size (A4, US Letter, or fit each page to its image), an Orientation and a Margin.
3. Create the PDF and save it.

6. How to: sign, fill and mark up

Sign a contract

1. Open Sign PDF (Contracts) and choose the document, or open it in the viewer and choose Live Editor.
2. Create your signature: draw it with the mouse or trackpad, or type your name and choose a style. Add initials the same way.
3. Click on the page where the signature goes. Drag it into place and resize it from its corners. Add today's date if needed.
4. To sign every page, use the option to place it on all pages.
5. Save. The signed copy is a new file; the unsigned original stays as it was.

A placed signature or initial can be changed by double-clicking it. Click it and press Delete to remove it.

Fill in a form

1. Open Fill & Flatten PDF Forms and choose the PDF. Its fields become clickable: text boxes, checkboxes, radio buttons and dropdowns.
2. Fill in every page. Watch for calculated fields and any messages the form shows.
3. Save an editable copy to keep the fields working, or Flatten for a final copy in which the answers are fixed on the page and can no longer be changed.

Many government forms use XFA (XML Forms Architecture), and supported XFA forms open with their fields across all pages. Flattening an XFA form produces page images, so keep the editable copy too. A scanned form has no fields at all: use the Live Editor's text tool to type on it instead.

Mark up a document

Mark & Sign PDF is the quickest way to tick, cross, highlight, draw or add a note. For anything more, the Live Editor (see Viewer & Live Editor) adds shapes, arrows, sticky notes, stamps such as DRAFT or APPROVED, and redaction boxes.

7. How to: protect, unlock and redact

Password-protect a PDF

1. Open Password Protect and choose the document.
2. Type the password twice. Anyone opening the file will need it.
3. Untick anything people should not be able to do once they open it: printing, high-quality printing, copying text and images, extraction for accessibility, editing, comments, filling forms, or inserting, deleting and rotating pages.
4. Protect and save. The file is encrypted with AES-256.

Keep the password safe. It is not stored anywhere, and a lost password cannot be recovered. Nobody, including us, can open the file without it.

Remove a password (Unlock PDF)

Open Unlock PDF, choose the protected document and type its password. A copy without the password is saved. You must know the password: Unlock PDF does not break or guess passwords. Only unlock documents you own or are authorized to unlock.

In the Mac App Store edition, Unlock PDF is turned off at first, because removing a document's protection is restricted in some countries. If it is lawful where you are, turn it on in the Module Manager after reading the warning there.

Redact (black out) information

1. Open Redact PDF and choose the document.
2. Under What to black out, choose Words and patterns anywhere on the page, or A fixed region of every page (top, bottom or middle).
3. For words, type a word or phrase and tick any patterns to find: social security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers. Match case, Whole words only and an optional regular expression narrow the search.
4. Optionally type a label to print over the black, choose the pages, then redact and save.

Every page of the redacted copy is rebuilt from pixels, so the text under the black is truly gone, not hidden. That also means the copy has no selectable text, links, form fields, comments or document properties. Keep your original somewhere safe.

Remove hidden details (metadata)

Open Metadata Inspector & Cleaner and choose the document. It lists what the file carries about itself, such as author, software, creation dates and location tags. Choose Deep Clean to strip them and save a clean copy.

Bates numbering

Open Bates Stamping & Indexing. Set the Bates Prefix (for example CONFIDENTIAL-), an optional suffix, the Start Number and how many digits to pad to, and the font size, colour and Position on Page. Tick Include Total Pages for numbers like CONFIDENTIAL-000001 (of 000015). Choose the page range and stamp. For numbering a whole set of documents in sequence, see the Legal Document Production add-on.

8. How to: OCR and barcodes

Get the text out of a scan (OCR)

1. Open Document OCR and choose a scanned PDF or a photo of a page.
2. Press Extract Text. Recognition runs on this computer and takes a second or two per page; the progress bar shows how far it has got.
3. Read the text in the preview. Then copy it, choose Save as a text file, or choose Save a searchable PDF. A searchable PDF looks the same as the scan, but you can now search, select and copy its text.

Only part of a page? In the viewer, use OCR Area and drag a box over the part you want.

