AnnexPDF – Getting Started (Tutorial)
A practical walkthrough ("your first hour with AnnexPDF"). Whitepaper format, PDF-ready. Screenshots are taken according to the shot list at the end.
Goal of this tutorial
By the end you will have opened the sample document, searched within it, placed a highlight, merged two PDFs, converted a document to PDF/A-1b and exported a page as an image — all offline.
Step 1: Open the sample document
Launch AnnexPDF and open File ▸ Open… (⌘O). Choose the sample file SampleDocument.pdf (in the suite repository under docs/examples/). The two-page document appears in the viewer; the thumbnails of both pages are on the left, the inspector with PDF version and page size on the right.
Step 2: Search and navigate
Open the find bar (⌘F) and type "Merge". AnnexPDF highlights the hit on page 2 and jumps there. Then use a thumbnail to page back to page 1 — thumbnails can also be reordered via drag & drop.
Step 3: Place a highlight
Switch to the Annotate mode at the top and choose "Highlight". Drag the mouse across the title "AnnexPDF Beispieldokument". The highlight appears immediately and is stored as a standard PDF annotation in the comment list on the left — readable in Acrobat and Preview as well. Save with ⌘S.
Step 4: Merge two PDFs
Switch to the Pages mode and choose "Merge". Add a second PDF file and confirm: AnnexPDF appends its pages losslessly to the current document (Rust core). The page count in the navigator updates immediately; save as a new file with ⌘⇧S.
Step 5: Convert to PDF/A-1b
Open the PDF/A section in the inspector on the right. The status shows "No PDF/A identification". Click Convert to PDF/A-1b: AnnexPDF writes the XMP identification and embeds an sRGB output intent. Afterwards the status shows "Conforms" with the identification "PDF/A-1b" — archive-safe for compliant filing.
Step 6: Export a page as an image
Switch to the Export mode and choose "PNG" in the format menu. AnnexPDF renders the current page at double resolution and saves it as a PNG file at a location of your choice. Via "Export Text" you get the entire document text as a .txt file.
Step 7: Clean up a scanned document
Open a sample scanned PDF (e.g. a skewed scan with a visible shadow border). In the Export mode enable Auto-Rotate, Straighten, Crop to Content and Background Cleanup one after another. AnnexPDF shows a preview for each step; confirm with Apply.
Step 8: OCR and text correction
Click OCR in the same mode. Select German (and English if needed) as the language. AnnexPDF creates a searchable text layer over the page. Then open the Text Correction Mode: uncertain words are highlighted in yellow; correct them directly next to the page view.
Step 9: Save as PDF/A-2u
Switch to the PDF/A section in the right inspector and click Convert to PDF/A-2u. AnnexPDF writes the XMP identification and ensures the text layer is preserved in the archival format. The status then shows "Conformant" with the identifier "PDF/A-2u".
Outlook
- Forms: The Form mode fills AcroForm fields, creates new ones and exports values as FDF/XFDF/CSV.
- Security: In the Protect mode you sign with a PKCS#12 certificate, verify signatures and apply true redaction.
- Batch OCR: For large scan archives the Export dialog offers a batch run with progress display and cancellation.
Shot list (screenshots)
pdf-01.png— Sample document in the viewer with thumbnails and inspectorpdf-02.png— Find bar with hit highlightingpdf-03.png— Annotate mode with a placed highlight and the comment listpdf-04.png— Merge dialog in the Pages modepdf-05.png— PDF/A section in the inspector before/after conversionpdf-06.png— Export mode with the format menupdf-07.png— Scan cleanup with Crop-to-Content previewpdf-08.png— OCR dialog and text correction modepdf-09.png— PDF/A-2u conformance in the inspector