WORKSPACE GUIDE
From working files
to a clean handoff.
Arrange, redact, review and export in one workspace. You can try every step with the synthetic sample on the start screen.
1. Bring your PDFs together
Choose one or more PDF files. You can add more files to the same handoff, move pages earlier or later, rotate a page and remove pages you do not need. A workspace supports up to 100 pages and 30 MB of original files. Use an unprotected PDF copy you are authorized to process; dynamic XFA forms are not supported.
2. Mark private details
Drag across a page to mark an area. Use “Add an area by position” to enter its left edge, top edge, width and height as page percentages with a keyboard. Remove a mark from the list, or use undo to return to the previous state.
Enter a name, phrase or value on each line and run finding across all pages. You can also find email addresses. Finding uses the PDF’s existing text, normalizes common character forms, and marks the entire text run containing a match. This can remove neighboring words. Scans, images, outlined letters and form values may need manual areas. Review coverage rather than assuming finding caught everything.
3. Reuse a handoff template
For recurring files with a fixed layout, mark the areas on one page, name the template and save it. You can include the current finding rules. On your next document, choose “Use” and apply it to the current page or all pages with matching page proportions. Other proportions are skipped.
Page proportions do not prove the content layout is the same. Review every affected page after applying a template. Templates can be exported and imported as JSON files for use in another browser. They contain areas and optional finding terms, never original PDF files. Rules can be saved separately when you only want to reuse terms.
4. Review every included page
Inspect the full page, including images, scans and form appearances. Mark the page reviewed when its contents and coverage are correct. Changes to marks or rotation invalidate its review. Every included page must be reviewed before you build the export.
5. Build and inspect your copy
Choose standard or high image quality, confirm your review and build the prepared PDF. The application creates a new PDF from page images after applying the marks. It checks the generated document for unexpected text layers, fields, annotations, actions and attachments before exposing the download.
The output is image-only: it loses text search, text selection and accessibility tags, and does not preserve valid digital signatures or interactive features. Use the exported preview and inspect the downloaded file before sharing. Only marked visible information is removed. Your originals are unchanged.
Prepare versions for different recipients
Use the “Delivery version” selector to keep separate page orders, marks, finding rules and review states for up to five recipients or purposes. A new version starts from the current included pages and rotation. It starts without marks and rules unless you explicitly choose to keep them. Every copied page requires a new review.
Changes in one version do not update the others. Adding files adds pages only to the selected version. Undo applies to pages and marks in that version. Switching versions clears the prepared download; check the selected version name in the export dialog before building and sharing. Export only includes the selected version, never all recipients together.
A complete workflow for different recipient copies
Deliver several documents together
Choose “One PDF per source file, in a ZIP” when you need to keep documents separate. Each source with included pages becomes one prepared PDF. Its pages keep their relative order from the workspace; removed pages are excluded. Files are numbered in the order each source first appears. The ZIP contains prepared PDFs only and supports up to 200 MB of output.
Numbered filenames are the default. You can choose to retain original names, but names may contain private information. Inspect the export list, then use the exported preview’s file selector to check each PDF. The same review requirement and image-only output limits apply to every file.
Continue later
Use “Save on device” to save the original files and all delivery versions, including their names, finding rules, marks, page order and review state in this browser. This is optional and unencrypted. Resume from the saved list on the start screen, or delete a saved project when it is no longer needed. Browser storage may be cleared, so keep your originals separately.
If another tab changes or deletes the saved project, saving is blocked to protect its latest state. Choose “Save a separate copy” to keep your own changes, or close and reopen the saved project. Old saved projects become a single Primary version when opened, and are updated only when you explicitly save. Close older Forty PDF tabs and reload them after the storage update; documents already in memory can still be exported.
Optional activity and feedback
“Activity & feedback” in the footer lets you enable daily operation counts on this device. Counting starts only after you choose it. Completed builds, prepared files and pages, batch builds, template applications and saved-project resumes are kept locally for up to 90 days; no file names, documents, finding terms or user identifier are included. Preview and download a report if you choose to share feedback. Nothing is sent automatically. Use “Delete counts and turn off” to erase it.
Practical handoff workflows
- Prepare a batch of PDFs without merging them
- Reuse redaction areas on recurring reports
- Find names, email addresses and Chinese text in PDFs
Current beta coverage
The desktop workflow has been tested in Chromium 153 with synthetic documents. Use a current desktop Chrome or Chromium browser for this beta. Firefox and Safari coverage is still pending. The interface is responsive, but physical mobile-device coverage is still limited. Our format tests include mixed fonts, Chinese text, crop boxes, rotation, different PDF coordinate units and JPEG2000 scans. This does not establish compatibility with every PDF producer or encoding.
If a file cannot be rendered or exported, try a standard PDF re-exported from its original app and keep the original. If a page is too large, choose a lower zoom or export quality. Contact support with your browser, the step that failed and a synthetic example.