Introduction to HtkPDF

Welcome to the HtkPDF user manual. This document gives an overall presentation of the application, its interface and its main features. HtkPDF is designed to offer a unified, fluid experience for viewing, editing and manipulating PDF documents.

Overall presentation

HtkPDF is a complete native application dedicated to managing your PDF files, on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Whether you need to read a document, annotate pages, merge several files or protect sensitive information, HtkPDF brings together all the necessary tools in a modern, intuitive interface.

The application emphasises performance and accessibility, integrating seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem: multiple windows and native shortcuts on the Mac, touch gestures and Apple Pencil on iPad. It is a universal purchase — bought once, HtkPDF is available on all three devices. See iPhone & iPad.

Unified interface

The HtkPDF interface was designed to minimise distractions while keeping the essential tools within reach. It is built around several key elements:

The Dashboard

The Dashboard is your main entry point. It gathers access to every module of the application and displays the list of your recent documents so you can pick your work back up quickly.

To adapt to your workflow, HtkPDF lets you customize your toolbar. From the Dashboard, you can pin your preferred tools to the "Favorites" section (by right-clicking the tool button). Those favorite tools then stay quickly accessible.

The unified document view

When you open a document or select a tool, the application uses a unified view (UnifiedPDFViewer). This approach guarantees a consistent reading and editing experience. The main screen displays the PDF document, while the tools specific to the selected module (such as extraction, watermark or protection options) appear in a dedicated sidebar.

Changes made through the editing modules (such as protection or compression) are treated as "pending" and are only applied permanently when you explicitly decide to save the document.

Main features

HtkPDF offers a wide range of modules organized by category:

Reading and viewing: optimized reading mode, text search, navigation through the document outline and bookmarks, and accessibility tools such as read aloud.
Page organization: merging several PDFs, splitting, extracting specific pages, reordering, deleting pages (including blank pages), cropping, resizing, rotating, and inserting new pages. Documents can also be imported from Continuity Camera.
Editing and annotation: adding watermarks (text or image), Bates numbering, highlighting, notes, shapes, stamps, redaction of sensitive content, management of hyperlinks, metadata, and form filling.
Conversion and optimization: PDF to Word conversion, export of pages as images, plain text extraction (including to Markdown, EPUB, HTML and table extraction to CSV), flattening and compression to reduce file size.
Security and protection: adding passwords and restrictions, unlocking PDFs, visual signature, and thorough scrubbing of metadata and annotations.
Cross-cutting tools: history and version management (undo/redo), detailed document statistics, comparison with the original or another file, diagnosis of what blocks, and printing.

Note: for modules performing direct exports (such as splitting, conversion to Word or to images), a dialog will appear asking for your confirmation ("I understand") before showing the save panel, because these actions do not alter the current workspace.

Screenshots

4 screenshots — click to enlarge