Are my PDF files uploaded to a server?

No. All PDF processing — writing, merging, splitting and text extraction — runs entirely in your browser using PDF.js and @cantoo/pdf-lib. Your files never leave your device.

Is there a maximum file size for PDF merging?

There is no enforced server-side limit since processing is local, but very large PDFs (hundreds of MB) may be slow depending on your device's RAM. Most typical PDFs merge instantly.

Can I reorder pages when merging PDFs?

Yes. After uploading multiple PDFs, every page renders as a thumbnail you can drag to reorder, rotate or delete individually — including interleaving pages from different files in any order — before combining them. An undo/redo stack (buttons or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z) covers the whole editing session.

Can I shrink the file size when merging PDFs?

Yes. Turn on Compress in the Merge tool to recompress embedded JPEG images at a quality and maximum resolution you choose — vector text and other content are left untouched. It only touches images that are actually JPEGs, so an already-optimized file just won't shrink further.

Can a merged PDF have bookmarks or a table of contents?

Yes. Turn on Add bookmarks in the Merge tool to generate one bookmark per source file, pointing at the page where that document starts in the combined output.

Can I password-protect a merged PDF, or merge files that already have a password?

Yes to both. The Merge tool's Security tab encrypts the combined output with a password and printing/copying/editing permissions, and if one of your source files is itself password-protected, you'll be prompted to unlock it in place before merging.

Can merging make scanned pages searchable?

Yes. The Merge tool's OCR tab detects which pages are scanned images with no existing text layer and recognizes their text via Tesseract, embedding it invisibly so the merged PDF becomes searchable and text-selectable — pages that already have real text are left as-is. Recognition runs entirely in your browser.

Can I merge several sets of files into several output PDFs at once?

Yes. Build one merge job, click Add to queue, then build the next — repeat as needed. Processing the queue downloads every job as one ZIP file, all sharing the same compression/watermark/security settings.

Is my PDF data safer here than on Smallpdf or iLovePDF?

Every PDF operation on GoChronos — merge, split, compress, OCR, encryption — runs entirely in your browser. Unlike upload-based tools such as Smallpdf or iLovePDF, your files are never sent to a server, so there's nothing to store, log, or leak; closing the tab leaves no trace of what you processed.

How do I extract text from a PDF?

Upload your PDF and select the Extract Text option. For digital (text-selectable) PDFs, text is extracted immediately and accurately. For scanned PDFs with images of text, use the OCR tool instead.

What is the difference between Split and Extract?

Split divides a PDF into one or more new PDF files — by page range, fixed page count, equal parts, one file per page, or custom breakpoints you click to place. Extract pulls all text content from the document as plain text. Both run locally in your browser.

What ways can I split a PDF?

Five: extract a custom page range into one file, split every N pages, divide into a fixed number of roughly equal files, export every page as its own file, or click between page thumbnails to mark exactly where each split should happen. Splitting into more than one file downloads them together as a ZIP.

Can I reorder, rotate or delete pages before splitting?

Yes. The Split tool renders every page as a thumbnail you can drag to reorder, rotate individually, or remove before choosing how to split — the same page-editing controls the Merge tool offers.

Do compression, watermarking, page numbering and passwords work on split files too?

Yes. Every file the Split tool produces goes through the same Compress, Watermark, Page numbers and Security options as Merge, applied identically to each output file — including OCR to make scanned pages searchable.

Can I write a document and export it to formats other than PDF?

Yes. The Text to PDF editor lets you write or paste content, format it with the rich-text toolbar, and export to PDF, Word (.docx), Markdown or HTML — all generated locally in your browser.

Can I password-protect a PDF I create?

Yes. The Security tab lets you set a password with separate viewer and owner permissions (printing, copying, editing) before downloading the PDF. The password is applied locally and never transmitted anywhere.

Can I add a signature, watermark or letterhead to my document?

Yes. You can draw an e-signature directly in the editor, add a text or image watermark, and upload a letterhead image — all applied during local PDF generation.

Can I convert multiple text or Markdown files to PDF at once?

Yes. Use Batch export to upload several .md or .txt files; each is converted and the results are bundled into a single ZIP file for download.

Does the AI writing assist feature send my text to a server?

No. AI writing assist uses your browser's on-device Chrome Prompt API when available. Nothing you write is ever sent to a server — if on-device AI isn't supported in your browser, the feature is simply unavailable.

Can I convert photos or scanned images into a PDF?

Yes. Switch to the Images to PDF section, upload photos or drag them in, then rotate, crop and reorder each page before exporting. Multiple images are combined into a single downloadable PDF.

Can I scan documents straight from my phone's camera?

Yes. The Images to PDF section includes a built-in camera capture mode so you can shoot a whole batch of pages back-to-back without leaving the page, then convert them straight to PDF.

Can the camera scan mode auto-enhance each photo as I shoot it?

Yes. Turn on Auto Enhance in the camera capture dialog and each shot is analyzed and enhanced in the background right after capture — using the same classical or AI engine selection as the main Image tool's Auto Enhance — before you continue to the next page.

Can a PDF made from photos be searchable?

Yes. Enable OCR when converting images to PDF and an invisible, searchable and copyable text layer is added over each scanned page. Recognition runs locally via Tesseract — nothing is uploaded.

Does converting images to PDF support scan cleanup and multi-photo layouts?

Yes. Apply a grayscale or black-and-white scan mode with automatic contrast cleanup, and lay out multiple photos per page as a 2-up or 4-up contact sheet before exporting.

Will I lose my progress if I close the tab while converting images to PDF?

No. Your in-progress batch — images, crop/rotation edits and settings — autosaves locally as you work, and GoChronos offers to resume it the next time you open the tool.

Text & Images to PDF — Write, Scan, Merge, Split & Extract

Write, scan or convert photos to PDF; merge and split files; add watermarks, passwords and a searchable OCR text layer. All local, no uploads.