The built-in OCR reads printed English. For French and Spanish, batches of pages and Word, Excel or EPUB output, see the OCR & Document Capture add-on.

Get the best OCR results

• Scan at 300 DPI or more, straight, with good contrast.
• Photos: hold the phone flat over the page, in good light, with no shadows.
• Handwriting, very small print and busy backgrounds are often misread. Always read the result before relying on it.

Read a QR code or barcode

Open Barcode / QR Scanner and choose a PNG or JPEG photo, or a PDF page that carries the code. Press Scan Barcode / QR. The results can be exported as CSV or PDF. A code that is blurred, cut off or photographed at a steep angle may not be readable; try a sharper, straighter picture.

9. Viewer & Live Editor

Reading

• Find: Ctrl + F. Every match is highlighted yellow and the current one orange. Step through with ▲ ▼ or Enter / Shift + Enter.
• Select and copy: drag across text or double-click a word. A Copy / OCR bar appears above the selection. Ctrl + C and right-click → Copy work too.
• OCR Area: drag a box over any part of the page and its text is read from the picture, then offered as Copy or Save as .txt. Use it on scanned pages, which have no selectable text.
• Zoom: −, + and ⤢ Fit are in the toolbar in both reading and editing modes.
• Window size: drag the grip in the bottom-right corner, or press ⛶ to fill the screen (❐ puts it back). With Fit width, pages re-flow as you resize.
• Tools: the viewer's own Tools menu runs any tool on the open document without closing it.
• Your zoom, scroll mode, sidebar and window size are remembered for the next document.

Editing (Live Editor)

1. Open a PDF in the viewer and choose Live Editor, or open Live Visual Editor from the sidebar.
2. Choose a tool from the toolbar: text, highlight, freehand pen, shapes and arrows, sticky note, tick and cross, stamps, signature and initials, or a redaction box.
3. Click on the page to place it. Click a placed item to select it; drag to move it, press Delete to remove it, or nudge it with the arrow keys (hold Shift for bigger steps).
4. To change the document's own text, select a word, drag across several lines, or press Ctrl + A to select it all, then type or apply colour and formatting.
5. Ctrl + Z undoes and Ctrl + Y redoes. Save a copy when you are done.

Complex layouts, unusual fonts and scanned pages may need adjusting after editing. Run OCR first on image-only pages. While you edit, an encrypted recovery copy is kept, and it is offered back if the app closes unexpectedly.

10. Word editor, spreadsheets & eBooks

Word Document Editor

Open it from the sidebar. Start a new document, open a .docx (Ctrl + O, or drop one on the page), or send the open PDF into it to edit as text.

• Zoom: the controls at the bottom right (−, +, the slider, or a preset such as Fit width or Fit page). Ctrl with the mouse wheel zooms too, and Ctrl + 0 goes back to 100%.
• ⛶ Maximise fills the window; press it again to go back.
• − Put aside hides the editor without closing the document. A button at the bottom right brings it straight back.
• Saving: Ctrl + S saves to the same file and Ctrl + Shift + S saves a new one. The buttons at the top right also export to PDF, PowerPoint or Excel.
• Unsaved work is kept as an encrypted recovery copy. If the app closes unexpectedly, you are asked to Recover it the next time you open the editor.

Spreadsheets

Open an Excel, CSV or TSV file to edit it in the spreadsheet editor. Click a column letter or row number to select the whole column or row, or drag across cells. Right-click a selection for Copy, Paste and the other editing actions. Merge controls combine selected cells; check their values before merging. Undo and Redo work as usual. Save a separate copy when you change an imported workbook.

eBook & Comic Reader

Open it from the sidebar to read EPUB books, CBZ comics and text files. Choose a reading theme and adjust the type size and spacing for comfort.

11. Add-ons quick guide

Add-ons are optional tools for large or specialised jobs. Each one adds a tool to the dashboard and does all its work on this computer, like the rest of the app.

