Inspect PDF

Know what is inside before choosing a tool.

Inspect page sizes, rotation, detected text, reader-reported fonts, attachment counts, bookmarks and signature fields. Detection does not certify accessibility, signature validity or archival compliance.

How to use Inspect PDF

1. Open your document from your device.
2. Adjust the settings and preview the result.
3. Read text results on screen or download your file. Your original remains untouched.

Local by design

Your documents are processed on your device. No account, payment or document upload is required.

Enable JavaScript to use the document workspace.

Understand a PDF before changing it

Two documents can look similar while behaving very differently. One may contain selectable text, another may contain photographs of pages, and a third may combine both. Inspect PDF gives you a local inventory before you choose a conversion, printing or privacy workflow. It reads the document in your browser and reports page sizes, rotation, detected text, font families reported by the reader, attachment counts, internal bookmarks and signature fields. It does not modify the original file.

The most useful question is practical: what operation will help this particular file? A report with little detected text might need OCR before searching. A packet containing mixed paper sizes might need a print-layout check. Internal bookmarks can provide convenient section boundaries. A signature field is a reason to preserve the original before editing, because creating a changed copy can invalidate a cryptographic signature even when the visible difference seems small.

Read the findings in context

Open the PDF and let the inspection finish. A progress message identifies the page being examined; Stop inspection cancels the pass without changing the source. The summary shows the page count and how many pages contain little or no extracted text. Expand Page-by-page findings to see dimensions in PDF points, rotation and text status. One inch is 72 points, so a portrait A4 page is approximately 595 by 842 points.

The text check is a useful clue, not a scan classifier. A blank page, illustration, sparse cover or page containing unusual font encoding may also produce very little text. Conversely, an OCR layer can exist but contain incorrect words. Use the page preview and compare a few important words or amounts before deciding that recognition is needed. The inspection does not run OCR automatically or assess its accuracy.

Fonts reported by the PDF reader describe the families exposed during text extraction. This list does not establish that every font is embedded, legally licensed or available in another application. Some PDFs use substituted font names or vector outlines instead of text. If the receiving organisation requires an archival or accessible document, use its required validation procedure separately.

Choose the next operation

When little text is detected, the suggested OCR action carries the file into the recognition tool. Choose the source language there and verify names, numbers and punctuation in the result. When internal bookmarks exist, Split by bookmarks can show proposed section ranges before creating separate PDFs. Review metadata opens a different tool for inspecting and removing document properties. These actions preserve the original on your device and start a new workflow on a copy.

You can download the inspection as JSON for a technical record. That report includes the filename and detected properties, so review it before sharing it. It is not a PDF/A certificate, a signature trust report or a security audit. Attachment detection is based on the reader's document attachment interface; it does not prove that every possible hidden object has been identified. Signature field counts include fields detected by the reader, not a cryptographic verification of their contents.

For a careful sharing workflow, keep the source, inspect the intended output and compare it with your requirements. A successful inventory is evidence about structure, not evidence that a document is accurate, lawful to disclose or free of sensitive information printed on its pages. Read the metadata guide and privacy guide when deciding what to remove.

Frequently asked questions

Does inspection change my PDF?

No. It reads document properties and page text locally. Suggested actions open other tools; they do not automatically modify the file or save over the original.

Does little detected text always mean the page is scanned?

No. Blank pages, covers and diagrams can have little text too. Poor font encoding can also prevent useful extraction. Inspect the page before running OCR.

Are signatures verified?

No. The report counts signature fields reported by the reader. Certificate trust, integrity, expiry, revocation and timestamps require separate signature verification.

Does the font list prove all fonts are embedded?

No. It lists reader-reported families only. Embedding and archival conformance are outside this inspection's scope.

Is the downloaded report private?

It remains local until you share it, but it contains document details such as the filename and page structure. Treat that report with the same care as other information about the document.