PDF Workflow

Inspect first

Record size, page count, version, encryption, permissions, signatures, page boxes/rotation, text-layer quality, fonts, images, attachments, forms, annotations, and whether pages are scanned. Use installed tools such as a PDF parser, renderer, OCR engine, or office converter; do not install dependencies implicitly.

Route by task

• Read/summarize: extract text by page and visually inspect pages containing figures, tables, formulas, or suspicious extraction.
• Tables: compare text extraction with rendered layout; do not treat a visually aligned table as reliable rows until validated.
• Scans/OCR: preserve the original image, record language and OCR settings, and mark uncertain text.
• Merge/split/rotate: preserve page order, boxes, bookmarks, metadata, links, and forms when supported.
• Create: use a layout engine appropriate to the source, embed or license fonts correctly, and add document metadata/accessibility structure where supported.
• Forms: detect AcroForm versus XFA, preserve field names and appearances, and flatten only when requested.
• Redaction: remove underlying text/images and metadata, then verify by extraction and object inspection. Drawing a black rectangle is not secure redaction.

Safety

• Write to a new output path and keep a backup.
• Do not bypass passwords or permissions without authority.
• Warn before an edit that invalidates a digital signature.
• Do not execute JavaScript, launch actions, attachments, or embedded content.
• Remove hidden metadata/attachments only when requested; they may be evidentiary.
• Do not send private PDFs to external OCR or conversion services without explicit authorization.

Validation

Reopen the output, verify page count/order/rotation, render all affected pages, inspect text and form fields, check links/bookmarks/attachments, and confirm no corruption. For secure redaction, search extracted text, inspect content streams where possible, and test copy/paste. Report exact pages changed and any unsupported feature.