The Pages tab is for the pages themselves. The More menu, at the right of the editor's toolbar, holds the tools that work on the whole file.
Rearrange, turn and delete pages
Open a PDF › Pages
The Pages tab shows every page as a thumbnail.
- Move a page: drag it, or click it and press Ctrl with an arrow key.
- Turn a page: hover over it and press Turn left or Turn right, or press [ or ].
- Delete a page: hover and press the delete button, or press Delete. A document always keeps at least one page.
These changes wait for Save, like your other edits. See saving your changes.
Work on several pages at once
Choose the pages you want. Then:
- Take out as a new document makes a new PDF in your library from them, named after the document and the page numbers.
- Delete removes them.
- Clear unchooses them.
Add blank pages, crop and split
Open a PDF › Pages › More page tools
- Add a blank page at the end, or Insert a blank page before the chosen page.
- Crop… Drag the corners of the box. Only what's inside stays visible. Tick Apply to all pages to crop them all the same way.
- Uncrop every page brings back everything you cropped. Cropping hides the edges but keeps them in the file, so nothing is lost.
- Save every page as its own file… splits the PDF into one file per page.
Blank pages, crop, uncrop and split are saved straight away, as a new version.
Because cropping keeps the hidden edges in the file, don't use it to hide private details. Use redaction for that.
How the More menu tools save
The More menu tools that change the file do it straight away and save the result as a new version, so you can always go back under Versions. If you have edits waiting to be saved, Sopycat saves them first, as their own version.
Add another PDF to the end
Open a PDF › More › Add another PDF to the end
Pick a PDF and its pages are added after the last page. To put many files together in any order, including pictures and Word files, use Make a PDF.
Make a PDF smaller
Open a PDF › More › Make the file smaller…
The window shows how big the file is now. Sopycat brings the pictures inside down to a set sharpness and saves them again. The words are untouched.
| Choice | Pictures at | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 96 dpi | The smallest file, for email and the web |
| Print (the default) | 150 dpi | Looks right on paper |
| Maximum quality | 300 dpi | Only oversized pictures are reduced |
Press Make it smaller. Sopycat tells you the result, for example "Down from 8.2 MB to 1.9 MB (77% smaller)." It never makes a file bigger: if it can't make it smaller, it leaves it as it is.
Make a scan searchable (OCR)
Open a PDF › More › Make it searchable (OCR)…
Sopycat reads the words on picture-only pages and adds them to the file as invisible text. After that you can search the PDF, copy its words, and use Find and redact on it.
- It works in English only.
- It runs on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.
- Pages that already have text are skipped.
To make a whole folder of scans searchable, use Batch jobs.
Protect a PDF with a password
Open a PDF › More › Protect with a password…
- To require a password to open the file, type it in Password to open and again in Again. Leave it empty for none.
- Under What readers may do, untick anything you want to turn off: Printing, Copying text and pictures, Changing the content, or Comments and form filling.
- If you turned anything off, set a Permissions password. It's needed to lift those limits later.
- Press Protect.
Under Compatibility you can choose the strength. AES-256 is recommended and works in every current reader. AES-128 suits Acrobat 7 and later. RC4 is only for very old readers and is weak.
The unprotected copy stays under Versions on this computer.
Keep the passwords somewhere safe. Sopycat can't open a PDF for editing without its password.
Remove a password
Open a PDF › More › Remove the password…
Type the password (or, for a file that's locked against changes, its permissions password) and press Remove the password or Remove the lock. The locked copy stays under Versions.
Open a PDF › More › Print…
Choose the layout first, then Sopycat opens your printer's own Windows print window.
- Pages per sheet: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 or 16, or Booklet (fold in half). For a booklet, print on both sides, flipping on the short edge, then fold the stack in half.
- Paper size, scaling (Fit to the sheet, Actual size or a percentage), and Upright or Sideways.
- Which pages to print, and a Thin border around each page.
Add page numbers, a header or a footer
Open a PDF › More › Header and footer…
Type the words for the top and bottom of every page. These fill themselves in:
| Type | Becomes |
|---|---|
| {page} | The page number |
| {pages} | The number of pages |
| {date} | Today's date |
| {time} | The time |
| {title} | The document's title |
| {file} | The file name |
The footer starts with "Page {page} of {pages}" in the middle. You can choose which pages get it.
Add a watermark
Open a PDF › More › Watermark…
Put faint words or a picture across the pages, such as DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or a logo. Choose Words (DRAFT to start with) or A picture, then set the opacity, rotation, size, colour, where it goes and which pages.
Add Bates numbers
Open a PDF › More › Bates numbering…
Bates numbering puts a unique number on every page of a set of documents, in order, so any page can be cited. Set a Prefix and Suffix, the number to Start at, how many Digits (zero padding), where it goes and which pages. Then press Number the pages.
The window shows which numbers the pages will get and where the next document should start. Sopycat remembers that number for you, so the next document in the set carries on from it.
Files attached inside a PDF
Open a PDF › More › Attachments…
A PDF can carry other files inside it. Here you can open, save or remove them, or press Attach a file… to add one. Anyone who opens the PDF in a full reader can get attached files out.
Compare two PDFs
Open a PDF › More › Compare with another PDF…
Pick the other PDF. The comparison has two views:
- Words compares the text line by line, page by page. The words before are struck through in red and the words after are in blue.
- Look lays the pages on top of each other. Red is only in this PDF, blue is only in the other, and Sopycat tells you what share of the ink differs. Use it for pictures, layout and signatures.
You can also start a comparison from the command palette (Ctrl+K).
Save a copy outside the library
Open a PDF › More › Save a copy…
Saves the current version to a place you choose, named like "Contract (edited).pdf". If the PDF has a redaction log, the log goes with it. Use this when you want to email or upload the file.
Why are most More tools greyed out?
The PDF has a password or is locked against changes. Until you remove it, only Remove the password…, Signatures…, Save a copy… and Versions work. See Remove a password.
The certificate tools are on Fill in, sign and send for signature. Find and redact and the redaction log are on Redact safely.
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