Frequently asked questions

Does HtkPDF send my files over the internet?

No. HtkPDF works offline: your documents do not leave your Mac, there is no remote server or intermediate cloud. On Mac the application does not even have permission to open a network connection — that is not a promise, it is a restriction the system enforces.

How do I open a PDF straight from the Finder?

Select the file, then File ▸ Open With ▸ HtkPDF — or drop it onto the HtkPDF icon in the Dock. The document is analysed and the app opens straight onto its Dashboard, ready to work.

A plain double-click opens Preview, not HtkPDF: Preview remains the default application for PDFs, and HtkPDF merely adds itself to the Open With menu without taking its place. To make it the default reader for all your PDFs, select a file, choose File ▸ Get Info, pick HtkPDF under Open with, then click Change All….

Text extraction gives an incomplete or unreadable result

Your document is most likely made up of scanned images: it has no selectable text layer, so extraction has nothing to collect.

Turn on the Use OCR (text recognition) switch in the Text extraction module: optical recognition then reads the pages that carry no native text. The same option exists for batch processing and for read-aloud.

The Diagnostic module answers the question in one line: it tells you whether the document carries text on every page, on some of them, or on none.

Document comparison finds no differences even though there are some

Comparison works on the extracted text. If the differences are visual (layout, images) but not textual, they will not be detected. Also check that both files contain native text (see the previous question). The module is described in Document comparison.

Compression did not significantly reduce the file size

Compression is most effective on PDFs containing high-resolution images. Mostly text-based PDFs are already very light and the gain will be minimal.

Is HtkPDF available on iOS?

No, HtkPDF is a macOS-only application. It leverages macOS-specific features to deliver an optimal experience on Mac.

Another question? Contact support.