The six add-ons

• Commercial Redaction: finds personal and confidential details across a batch of PDFs and images, suggests them for removal, and saves permanently redacted copies once you approve each page.
• OCR & Document Capture: reads scanned pages, photos and images (English, French and Spanish) into searchable PDFs or editable Word, Excel, Rich Text or EPUB files. Its Auto Batch turns a whole book or a folder of page photos into one document.
• Legal Document Production: Bates-numbers a whole set of PDFs in one sequence and produces them as separate files or as combined volumes with bookmarks.
• Forms Automation: fills one PDF form once for every row of a CSV spreadsheet and saves a finished PDF for each.
• Data Extraction: reads labelled values, such as Invoice Number: INV-1234, from scans and PDFs, lets you check them page by page, and exports them to CSV.
• Document Sanitization: rebuilds documents as clean page images, leaving behind metadata, attachments, scripts, hidden text, form fields and comments.

Get an add-on

1. Open Settings & Advanced → Extensions.
2. Choose Start 3-day free trial to try one on your own documents (once per add-on), or Buy one-time, Subscribe yearly or Buy all add-ons.
3. Buying opens our secure checkout on the website. Sign in with the same account as your desktop licence.
4. Back in the app, the Extensions screen picks up your purchase. If it does not, choose Restore purchases.
5. Choose Install. A free trial installs the add-on for you. It is checked first, then ready straight away, with no restart: its card appears on the dashboard.

Use an add-on

Add-ons work in batches and take you through the same steps every time:

1. Batches: choose New batch, or Continue batch to pick up where you left off.
2. Set up: choose the settings (language, what to look for, field mapping) and select your files.
3. Process: start it and watch the page progress. If you stop, you can resume later from Batches.
4. Review: check every page side by side with what was found, and correct or approve it.
5. Export: save the results to a folder you choose, then open them and check them.

Add-ons never change your originals; they always save new files. Start with a short document to get a feel for each one.

More step-by-step how-tos

Every add-on's window has a User guide button. It opens the full add-on guide at that tool's section, with detailed how-tos, examples of settings and mapping files, what each exported file is for, and the limits. This quick guide is only the overview.

Good to know

• Add-ons need PDF Pro Panel 3 desktop with an active licence or trial. They are available in the direct Windows and Mac editions. Store add-ons use their own store catalogue and Restore purchases. Check availability in your installed edition; direct and store purchases are separate.
• When a free trial or a yearly subscription ends, the add-on stops processing. Your batches and exported files are kept, and buying it carries on where you were.
• If the Extensions screen asks you to update the app first, install the update, then try again.
• Installed add-ons are listed in the Module Manager, where you can turn one off.

12. Module Manager

Most tools in PDF Pro Panel are built as modules. Open Settings & Advanced → Module Manager to see them. Each row shows:

• whether the module is Running, Loads when used, Turned off or has a problem, and why;
• what it adds (its tools) and what it is allowed to do (its permissions).

From there you can turn a module off (its tool leaves the dashboard, the Tools menu and the search) and turn it on again. You can also take away one of its permissions, reload it, or try again if it failed to start. A module that cannot start is listed with the reason, instead of leaving a tool that fails when clicked.

The built-in modules ship inside the app. Add-ons you install appear here too. A module someone gives you must be approved before it runs: the Module Manager shows what it asks to do, and Review and approve lets it run. If its files change later, it stops and asks again.

Unlock PDF in the Mac App Store edition

Removing a PDF's password is restricted in some countries, so the Mac App Store edition lists Unlock PDF as Off in this edition. If it is lawful where you are, choose Turn on…. A warning explains the restriction and your responsibility. Unlock PDF is turned on only if you choose Turn on Unlock PDF and tick the box confirming that unlocking is lawful where you are and that you will only unlock documents you own or are authorized to unlock. Turn off removes it again, and turning it back on shows the warning again. The other editions include Unlock PDF as normal.

13. Recents, folders, history & batches

• Recent Documents on the dashboard reopens what you were last working on. If a file has been moved or deleted since, you are told so.
• Bookmarked Folders (in the sidebar) is for folders you work out of every day. Bookmark a folder, then list and open its PDFs with one click. A folder can only be added through the system folder picker, and the app reads only files inside folders you chose.
• Batch a folder: inside a bookmarked folder, the Batch all N PDFs buttons run Compress, Rotate, Protect or Unlock on every PDF in it, up to 20 files at a time, and save the results to a folder you choose.
• Batch from a tool: Compress, Protect, Unlock and Rotate also have Choose multiple PDFs and Process batch to folder buttons.
• Processed History lists the files this app has produced, with buttons to view, edit, show in folder or remove from the list.

