Whats New With PDFs in iPadOS (and iOS) 17

Apple has recently announced the release of iPadOS (and iOS) 17, which feature several improvements to PDF handling within the Notes app. These new features will make it easier for users to work with PDF files on their iPads and iPhones.

One of the most significant changes in iPadOS 17 is the improved PDF handling. In iPadOS 17, PDFs in the Notes app will appear full width, making it easy to flip through pages, add annotations, or sketch directly in the document using an Apple Pencil. This feature is especially useful for those who frequently work with PDF files on their iPads.

Another new feature in iPadOS 17 is machine learning for PDF fields. This feature allows users to quickly enter information such as names, addresses, and emails from their Contacts into fields in a PDF. This can save time and make working with PDF files more efficient.

Finally, the Notes app will gain the ability to organize PDFs into folders with keywords and tags This feature will allow users to easily find and access their PDF files within the Notes app.

Overall, these new features in iPadOS 17 are designed to make working with PDF files on your iPad easier and more efficient.

iPadOS 17 is expected to be released to the public in the fall of 2023 and includes a plethora of other new features such as:

• Lock Screen widgets

• Interactive widgets on the Home screen

• Free form placement of Windows in Stage Manager

• an improved Messages app

• Improved Autocorrect

Image copyright Apple.com

The Secret PDF Feature in iOS and iPadOS 15

As you may know, Apple has always made the PDF format a first-class citizen in its operating systems going back to the original Mac OS X. In fact, OS X was the first operating system that used PDF technology within the operating system itself. Apple called this technology ‘Quartz’. Quartz is a layer of software that runs on top of Darwin, the core (or kernel) of the Mac OS X operating system, and is responsible for the rendering of all 2D objects.

As is now customary, Apple held their World Wide Developer (WWDC) conference in June where they announced iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. These software updates come with a plethora of new features however, one that is not mentioned in any highlight reel, is some new functionality when it comes to processing PDF files. Using the built-in Files app, you can now handle the following PDF functions:

- Rotate PDF pages

- Insert blank pages into a PDF document

- Insert a PDF from file

- Scan Pages into an existing PDF

- Delete pages from a PDF

Here is how this works in iOS and iPadOS 15:

- Start by opening a PDF document in the Files app

- From the left edge of your iPhone or iPad, swipe to the right to expose the page thumbnails

- Press and hold on a page or double-tap a page to open its edit menu

- You can now select the PDF function you would like to invoke from the menu. Handy right?

Have you found any other PDF function hidden in iOS or iPadOS 15? Let us know on Twitter @allaboutpdf

How To Convert And Save Email Messages To PDF

There are many reasons a person would want to save an email to PDF including archiving purposes or sharing an entire email thread in a more readable form. Lets also not forget the options that become available once the email has been saved to PDF such as password-protecting the PDF for security.

With so many platforms and email applications available to us, what are the best ways to save email messages to PDF?

Windows

If you are using Microsoft Windows, the best way to save email messages to PDF regardless of the email client is to use a PDF Print Driver. The latest versions of Windows come with a PDF Printer so you don't even need to download a third party solution. For older versions, there is a plethora of PDF Print drivers online and once one has been installed, saving the email to PDF is just a matter of going to the print menu and selecting the PDF Printer.

macOS

If you are using the default mail client, Apple Mail, in macOS, you can save an email message to PDF by selecting "Export to PDF" from the File menu.

If you are however using another application that doesn't have a dedicated function to export email messages to PDF, you can use “Save As PDF” from the system print dialog.

Android

Similar to Windows, exporting email to PDF is just a matter of printing the email to PDF and then selecting where you would like it saved.

iOS/iPadOS

Some mail apps in iOS have dedicated functionality to export messages to PDF where as others don’t. For those that don’t, such as the default Mail client, you need to select Print from the Share menu. Once the print preview is displayed, use the 2 finger pinch-out gesture to expand the first page; this action automatically converts the email to a PDF which can then be shared or saved.

Using a PDF Scanner App On Your iPhone To Scan Documents

If you are anything like me, you likely receive important documents in the post, things like tax documents, bank statements etc and then you put them somewhere "safe" only to completely forget where you put them a few weeks or months later.

It is for this reason that I now scan and convert all important documents and store them in my Dropbox as PDF files. This way I (or more accurately, my wife) no longer end up turning the house upside down to find that one document as I can easily find them by searching by file name and contents through Dropbox.

There are many ways to scan documents to PDF using your iPhone or Android device. All examples in this article will use iPhone references however there are similar equivalents on the Android side.

Using the Notes App

The built in Notes app has been able to scan documents since iOS 11.

1. Place the document you would like to scan on a dark background with no direct lighting so that there are no reflections.

2. Force touch the Notes app icon and select "Scan Document” or open the app, create a new note and select "Scan Document" from the “+” menu.

3. Position the document as straight as possible in the camera view.

4. The Notes app will delect the edges of the document and take a photo automatically when its ready

5. Once the page has been scanned, you can scan more or edit it by cropping, rotating it or changing the color style.

5. You can then share the PDF to other apps like email, messages, Dropbox or AirDrop it to your computer.

Using the Dropbox App

Scanning documents to PDF using the Dropbox app on your iPhone is similar to using the Notes app.

1. Start by force-touching the Dropbox icon and select “Scan Document” or open the app tap on the “Create” icon and then select “Scan Document”

2. Align the document in the camera view and the app will count down prior to scanning the document

3. As with the Notes app, once the document is scanned, you can edit it or scan more pages to add to it.

4. Dropbox then allows to specify the file name and type (PDF or PNG) and also where you would like the document saved.

5. Once saved, it will then be available to all your computers that have access to your Dropbox account within seconds.

There are many other PDF scanner apps that offer the ability to scan files to PDF using your iPhone or Android, so many that we can’t cover them all in this blog. The user flow is however very similar as is the quality of the resulting scan.

To do more with your PDF documents such as merging them together, splitting them into multiple documents, adding password protection or converting them to other formats such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint or Microsoft Word and more, check out All-About-PDF for Windows or All-About-PDF Online.