VelloDoc

PDF guides

Practical explanations of the document problems behind the tools, from shrinking files and making scans searchable to removing hidden data, archiving and printing.

PDF Size

How to reduce PDF size without making text unreadable

Why PDFs get large and how to shrink them without unreadable text: images, resolution, JPEG quality, grayscale, fonts, target sizes and when to split instead.

Read the guide Scanning & OCR

What makes a PDF searchable?

Why some PDFs can't be searched or copied, how OCR adds a hidden text layer, how to check a PDF in seconds and how to get accurate recognition from scans.

Read the guide Security

What information can a PDF reveal about you?

Metadata, text hidden under black boxes, comments, form data, uncropped images and attachments: what PDFs leak and how to check and clean a file before sharing.

Read the guide Conversion

PDF, PDF/A, DOCX, PNG or JPG: which format should you use?

How to choose between PDF, PDF/A, Word, spreadsheets, PNG and JPG based on whether the reader needs to edit, print, archive, view on a phone or reuse content.

Read the guide Scanning

How to get cleaner scanned PDFs from a phone

Practical ways to capture sharp, readable scans with a phone: light, background, angle and resolution, plus cleanup steps like deskewing, cropping and OCR.

Read the guide Printing

How to prepare a PDF for printing

Check page size, margins, orientation and color before printing a PDF, and learn when to flatten forms, use grayscale, print N-up handouts or fold booklets.

Read the guide Scanning & OCR

How to OCR Arabic PDFs online: scan quality and accuracy tips

Make scanned Arabic PDFs searchable with OCR. Learn how Arabic recognition works, how to prepare scans and how to check and reuse the recognized text.

Read the guide Scanning & OCR

How to make a scanned Urdu PDF searchable with OCR

Turn scanned Urdu PDFs into searchable documents with OCR. Understand why Nastaliq is difficult, prepare cleaner scans and check the recognized Urdu text.

Read the guide Security

How to remove metadata from a PDF before sharing it

Check what a PDF's properties reveal, remove author, software, dates and XMP metadata, and learn what metadata removal leaves behind before you share.

Read the guide Legal documents

How to Bates number PDFs for legal and document bundles

Apply Bates numbers to PDFs for legal productions and document bundles: choosing a prefix, numbering across files, redacting first and keeping a log.

Read the guide Printing

How to print two or four PDF pages per sheet, or as a booklet

Save paper by printing two or four PDF pages on each sheet, or turn a PDF into a folded booklet. Learn the layouts, printer settings and common mistakes.

Read the guide Archiving

What's PDF/A and when should you convert a PDF for archiving?

PDF/A explained: how archival PDFs differ from ordinary ones, when PDF/A is needed, what conversion changes and how to validate the result.

Read the guide Conversion

How to convert an EML email file to PDF

Save an email as a PDF record: export the EML file from your mail app, convert it, and understand what the PDF includes, from the headers to the message body.

Read the guide Conversion

How to turn iPhone HEIC photos into one PDF

Combine iPhone HEIC photos into a single PDF that opens anywhere. Learn why iPhones use HEIC, how to keep pages in order and how to keep the file small.

Read the guide Security

How to check a PDF is safe and make a clean copy

What can hide inside a PDF, the warning signs of a harmful file, and how to save a clean copy without scripts, attachments, hidden layers or metadata.

Read the guide Editing

How to add bookmarks and a table of contents to a PDF

Turn the headings in a PDF into bookmarks, fix their order and levels, and add a contents page with links to each section, without Acrobat or an account.

Read the guide Review

How to compare two versions of a PDF

Find every change between an old and a new PDF, from edited numbers to moved paragraphs. Side by side, overlay and difference views, plus a report you can keep.

Read the guide Security

How to share a PDF with a link that expires

When a link is better than an email attachment, and how expiry dates, passwords, view only mode and access history keep a shared PDF under your control.

Read the guide AI

How to find answers across many PDFs at once

Search a whole set of PDFs in seconds, then use AI to compare them, find conflicting dates or amounts and write one summary, with page references to check.

Read the guide

Guides by area

Organize PDF

What information can a PDF reveal about you? · How to get cleaner scanned PDFs from a phone · How to prepare a PDF for printing
Guide to Organize PDF tools

Optimize PDF

How to reduce PDF size without making text unreadable · What makes a PDF searchable? · How to get cleaner scanned PDFs from a phone · How to OCR Arabic PDFs online: scan quality and accuracy tips · How to make a scanned Urdu PDF searchable with OCR
Guide to Optimize PDF tools

Convert to PDF

PDF, PDF/A, DOCX, PNG or JPG: which format should you use? · How to get cleaner scanned PDFs from a phone · How to prepare a PDF for printing · How to convert an EML email file to PDF · How to turn iPhone HEIC photos into one PDF
Guide to Convert to PDF tools

Convert from PDF

What makes a PDF searchable? · What information can a PDF reveal about you? · PDF, PDF/A, DOCX, PNG or JPG: which format should you use? · What's PDF/A and when should you convert a PDF for archiving? · How to find answers across many PDFs at once
Guide to Convert from PDF tools

Edit PDF

What information can a PDF reveal about you? · How to prepare a PDF for printing · How to Bates number PDFs for legal and document bundles · How to print two or four PDF pages per sheet, or as a booklet · How to add bookmarks and a table of contents to a PDF
Guide to Edit PDF tools

PDF Security

What information can a PDF reveal about you? · How to remove metadata from a PDF before sharing it · How to check a PDF is safe and make a clean copy · How to compare two versions of a PDF · How to share a PDF with a link that expires
Guide to PDF Security tools

How these guides are written

Guides and tool pages are written from how VelloDoc's own tools actually work: the engines they use, the options they expose and the limits they have. Pages are reviewed when the tools change, and each guide shows when it was last updated.