14. Keyboard shortcuts

On a Mac, use ⌘ (Command) wherever Ctrl is shown.

15. Installing & updating

Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit)

• Setup (.exe) from the download page installs the app with a Start menu entry, a desktop shortcut and PDF file associations.
• Portable (.exe) installs nothing and runs from any folder or a USB stick.
• Microsoft Store: install from the Store; it keeps the app up to date for you.
• If SmartScreen says Windows protected your PC, choose More info → Run anyway. It appears because the direct download is not yet code-signed.
• About 600 MB of disk space and 4 GB of memory (8 GB recommended for OCR on long documents).

macOS 13 Ventura or newer

• Open the .dmg and drag PDF Pro Panel 3 into Applications. One universal app runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
• The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so the first time macOS only asks you to confirm opening it.
• Keep it in Applications and open it from there, not from the disk image, or updates cannot install.

Updates

1. The app checks once a day and tells you when a new version is ready. You can check any time: click the version number in the top bar, or choose Check for Updates under Settings & Advanced.
2. Choose Download and install update. The download shows its progress, and nothing is downloaded without asking.
3. Save your work, then choose Restart and install. The Installing the update… screen stays up until the app closes and opens again. That takes a few seconds on Windows and can take a minute or two on a Mac.

Store editions are updated by their store. If you are on version 1.4.0 or earlier, install the latest version manually once; updates work normally after that.

16. Android, iPhone, iPad and the web

• Android 7.0 or newer: install from Google Play. Purchases are made and restored through Google Play.
• iPhone and iPad (iOS / iPadOS 16 or newer): install the released iOS 1.16.6 app from the App Store. The download is free; access options and local prices are shown in the app and by Apple.
• Web: nothing to install. Go to app.pdfpropanel.com and sign in. Browser tools run inside your browser tab; the optional cloud conversions on the Pro Web plans delete uploaded files automatically within 24 hours.

Mobile access options

• Annual access: eligible new subscribers can start a seven-day free trial. Apple or Google Play charges the displayed yearly price after the trial and renews until cancelled. Read the store confirmation before agreeing. Uninstalling does not cancel a subscription.
• Lifetime access: a separate one-time purchase, charged when confirmed. It does not renew automatically. On iOS, the separate free seven-day trial can be followed by a manual lifetime purchase; it never charges automatically. Android has no separate lifetime trial.
• Restore access: use the purchasing store account and Restore purchases / refresh access. Store checks can require a connection. Reinstalling does not reset trial eligibility.

Android 1.3.10 reader and workspace

Open eBook & Comic Reader to see your library, choose Continue reading or select a saved item, then open a new PDF, EPUB, CBZ, TXT or Markdown file when needed. The home screen has search and recent files; page tools offer previews and Undo, and merge uses an ordered workspace. The Advanced Tools tab has been removed.

Use the Android guide or iPhone and iPad guide for mobile purchases and troubleshooting. The five downloadable PDF manuals are currently in English. Desktop add-ons are separate products and are not included in mobile access.

17. Trial, licence & devices

• The direct desktop editions start a 7-day trial with every feature on first launch. No account and no payment card are needed.
• After the trial you can still open, read, search and print PDFs. Editing, form filling, conversions and saving processed documents need a licence. Your existing files are not affected.
• Activate a key: under Settings & Advanced choose Enter License Key, paste your 16-character key and choose Activate Pro.
• A Desktop Pro Lifetime licence covers up to 3 computers. An activated computer keeps working offline.
• New computer? Choose Deactivate This PC on the old one, or remove it under Connected Devices in your account (Manage Devices in the licence window), then activate the new one.
• Backup License & Data in the licence window saves a backup of your licence and settings.
• Store editions are bought, restored and moved to new devices through their store.
• Add-ons are licensed separately. See Add-ons quick guide.

