Edit a PDF and keep earlier versions

You can mark up and fill in a PDF without downloading it. Each save becomes a new version of the same file, so shares, links and the client’s Files tab keep pointing at the latest copy, and every earlier version stays available.

PDF editing is included on every plan. Your team can edit PDFs; contacts in the client portal can view the current version but cannot edit.

Open a PDF for editing

1. Open the PDF from a client’s Files tab, the Files page or a Job.
2. In the preview, click the pencil icon (Edit) at the top right.

The editor opens full screen. Editing is available for PDFs stored in Tidyflow. Attachments on emails and Job comments open in the same preview but cannot be edited, because they are not saved as files.

Editing tools

Choose a tool from the toolbar along the top. Hover over an icon to see its name.

• Select: stop adding, so you can scroll and fill in form fields.
• Add text: click where the text should go and type.
• Highlight: drag across text to highlight it.
• Draw: draw freehand, for example to circle a figure or add initials.
• Add image: choose an image from your computer, such as a stamp or a logo, then drag it into place.

To remove something you added, click it with Select and press Delete. To fill in a PDF form, click a field and type, or tick its checkbox. Use the undo and redo arrows to step back through changes, and the zoom buttons to get closer.

Save your changes as a new version

Click Save. Tidyflow stores the edited PDF as the newest version of the file and shows “Saved as a new version”. Save stays greyed out until you have made a change.

Your additions are saved as real PDF annotations and form entries, so they appear in any PDF reader. To keep a copy on your computer without saving to Tidyflow, click Download a copy instead.

If you close the editor with unsaved changes, Tidyflow asks Discard your changes? first. Click Discard to close without saving, or Cancel to keep editing.

Download or restore an earlier version

Click the clock icon (Version history) in the preview to see every version, newest first, with who saved it and when. The version marked Current is the one everyone sees.

• Click the download icon on a version to save that copy. The file name ends in “(version 2)”, for example, so it cannot be mistaken for the current file.
• Click Restore this version to make an earlier version current again. Restoring adds a new version with that content; nothing is deleted, so you can always switch back.

Version history starts with your first edit. The PDF as it was uploaded becomes version 1.

Documents that cannot be edited

Tidyflow blocks edits that would change what someone signed or approved:

• Documents in a signature request, including drafts and completed requests. Saving shows “Documents in a signature request can’t be edited.”
• Documents attached to an approval in a client request. Saving shows “Documents attached to an approval can’t be edited.”

To change one of these, download it, make your changes and upload it as a new file.

Edits in the audit trail

Each save adds Document Edited to the file’s audit trail, with the new version number. Restoring adds Version Restored, showing which version was brought back. Downloading an earlier version is recorded as Document Downloaded. See Check who has viewed a document.

Deleting a file with versions

Moving a file to the trash keeps its versions. Permanently deleting the file removes every version with it.