Doing several PDF jobs in one go: the FlexyFiles workspace

Many PDF jobs are really several jobs in a row: combine three scans, make the result smaller, then number the pages. Doing that with separate single-purpose tools means uploading, downloading and re-uploading the file at every stage. The FlexyFiles workspace lets you set up the whole sequence once and run it in one go. This guide explains how the workspace is laid out, how the processing steps work, and why the order of the steps matters.

The three columns

The full workspace at /pdf/app has three columns. On a phone, the same three areas are shown as tabs: Files, Preview and Processing.

Left: "Your files"

This is everything you have uploaded (PDF, JPG and PNG files) plus every result you have produced. Next to a multi-page file there is a +, which opens a list of its pages so you can work with them individually. Results land here too, so the output of one job can be the input of the next.

Centre: the preview

The middle column shows a large preview of the page you have selected. This is where you check that you have the right page before using it. Two buttons sit here: "Add this page" adds just the page you are looking at to the processing list, and "Add whole file" adds the complete file.

Right: "Processing"

The right column is where you build the job. It has two parts. First come the items: the whole files and single pages you have added. Then come the steps: what should happen to those items. At the bottom you enter a name under "Save as" and click "Run".

Items: files and pages from anywhere

Items do not have to come from the same file, and they do not have to be in their original order. You can add page 3 of one contract, then pages 1 and 2 of another, then a whole third file, then a JPG photo. In the item list you can drag items to reorder them, rotate them and remove them. That makes the item list a quick way to assemble a document from pieces.

The limits to keep in mind: 100 MB per file, 500 MB and 200 files per workspace, and 2000 pages per operation.

Steps run from top to bottom

Steps are applied in the order they are listed, each one working on the output of the step above it. That is what makes chaining possible, and it is also why order matters. A few principles cover almost every case.

With or without a Merge step

The Merge step decides whether you get one result or many. With a Merge step, all items are joined into one PDF in the order shown, and every step after it works on that single combined file. Without a Merge step, each item is processed separately and you get one result per item, numbered automatically: if you save as invoice, you get invoice-1, invoice-2 and so on.

Remember that single pages are items too. If you add five individual pages and forget the Merge step, you will get five separate one-page results.

Merge first, then whole-document steps

Anything that should treat the result as one document belongs after the Merge. Page numbers are the clearest example: placed after Merge, they run continuously from the first page to the last. Without a merge, each file would start again at 1. The same reasoning applies to a watermark or a password: putting them after the merge means you apply them once to the finished document.

Compress near the end

Compression mostly works by reducing the resolution of images. It makes sense to compress once, after merging, so the whole document is compressed together and you can judge the final size. Small additions such as page numbers or a text watermark are vector text and add very little, so compressing before or after them makes little difference to the size; the main rule is to compress the combined file rather than each part separately, and to compress before protecting. The lossless Optimize step, which tidies the file structure and prepares it for fast web viewing, also fits naturally near the end.

Protect must be last

Password protection encrypts the file. Any step after it would have to open an encrypted file, which it cannot do. So if your job includes a Protect step, put it at the very bottom. Everything else, including compression, numbering and watermarking, comes before it.

Convert to images as a final step

Converting pages to JPG or PNG images changes the output from a PDF into a set of pictures. PDF steps such as page numbers or compression cannot be applied after that, so image conversion also belongs at the end. If you want numbered or watermarked images, add those steps above it.

Naming your results

The name you type under "Save as" becomes the name of the result. Choose a descriptive name before you click "Run", such as contract-bundle-2026-03 rather than accepting something generic, because you may run several jobs in the same workspace and need to tell the results apart. For per-item jobs the name is the base for the numbered files, so pick something that reads well with a number after it.

Worked examples

Three scans into one numbered file

You have scanned a document in three batches and want one tidy file to email.

1. Upload the three scans. Use "Add whole file" on each, in the right order.
2. Check the item list. Drag to reorder if needed, and rotate any sideways item.
3. Add the steps: Merge, then Compress, then Page numbers.
4. Save as scanned-document and click "Run".

You get one compressed PDF with continuous page numbers. For choosing a compression level, see how to reduce PDF file size.

Ten invoices, each compressed

You need to upload ten invoices to an expense system with a size limit per file.

1. Upload all ten and add each as a whole file.
2. Add a single Compress step and no Merge step.
3. Save as invoice and run.

Each invoice is compressed separately, giving invoice-1 to invoice-10. Select the ones you want in "Your files" and download them together as a ZIP.

Selected pages from two contracts, watermarked and protected

You want to send a reviewer only the relevant clauses from two contracts, clearly marked and locked.

1. Upload both contracts. Open each one's page list with the + and preview the pages.
2. Use "Add this page" for each page you need, from either file, in the order the reviewer should read them.
3. Add the steps: Merge, then Watermark (for example with the reviewer's name), then Protect.
4. Save as clauses-for-review and run.

Protect is last because nothing can be done to the file after it is encrypted. Send the password separately from the file. See watermarking best practices and the password protection guide.

Inputs stay untouched

Running a job never changes the files you uploaded. Results are added to "Your files" as new entries. That means you can experiment freely: if the compression is too strong or the watermark too faint, change the step and run again from the same items. If you came from a single tool page such as Compress PDF, you see a simple one-tool view; "Open full workspace" switches to the three columns with the same files, so you can continue there.

Downloading and the 48-hour lifetime

Download results one by one or select several and download them as a ZIP. The workspace is private and reachable only through its random link; anyone you give that link to can open it, so share it only if you mean to. Files are deleted automatically 48 hours after the workspace was last used, and you can delete single files, or everything with "Delete all files", at any time. Treat the workspace as a place to do the work, not as storage: download what you need and keep it on your own device.

Quick recap

• Add items (whole files or single pages, from any files) to Processing and arrange them.
• Add steps in order: Merge first if you want one result, whole-document steps after it, Compress near the end, Protect or image conversion last.
• Name the result under "Save as", click "Run" and download from "Your files".

To start, open the workspace at /pdf/app, or begin from a single tool such as Merge PDF or Add page numbers and switch to the full workspace when you need more than one step.