18. Privacy & your data

• Documents never leave this computer. Every tool, including OCR, conversion, encryption, signing and the add-ons, runs locally.
• The internet is used for licensing, purchases, add-on downloads and updates only. None of them sends your documents.
• The app reads only files you open and folders you chose. That permission ends if a file is moved or replaced; just open it again.
• Settings, history and recovery copies are stored encrypted in your user profile: %APPDATA%\pdf-pro-panel-3-desktop on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/pdf-pro-panel-3-desktop on a Mac.
• Settings & Advanced → Privacy & Data Safety sums up how your documents are handled, with a link to the full privacy policy. The app has no analytics or tracking.
• Logs stay on your computer. Nothing is sent to us unless you choose to email it.

19. Troubleshooting

Opening documents

A PDF will not open, or says it is damaged.
Try Repair PDF. It recovers every page that is still readable, including from a file cut short by an interrupted download. If it still fails, the file may not be a PDF at all: check that it opens in another reader.

"This file has not been authorized."
The app reads only files you chose, and that permission does not survive the file being moved, replaced or changed by another program. Open it again from its new place.

A password-protected PDF will not open.
The viewer asks for the password. Type it exactly, including capitals. Without the password the document cannot be opened; encryption cannot be broken.

Recent Documents says a file is missing.
It was moved, renamed or deleted after you last opened it. Open it from its new place and the list updates.

Tools and results

Compress did not make my file smaller.
That is normal for small or already compact PDFs. See the FAQ for why, and when the Scanned document settings help.

After compressing, I cannot select or search the text.
You used Scanned document or Smallest scan, which turn pages into pictures. Compress the original again with Lossless, or run Document OCR on the compressed copy to make it searchable again.

I cannot select or copy text in my PDF.
The page is a scan: a picture of text with nothing to select. Use OCR Area in the viewer for part of a page, or Document OCR for the whole file.

OCR found nothing, or got words wrong.
It needs straight, clear, printed text; 300 DPI or better is ideal. Skewed or blurry scans, handwriting and busy backgrounds hurt accuracy. The built-in OCR reads English; the OCR & Document Capture add-on also reads French and Spanish.

OCR or a conversion is slow.
Everything runs on your computer, about a second or two per page for OCR. The progress bar shows how far it has got, and Cancel stops after the current page. Close other heavy programs for long documents.

"Document exceeds the 64 MB limit" or "too large".
The limits are 64 MB per file, 128 MB per selection, 20 files at a time and 500 pages per document. Split a very large document first and work on the parts. The add-ons take much larger batches.

"Processing queue is full."
Several jobs are already running or waiting, or together they are too large. Wait for one to finish, or cancel it, then try again.

PDF to Word looks different from the PDF.
Choose the Exact layout to keep every line in place. Editable lets text flow, which is easier to change but can move things. For scanned PDFs, tick the OCR option.

Office to PDF lost some formatting.
The app lays out the document itself. Unusual fonts, text boxes and complex tables may come out differently. If it matters, save the document as PDF from Word or LibreOffice instead.

A redacted copy has no text, links or form fields.
That is how redaction keeps the removed text gone: every page is rebuilt as a picture. Keep your original, and run OCR on the redacted copy if it needs to be searchable.

A tool is missing from the dashboard.
It may be turned off. Open Settings & Advanced → Module Manager and turn it on. In the Mac App Store edition, Unlock PDF starts turned off; see Module Manager.

Printing

Printing says the document does not allow it.
The PDF's own security settings forbid printing. If the document is yours, remove the restriction with Unlock PDF, then print.

Add-ons

I bought an add-on but it still says Buy or Locked.
Open Extensions and choose Restore purchases. Make sure the app is activated with the same account you bought it with, and that the computer is online for a moment.

An add-on asks me to update the app.
It needs a newer version. Choose Check for Updates, install the update, then install the add-on.

My add-on trial or subscription ended.
The tool stops processing, but your batches and exported files are kept. Buy it in Extensions to carry on where you were.

A file was "set aside" in a batch.
It failed the add-on's checks: for example it is damaged, encrypted or too large. It stays in the list with the reason and is left out, so the rest of the batch can finish. Fix the file and add it to a new batch.

Updates and licence

The update seems stuck.
On a Mac, installing can take a minute or two, so leave it running. If the app has not reopened after a few minutes, quit it and open it again. If an update keeps failing, download the latest version from the website and install it over the top; your settings are kept.

