Is the watermark visible when printing?

Yes — folio draws the text into every page's content stream at the chosen opacity, so the watermark is baked into the page and prints with the document.

Can I add an image as a watermark?

No — text watermarks only in this version. Image watermark support is on the roadmap.

Will the watermark obscure my content?

Tune opacity between 10% and 90%. 30% is a safe default. Pick `tile` for repeated coverage with less weight on any single spot, or `center` for one large diagonal mark.

Is this PDF toolkit free?

Yes. folio is free to use, no account is required, and there are no paid plans.

Are my PDFs uploaded to a server?

No. folio runs entirely in your browser. Your PDFs are never uploaded, never seen by our infrastructure, and never stored anywhere outside your device. When you close the tab, every file is gone.

Which operations are supported?

Merge PDFs, split a PDF into ranges, compress a PDF, convert PDF pages to JPG or PNG, build a PDF from images, rotate all or selected pages, add a watermark, and extract plain text. All of this happens in your browser.

Is there a file size limit?

Yes. Each file may be up to 100 MB. Browser memory is the real ceiling — very large scanned PDFs may struggle on lower-end devices.

Can I work with multiple PDFs at once?

Yes. Merge and Images→PDF accept up to 20 files in a single batch. Split, Compress, Rotate, Watermark and Extract Text take one PDF at a time.

Will my converted images / PDFs lose quality?

Compress and PDF→JPG/PNG re-render pages at the DPI/quality you pick, so there is a small generational loss like any image re-encode. Merge, Split, Rotate, Watermark and Extract Text do not re-render — they only edit the existing PDF objects, so quality is preserved.

Can folio open password-protected PDFs?

Not yet. If your PDF requires a password to open, please unlock it first in a dedicated app. We deliberately skip password handling to keep folio fully client-side and free of legal grey areas.

Not in this version. Extract Text only works for PDFs that already have selectable text. Scanned image-only PDFs need OCR, which is a separate, much heavier project we may add later.

Why does the first PDF→Image take a moment?

When you first use an operation that renders PDF pages (PDF→JPG, PDF→PNG, or split previews), folio downloads the rendering engine (~1 MB). After that it stays cached and subsequent operations start immediately.

Are ads required to use the tool?

No. Ads are isolated from the converter. The tool works completely even if ads fail to load or are blocked.

PDF → Watermarked PDF

Watermark a PDF

Drop your PDF below, type the watermark text, and folio stamps every page inside your browser. Tune opacity and size, or pick a tiled pattern for stronger coverage.

Drop your PDF here

Type your watermark text and tune the look

Choose PDF

PDF

Upload a file to start.

One PDF up to 100 MB. Text watermark only in this version.

Every operation runs entirely in your browser. Your files never leave your device.

About Watermark PDF

What kind of watermarks can folio add?

This version stamps a text watermark in HelveticaBold. Pick `center` for a single diagonal mark per page, or `tile` to repeat it across the whole page. Image watermarks are on the roadmap.

What opacity should I use?

30% is a safe default — visible enough to discourage casual reuse, light enough to read the underlying document. Push to 50% for printouts that need to scream `DRAFT`; drop to 15% for subtle confidentiality marks.

Will the watermark be removable?

Anyone with a PDF editor can technically remove a layer, but folio's watermark is drawn into the page content stream rather than as a removable annotation. That makes casual stripping in viewers like Acrobat Reader harder — but it's not a security feature.

About this operation

PDF → PDF

What it does

folio draws your text into every page's content stream in HelveticaBold. Pick `center` for a single diagonal mark per page or `tile` to repeat the text across the page for stronger coverage. Tune opacity (10–90%) and font size (24–144pt). The watermark is part of the page content, not a removable annotation, which makes casual stripping in viewers like Acrobat Reader harder — but determined editing in a desktop PDF tool can still remove it.

When to use it

Mark a draft contract `DRAFT` before sharing
Stamp `CONFIDENTIAL` on every page of a leaked-document-prevention copy
Watermark photo PDFs with attribution
Add a campaign tag to print-ready deliverables

Limitations — what it doesn't do

Text watermarks only — no image stamp in this version
HelveticaBold typeface only — no custom font picker
Watermark sits on top of content (not behind) — heavy text can obscure layout
Not a security feature — desktop PDF editors can still remove a content-stream layer

Every tool runs entirely in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Your PDFs never leave your device

folio is a static page. Every operation runs inside your browser via pdf-lib (edit) and pdfjs (render). There is no server-side processing, no upload, no temporary file, no cache. When you close this tab, every file is gone.

No account required.
No server processing. Your PDFs stay on your device.
No caching, no Service Worker, no IndexedDB persistence.
pdfjs-dist (lazy-loaded for rendering) is fetched from your own origin; nothing else is sent.