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The Dashboard

The Dashboard is the screen shown as soon as a PDF document is opened in HtkPDF. It is the central point from which you reach all the document's information, every editing and conversion module, and the main actions (save, close, share). As long as you are working on a document, the Dashboard remains your point of return between each operation.

Reaching the Dashboard

The Dashboard appears automatically after a PDF has been analysed, that is, after a file has been opened from:

  • the Choose tab of the sidebar (drag and drop or the import button);
  • the Recents tab (clicking a recently used document);
  • the File > Open… menu (or ⌘O);
  • a drag and drop performed directly onto the main window.

If the document is password-protected, a secure entry window is shown before the Dashboard opens. A working copy of the PDF is then created in the application directory so that the original file stays intact until you have saved your changes. Reopening a file that was already imported does not create a second copy: its Recents entry moves to the top and its working copy is reopened as is — to start again from the original file, use Duplicate in Recents or remove the entry before importing again.

Upper section: preview and information

The top part of the Dashboard gathers three information areas.

The document preview

A thumbnail of the first page is displayed on the left. Clicking this preview switches the application to Reading mode so you can view the document full screen. Two badges may appear over the preview:

  • a blue badge showing the number of pages (e.g. "12 p.");
  • an orange badge with a padlock if the document is encrypted.

Metadata

The center column shows the document's key information:

  • Original file name (not the name of the working copy);
  • Type (PDF document);
  • Size on disk;
  • Number of pages;
  • Source path when the document was imported from an external location;
  • Author, Creation date, Modification date read from the PDF attributes;
  • Protection: indicates whether the document is encrypted (Yes/No).

When a piece of information is not filled in inside the PDF (author, date), Unknown is shown.

Main actions

On the right, three groups of buttons let you act on the document:

  • Save (⌘S): this button is only active when changes are pending. It opens a save panel in the default location (configurable from the Settings screen), with the original name pre-filled.
  • Cancel (Esc): closes the document and returns to the welcome screen. If changes are pending, a confirmation dialog is shown to prevent accidental loss.
  • Show in Finder: reveals the working copy in the macOS Finder.
  • Share: opens the native macOS share panel to send the current copy (AirDrop, Mail, Messages, and so on).

Lower section: the tool categories

The lower half of the screen is taken up by a grid of tools split into seven categories. Each tool opens a dedicated module (a unified view with its own sidebar) without leaving the Dashboard. You can add or remove any tool from the Favorites section by right-clicking its button.

Favorites

This section shows the tools you have pinned for quick access. By default it contains Merge, Split, Compress and Watermark. If you remove every favorite, an explanatory message is shown instead.

Reading

  • Presentation: full-screen display without a toolbar;
  • Search (⌘F): text search within the document;
  • Outline: navigation through the table of contents;
  • Read aloud: speech synthesis of the content;
  • Document bookmarks: saved bookmarked pages.

Organization

  • Merge: add other PDFs to the current document;
  • Split: cut the PDF into several files;
  • Extract: export a selection of pages;
  • Compress: reduce the file size;
  • Delete pages;
  • Delete blank pages detected automatically;
  • Reorder by drag and drop;
  • Resize pages;
  • Reverse the order of the pages;
  • Insert a blank page;
  • Camera (Continuity): import a scan from an iPhone or iPad via Continuity Camera (macOS).

Editing

  • Crop;
  • Watermark text;
  • Image watermark;
  • Bates numbering;
  • Rotate (⌘R);
  • Highlight, Note, Redaction, Link;
  • Flatten;
  • Metadata: view and change the PDF attributes;
  • Fill a form and Create a form;
  • Shape, Stamp, Draw (⌘D), Measure.

Conversion

  • To Word;
  • To Image;
  • Extract Text (plain, Markdown, EPUB, HTML formats);
  • Extract Table to CSV;
  • Greyscale.

Security

  • Protect: add a password and restrictions;
  • Unlock: only active if the document is encrypted;
  • Sign: add a visual signature — styled text or image, not a cryptographic one;
  • Scrub metadata.

General

  • Print (⌘P): sends the document to the printer through the macOS print panel;
  • History: view and restore an earlier step;
  • Comparison: the document side by side with its original, or another file;
  • Statistics for the document;
  • Diagnostic: what, in this file, will keep some tools from working.

Pending changes and saving

Any operation performed from a module (rotation, watermark, compression, and so on) modifies the working copy in memory and creates a checkpoint in the document history. These changes are flagged as pending:

  • The Save button becomes fully colored and its ⌘S shortcut is shown as a badge on the right.
  • Attempting to close the document triggers a confirmation request reminding you of the unsaved changes.

Saving is never automatic: it only happens through the Save button or the ⌘S shortcut. The save panel proposes by default the folder configured in Settings, and reuses the original file name. While writing, a semi-transparent veil is shown with a progress indicator.

If a protection option (password, restrictions) has been configured through the Protect module, it is applied at save time and not immediately. A document opened with a password stays protected when saved, even after a tool that rebuilds it (Flatten, Compress, Resize): the opening password is applied again. Only the Unlock module lifts that protection.

History and restoring

Every module that modifies the document automatically adds a timestamped checkpoint to the history. From the History module you can preview an earlier step and then restore that version. Restoring re-triggers the pending changes state; you will therefore need to save to make the rollback permanent.

Note: any pending protection options are cleared when restoring from the history, because they are not part of the content saved in the checkpoints.

Screenshots

2 screenshots — click to enlarge

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