What is a PDF workflow?
A workflow is a chain of tools applied one after the other to your files. You choose the steps once, save them, and then simply drop your documents and click a single button. It saves time and avoids mistakes such as forgetting to compress or to protect a file.
Build your first workflow
- Open PDF workflow and add your files.
- Start from a ready-made workflow (for example Ready to email) or click Add a step.
- Adjust the options of each step: compression level, watermark text, password…
- Click Run the workflow and download the result.
PDF workflowChain your favorite tools and run them all in one click.
Open the free toolFour workflows worth saving
- Ready to email: merge, then compress. Perfect for sending several scans as one light file.
- Confidential document: watermark “CONFIDENTIAL”, then password protection.
- Clean archive: merge, add page numbers, then convert to PDF/A for long-term storage.
- Searchable scan: compress, then OCR so that you can search the text.
The right order matters
- Merge first: the following steps then apply to the combined document.
- Protect last: once encrypted, a PDF can no longer be modified by the next steps.
- OCR after compression: compression turns pages into images, which would remove a text layer added before.
- PDF/A or password, not both: the PDF/A standard forbids encryption.
Helpdf checks these rules for you and warns you if the order is not right.
No account needed
Your workflows are saved in your browser. To use one on another computer or share it with a colleague, copy its share link: it contains only the steps, never your files or passwords. And as always, your documents are processed on your device and never uploaded.