PDF Workspace
Upload once, do several things to the same PDF, download once. Each step hands the file to the next in your browser's memory — nothing is uploaded between steps.
1. Your PDF
Drop your PDF here
or click to browse
2. Build your workflow
Add steps in the order you want them to run.
No steps yet. Add one above — for example Compress, then Remove metadata.
Saved workflowsPro
Save a chain of steps you use often and load it in one click. It's a Pro feature, and Pro is free to claim during our launch period. See Pro
Add a PDF first.
PDF Workspace is for the common case where one PDF needs several things done to it — compress it, turn a sideways page upright, strip the author details, lock it with a password — without downloading and re-uploading between every tool. You upload the file once, add the steps you want in the order you want them, and the Workspace runs them one after another, passing the file along inside your browser. You download the finished PDF once, and see its size after every step.
What you can do
- Six steps that each take a PDF and return a PDF: Rotate, Delete pages, Compress, Add watermark, Remove metadata and Password protect.
- Reorder, add and remove steps freely; the run order is shown exactly as it will happen.
- Remove metadata and Password protect are placed at the end for you, so a later step can't write metadata back or hit a locked file.
- The file size after every step, so you can see what each one did.
- Continue in PDF Editor hands the result over when you want to add a signature or edit text.
- Saved workflows (a Pro feature, free to claim during launch) keep a chain you use often on your device, so it loads in one click. Passwords and your PDF are never saved.
How it works
- 1Drop your PDF onto the page.
- 2Under Build your workflow, add the steps you want — for example Compress, then Rotate, then Remove metadata.
- 3Set each step's options, such as the angle, the pages to delete, the compression level or the password.
- 4Use the arrows to reorder steps, and the bin to remove one.
- 5Click Run workspace and watch each step finish.
- 6Click Download PDF, or Continue in PDF Editor to sign or edit the result.
Why use SmilingPDF for this
- One upload and one download instead of one of each per tool.
- The file passes between steps in memory, so nothing is uploaded at any point.
- It tells you which step failed and why, rather than just that something went wrong.
Private by design
Your file stays on your device.
- No upload
- No server storage
- No account required
- Browser-based processing
- No watermark
This tool runs inside your browser tab. Your file is read from your device, processed there, and handed back as a download — it is never sent to a SmilingPDF server, so there is nothing for us to store, read, or lose. You can check for yourself: open your browser's developer tools, switch to the Network tab and run the tool. Like most sites, SmilingPDF uses Google Analytics to count visits and which tools are used; that never includes the contents of your files. The privacy policy lists everything the site does collect.
Between steps the file stays in your browser's memory; it is never written to a server. If you choose Password protect, the password is used on your device to lock the file and goes nowhere else.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Got questions? We've got answers.
What is the PDF Workspace?
It lets you upload a PDF once and run several tools on it in a row — for example Compress, then Rotate, then Remove metadata — and download the finished file once. Each step passes the file to the next inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded between steps.
Which tools can I chain?
Rotate, Delete pages, Compress, Add watermark, Remove metadata and Password protect. These all take a PDF and give back a PDF, which is what lets one step feed the next. Tools that produce images or a ZIP, or that need several files, can't be chained this way.
Does the order of the steps matter?
Yes, and you control it for most steps — compressing before or after adding a watermark gives slightly different files, for example. Two steps are the exception: Remove metadata always runs near the end, so no later step can write fresh metadata back, and Password protect always runs last, because a locked file can't be edited by the steps before it.
Can I sign the PDF as a step?
Not as an automatic step — placing a signature means choosing where it goes on the page. Run your workflow first, then use Continue in PDF Editor to open the result and add your signature there.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. Every step runs in your browser, and the file stays in your device's memory between steps. Only anonymous usage analytics leave the page, never your document.
Can I save a workflow to reuse?
Yes — saved workflows are a Pro feature, and Pro is free to claim during our launch period. A saved workflow is just the list of steps and their settings, stored in your own browser; it is never sent anywhere. Passwords and your PDF are never saved, so a saved Password protect step asks for the password again.
Can I process more than one PDF at once?
Not yet — the Workspace takes one PDF at a time. To run the same operation over many files, use the individual tools that offer batch processing.