Some PDF jobs are never a single operation. Every month's scanned statements need to be OCR'd, compressed, and stamped with page numbers. Every incoming contract gets unlocked, watermarked, and flattened. Doing that by hand means visiting three or four tools in sequence, downloading and re-uploading between each one — and doing it identically again next month.
Workflows let you define that sequence once, save it, and run it on new files in a single pass. This guide covers building one, the steps available, and the sequencing mistakes worth avoiding.
Before you start
- Workflows is a Pro feature. You'll need a Pro plan to create and run them; the free tier will prompt you to upgrade.
- Think in terms of a repeatable recipe. Workflows pay off when you do the same multi-step job regularly. For a one-off, just use the tools directly.
The steps
Open Workflows and click Create your first workflow (or New workflow if you already have some).
Name it something you'll recognise later — "Monthly statements" or "Incoming contracts."
Add steps. Click Add step and pick a tool. Each step you add runs in order, top to bottom, passing its output to the next step.
Configure each step. Steps carry their own settings — the compression preset, the OCR language, the rotation angle, the page number position, the watermark text, and so on. Set them once, and they apply every time the workflow runs.
Save the workflow.
Run it. Feed in a file (or a batch), and the whole chain executes end-to-end. You get the finished result without touching each tool individually.
What you can chain
Workflow steps cover the operations you'd otherwise run one at a time:
- Security — unlock, protect, add restrictions, and remove restrictions.
- Optimise — compress, OCR (with a language setting), and grayscale.
- Page work — rotate, crop, add page numbers, and watermark.
- Finalise — flatten and convert to PDF/A for archiving.
Order matters — and the builder helps
A workflow is a pipeline, so the sequence changes the result. The builder catches the common mistakes as you construct it:
- Opposite steps cancel out. Putting protect and unlock — or add restrictions and remove restrictions — next to each other undoes the work. The builder flags these pairs.
- Flatten and OCR fight each other. Flattening rasterises the page, which destroys the text layer OCR just created; running OCR right after a flatten only re-reads the same thing. Pick one, and if you need both, keep them apart in the sequence — the builder warns you about this too.
A useful rule of thumb: unlock first (so later steps can touch the file), clean up in the middle (OCR, compress, grayscale), and lock down last (watermark, protect, flatten, PDF/A) — because protection and flattening should apply to the finished document, not something you'll modify afterwards.
Two workflows worth stealing
Monthly scanned statements:
- OCR — make the scans searchable.
- Compress — get them down to a filing-friendly size.
- Add page numbers — for reference.
Contracts for distribution:
- Unlock — remove the incoming password.
- Watermark — stamp "DRAFT" or your company name.
- Protect — re-secure it with your password.
Common questions
Do I have to be on Pro?
Yes — Workflows is a Pro feature. On the free tier you can still use every tool individually; Workflows is the automation layer on top.
Can I run a workflow on several files at once?
Yes — that's the main payoff. Define the sequence once and run it across a batch instead of repeating the same clicks per file.
Can I change a workflow after saving it?
Yes. Open it, add, remove, or reorder steps, adjust any step's settings, and save again. The next run uses the updated sequence.
What happens if a step fails?
The run reports the failure rather than silently handing you a half-processed file, so you can fix the step (or the input) and try again.
Why does the builder warn me about my step order?
Because some combinations quietly undo each other — protect next to unlock, or flatten next to OCR. The builder validates the sequence as you build it so you catch the conflict then, not after a run produces a file that isn't what you expected.
Wrap-up
- Open Workflows and create one.
- Add step for each operation, in the order they should run.
- Configure each step's settings once.
- Save, then run it on new files whenever the job comes round.
The rule to remember: unlock first, clean up in the middle, lock down last. If you find yourself running the same three tools in the same order every month, that's a workflow.