Updates do not install on a Mac.
Make sure the app is in Applications and that you opened it from there, not from the disk image.

My licence key is not accepted.
Paste it exactly, with no spaces before or after, and check that the computer is online. If you already use it on 3 computers, deactivate one first.

Something else

I lost unsaved work.
Editors keep an encrypted recovery copy while you work. Open the same editor again and choose Recover when asked.

The app crashed or behaves oddly.
Choose Settings & Advanced → Open Log Folder and email the log file to support@pdfpropanel.com with a short description. Logs stay on your computer unless you send them.

20. FAQ

Compress

Why does Compress not reduce my 300 KB file, or other files under 1 MB?
This is normal. A small PDF is usually small because it is already compact: mostly text and drawings, or pictures that are already compressed. There is little left to remove. The desktop app never gives you a bigger file, so when a setting cannot save anything, the copy you get is the same size as the original and the result shows a saving of 0%.

• Lossless only repacks the file's structure. It saves the most on files from older or simpler programs, and little or nothing on files that are already packed tightly.
• Scanned document and Smallest scan redraw every page as a picture. That is a big saving for large scans and high-resolution photos. For a text page, though, a picture of the page is larger than the text itself, so these settings often cannot beat a small text PDF either.
• Try: Smallest scan for photos and scans when sharpness matters less. For documents with large photos, make the photos smaller before turning them into a PDF. Split off pages you do not need, and remove attachments in the program that made the file.

Will compressing lose quality?
Lossless changes nothing you can see. The two scan settings reduce picture detail and make text unselectable, so keep your original.

Privacy and use

Are my documents uploaded anywhere?
No. On desktop and mobile every tool, including the add-ons, runs on your own device. The only exception is clearly marked: the optional cloud conversions on the Pro Web plans, where uploads are encrypted in transit and deleted within 24 hours.

Does it work offline?
Yes, all tools work offline, including OCR, conversion, encryption and signing. The internet is needed only to activate, buy, download add-ons or update.

Do I need an account?
Not for the trial. An account is needed to buy and manage licences and add-ons, and for the web edition.

Which OCR languages are supported?
The built-in OCR reads printed English and is included in the app, so nothing is downloaded. The OCR & Document Capture add-on reads English, French and Spanish.

Can it remove a password I do not know?
No. Unlock PDF needs the password. Encryption cannot be broken, and only documents you own or are authorized to unlock should be unlocked.

Why is Unlock PDF off in my Mac App Store copy?
Removing a document's protection is restricted in some countries. If it is lawful where you are, turn it on in the Module Manager after reading the warning.

Can I run it from a USB stick?
Yes, use the Windows Portable edition.

Where are my settings stored?
Encrypted in your user profile: %APPDATA%\pdf-pro-panel-3-desktop on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/pdf-pro-panel-3-desktop on a Mac. Backup License & Data in the licence window saves a copy.

Licences and add-ons

Are updates included?
Yes, lifetime licences include ongoing updates.

How many computers can I use?
A Desktop Pro Lifetime licence covers up to 3 computers. Deactivate an old one to move the licence to a new one.

Are add-ons included with my licence?
No, add-ons are optional and bought separately. Each can be tried free for 3 days, bought once, or taken as a yearly subscription, and there is a bundle of all six.

Where are the detailed add-on instructions?
Every add-on's window has a User guide button with step-by-step how-tos for that tool.

Can I get a refund?
Direct purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Store purchases follow the store's refund policy.

21. Support, downloads & contact

• Email support: support@pdfpropanel.com. For a problem, attach the log file from Settings & Advanced → Open Log Folder.
• Downloads: the latest installers are on the download page.
• Windows desktop guide (PDF)
• macOS desktop guide (PDF)
• Android guide (PDF)
• iPhone and iPad guide (PDF)
• Complete reference for every edition (PDF)
• Add-on how-tos: in the app, every add-on's window has a User guide button with step-by-step instructions.
• Privacy Policy · Refund Policy · Terms

PDF Pro Panel 3 is published by Cacraba Canada Inc., Canada. Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.