Guides and FAQ
What you can do with Datatool360, practical guides for working with PDFs, and answers to common questions.
What you can do with Datatool360
- Edit PDF: Open a PDF, click any paragraph to change it, add your own text, images and highlights, then download the edited file.
- Merge PDF: Combine PDFs and images into a single PDF.
- Split PDF: Take a PDF apart: keep only the pages you need, or cut it into several files.
- Compress PDF: Make a PDF small enough to email or upload.
- Crop PDF: Cut away margins, borders or parts of a page you do not need.
- Lock & Unlock PDF: Use the switch at the top of the tool to choose what you need.
- PDF to Text: Turn reports, articles, invoices and scanned documents into clean, readable text.
- Math PDF to LaTeX: Upload a PDF, Word file or image of maths and get structured, editable text in which equations are kept as LaTeX instead of being flattened to plain text.
Guides
How to Merge PDF Files and Images Into One PDF
Combine several PDFs and images into one file: pick only some pages, put them in the order you want, and what to do about password protected files.
How to Split a PDF Into Pages or Smaller Files
How to split a PDF into smaller files: keep a page range, odd or even pages, single pages, equal parts or chapters, and how the results are downloaded.
How to Compress a PDF and Reduce Its File Size
How to make a PDF smaller: what makes PDFs big, how the levels and the target size work, what you lose, and what to do when a file will not shrink.
How to Crop a PDF and Trim Its Margins
How to crop a PDF page: drag a frame, crop all pages at once, use the keyboard, and the difference between a normal crop and a flattened crop.
How to Lock a PDF With a Password, and How to Unlock One
How to put a password on a PDF, how to remove the password from a PDF you own, what the two kinds of PDF passwords are, and what to do if you forgot it.
How to Edit Text in a PDF Online
How to change text in a PDF, add text, images and highlights, edit scanned and password protected PDFs, and why edited text uses different fonts.
How to Convert a PDF to Text (Columns, Tables and Scans)
Why copying text from a PDF gives a mess, and how to convert a PDF to clean text with columns in order, tables kept and scanned pages read with OCR.
How to Convert Maths and Equations in a PDF to LaTeX
Why maths gets garbled when you copy it from a PDF, and how to convert maths PDFs, Word files and scans to editable text with the equations kept as LaTeX.
How to Compress a PDF to a Specific Size (200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB)
How to get a PDF under a size limit such as 200 KB or 1 MB: type the target size, what the tool does to reach it, and what to do when the limit is too small.
How to Convert JPG or PNG Images to One PDF
How to turn photos, screenshots and scans (JPG, PNG, WebP) into one PDF, in the right order, and how to keep the file small enough to send.
How to Remove Pages From a PDF
How to delete one or several pages from a PDF, keep the rest in order, and make sure that the removed pages are really gone.
How to Copy Text From a PDF That Will Not Let You Copy
Why you cannot select or copy text in some PDFs, what the three causes are (scan, restrictions, odd characters), and how to get the text out for each case.
What Is OCR, and How Accurate Is It?
What OCR (text recognition) does, why scans need it, what makes the result good or bad, and how to check OCR text before you rely on it.
LaTeX Basics for Maths Documents
A short, practical guide to writing maths in LaTeX: fractions, powers, subscripts, roots, sums, integrals and Greek letters, with examples you can copy.
Is It Safe to Edit PDFs Online?
How to tell whether an online PDF tool uploads your file, what happens to it, and how to remove hidden information from a PDF.
Frequently asked questions
- Are these PDF tools free?
- Yes. You can edit, merge and convert PDFs without paying and without creating an account.
- Are my files safe?
- Edit PDF and Merge PDF run in your browser, so your files are not uploaded. The text converters process your file on our server and delete it after a short time. Read the privacy policy for the details.
- What can I do with a scanned PDF?
- Scanned pages can be read with OCR in the editor and in the PDF to text converter, so the text can be edited or copied.