Opening and Saving PDF Files

Master PDF Editor is fully compatible with PDF specification 1.7 and also supports files with dynamic XFA forms, which allows the application to open and view any files created in other PDF editors while saving their settings.

Opening PDF files

To open a PDF document in Master PDF Editor, use one of the following:

  • Open the File > Open menu or press the Ctrl+O shortcut. Then browse for a PDF file you need in the open dialog and open it.
  • Click the Open File toolbar button.
  • Drag-and-drop a PDF file from another application to Master PDF Editor.
  • Right-click a PDF file in any Explorer window to open the context menu and select the Open with Master PDF Editor item.

You can also open PDF files saved from the Internet or local network or received by e-mail.

Opened files are displayed as tabs in the view area:

Open tabs in Master PDF Editor

Opening recently opened files

Master PDF Editor remembers recently opened files. You can quickly reopen any of them as follows:

  • When Master PDF Editor starts, select one of the recently opened files on the Start page.

Open a file on start up in Master PDF Editor

  • Select the File > Recent Files menu and click a recently opened file there.

Recent files in Master PDF Editor

  • Click the down arrow ▼ next to the Open File toolbar button.

Open recent file from a toolbar in Master PDF Editor

Note icon in Master PDF EditorTo clear the history of recently used files, select File > Recent files > Empty recent files list.

Opening a protected PDF document

Password protection allows you to prevent unauthorized persons from performing certain actions with the document. Without the password, a user cannot open the document or is not allowed to edit, print or comment the document. There are two types of protection.

  • With a password
    • The first one is a password to open the document. If you just want to share the document with another person and do not want others to be able to open it, you most likely need a password to open.

Open a protected file with a password in Master PDF Editor

    • The second type is a permissions password. A permissions password allows only the selected actions and prohibits all others. So, for instance you may create a password that allows viewing and commenting the PDF document, but does not allow printing or editing.

No access to an encrypted document in Master PDF Editor

  • With a certificate. Securing a PDF file using a certificate is a reliable way to limit the scope of persons who can access the document. The encrypted document will only be accessible by recipients whose certificates are explicitly included to the list of valid recipients for this PDF document. If the certificate is not included, the following window pops up:

Unlock restricted operations with a password in Master PDF Editor

Note icon in Master PDF EditorMore detailed information is provided in the Document Properties section.

Opening PDF documents locked by another instance

If Lock file from opening by other instances of Master PDF Editor is enabled, another instance can be opened only in a read-only mode.

Notification popping up when a file is locked by another instance

If enabled, a lock.pdf.lock file is created when opening other instances. In this way, another instance can be opened only in a read-only mode. The lock.pdf.lock file is a temporary file that is automatically deleted when all instances are closed.

At the same time, a work opened in other instances can be saved only to another file.

Notification popping up when opening files in read only mode

If Lock file from opening by other instances of Master PDF Editor is disabled, other instances can be opened and edited.

Saving PDF Files

Saving

You can save changes made to a PDF document opened in Master PDF Editor using one of the following ways:

  • Select File > Save in the main menu or click the Save button on the toolbar. You can also use the Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut. This will save the modified document under the same file name.
  • Select File > Save As… in the main menu or click the Save As… button on the toolbar. You can also use the Ctrl+Shift+S hotkey. This will save the modified document as a new PDF file.

To export a PDF into a variety of image formats, select File > Export to > Images.

NOTE: Saving a digitally signed PDF file renders the digital signature invalid. You can read more about digital signatures here.

Optimizing PDF document

Optimization of a PDF document reduces its size by removing unused elements and compressing images and forms. You can read more about optimization here.

Select the File > Save Optimized As menu item to save the optimized file under a different file name.

Exporting PDF to images

You can export a PDF document to a collection of JPEG, TIFF, BMP or PNG images. Read more about exporting to images here.

Select the File > Export > Pages to Images menu item to export the PDF document to images.

Exporting PDF to text

If you want to extract all text from a PDF document, use File > Export > Pages to Text. The following dialog window opens:

Export PDF to Text in Master PDF Editor

Specify a file name of the text file to save all texts from the PDF document to. You can export all pages into the same text file or save each page of the document into a separate .txt file. The Page Range option allows you to limit the scope of pages to export.

More like this:

Encryption PDFs with a Password
Securing PDFs with a Certificate
Optimisation and Saving
Export PDF Document to Image file
Document Navigation