Best PDF Encryption Software for Startups
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Compare the Top PDF Encryption Software for Startups as of April 2025
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What is PDF Encryption Software for Startups?
PDF encryption software is a type of program used to protect documents in the PDF format. With it, users can protect the contents of their documents by setting passwords and restricting certain editing permissions. It can also be configured to set expiration dates for documents, ensuring that they remain secure until a specified time. By encrypting PDFs, users are able to keep their sensitive information safe and secure from unauthorized viewing. Compare and read user reviews of the best PDF Encryption software for Startups currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.
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1
MobiPDF (formerly PDF Extra)
MobiSystems
MobiPDF (formerly PDF Extra) is an intuitive and powerful PDF editor and reader designed for today’s modern user - the cost-efficient alternative to Adobe Acrobat Pro you’ve been looking for. FEATURES OVERVIEW: PDF Viewer and Reader: Switch between page views or use "Read Mode" for distraction-free reading. Create and Edit PDFs: Modify text and images or start with a blank PDF. Convert to Office Formats: Easily turn PDFs into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image files. Leverage OCR: Transform scanned documents into searchable PDFs. Organize PDFs: Combine, split, reorder, and compress documents. Markup and Comment: Highlight, annotate, and add bookmarks or stamps. Fill PDFs: Seamlessly fill forms or create ones from scratch. Sign PDFs: Sign your documents anywhere—no ink required! Secure Your Work: Protect files with passwords, digital signatures, and 256-bit encryption. Offline Mode: Full functionality without internet access. Translate PDFsStarting Price: $49.99 -
2
PDFCreator
pdfforge
PDFCreator simplifies the process of converting printable documents into high-quality PDFs and other formats such as JPG, PNG, TIF, and more. Easily merge multiple files into one PDF and automate document saving with PDFCreator’s PDF printer feature. Customizable profiles allow quick access to frequently used settings. Whether for personal or business use, we make PDF conversion seamless and efficient. Trusted by businesses worldwide, including banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, and healthcare providers, PDFCreator offers a free edition and three advanced business editions. PDFCreator Professional is ideal for standalone workstations, while PDFCreator Terminal Server is designed for Windows Servers with Remote Desktop Services or Citrix Servers. PDFCreator Server provides central management for users and settings, making it the perfect solution for large IT infrastructures.Starting Price: $0 -
3
pdfRest
Datalogics Inc.
pdfRest API Toolkit was made by developers, for developers. Rapidly integrate PDF workflows with any business application, simply and seamlessly. pdfRest API Toolkit includes all of the PDF processing tools you'll need, to make your job easy. PDF to Word, PDF to Excel, PDF to PowerPoint, Add to PDF, Query PDF, Extract Text, Convert to PDF, PDF to Images, Convert to PDF/A, Convert to PDF/X, Compress PDF, Linearize PDF, Flatten Forms, Flatten Transparencies, Flatten Annotations, Flatten Layers, Merge PDFs, Split PDF, Encrypt PDF, Decrypt PDF, Restrict PDF, Watermark PDF, Import Form Data, Export Form Data, Convert PDF Colors, OCR PDF, API Polling, Upload Files, Zip Files. Get up and running fast with the pdfRest Postman Collection or start from functional sample code in .NET, JavaScript, Python, PHP, and cURL from the pdfRest GitHub repository. Gold-standard processing powered by Adobe® PDF Library™ ensures the highest quality results. Free to get started with no commitment.Starting Price: $0 per month -
4
PDF Studio
Apryse
PDF Studio is a powerful and affordable PDF editor that effortlessly caters to both simple and complex PDF tasks. From adding text, various annotations, watermarks, and digital signatures to filling out forms and converting MS Office to PDF, it covers all your needs. The PDF editor is perfect for companies and organizations looking to seamlessly automate their PDF editing and eliminate repetitive daily tasks with batch processing of multiple documents. Empower your team with perpetual PDF software at a fraction of the cost compared to competing subscription-based solutions like Adobe® Acrobat®. NEW: Qoppa PDF Studio 2023 released! The latest version, PDF Studio 2023, offers impressive enhancements, including support for Dropbox Team Spaces, improved enterprise deployments, expanded multi-document functions, a new highlighter marker tool, and optimization options for smaller document sizes. Available on Linux, Windows, macOS, and other major platforms.Starting Price: $99.00 -
5
SODA PDF
LULU Software
Soda PDF is the software solution that helps your business quickly achieve any document goal with ease. Edit, create, convert, merge, split, sign, or secure PDFs to your needs. Modify documents using the best PDF editor and PDF converter. Our easy-to-use PDF tools are made to streamline any document workflow with efficient results. With the fastest Microsoft Office to PDF converter on the market, our Batch tool helps you create or convert multiple PDFs at once, along with the ability to add page numbers, watermarks, Bates numbering & secure permissions to multiple files or folders in seconds. Keep a safe distance between people and paper by signing, managing & tracking electronic signatures remotely using our efficient E-Sign feature. Save time & avoid retyping with OCR Edit to quickly search, recognize & modify text contained within any scanned document or image file. Access Soda PDF’s entire suite of tools & services directly from your desktop, or from any device with a web browser. -
6
Foxit PDF Editor
Foxit Software
Edit your PDFs with powerful yet easy workflows across desktop, mobile, and web - whether you’re at the office, home or on the go. Foxit PDF Editor provides a cost-effective solution for business professionals to work securely with PDF documents and forms. It provides a full featured platform to view, create, edit, collaborate, share, secure, organize, export, OCR, and eSign PDF documents. With its enterprise functionality, integration, and mass deployment capabilities, combined with its affordability, it makes a great alternative to evaluate when yearly subscriptions of existing PDF solutions expire. Foxit PDF Editor comes in two editions-PDF Editor and PDF Editor Pro. Foxit PDF Editor is perfect for individuals and groups of knowledge workers who need to create, review, edit, manage, share, and secure PDF documents. PDF Editor Pro builds upon PDF Editor by providing knowledge workers with additional editing, collaboration, and security capabilities required in larger organizations.Starting Price: $14.99 US per month -
7
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe
Adobe Acrobat keeps you connected to your team with simple workflows across desktop, mobile, and web — no matter where you’re working. Your needs are always evolving. And the way you work evolves with it. That’s why we’re continually improving and adding features to Adobe Acrobat. And when you buy Adobe Acrobat Pro, you’ll always get the newest features the moment they’re released. More than five million organizations around the world rely on Acrobat DC to create and edit the smartest PDFs, convert PDFs to Microsoft Office formats, and so much more. When you’re on the move and you need to collaborate with colleagues in multiple locations, trust the power of Adobe Acrobat to make it happen. No matter where you are or what device you're on, keep the collaboration going. With Adobe Acrobat you can easily share PDFs to be viewed, reviewed, and signed, and even track their progress — from any device and any location.Starting Price: $12.99 per month -
8
Smallpdf
Smallpdf
Made in Switzerland, the land of watches, banks, and clean design, Smallpdf is an award-winning company that offers a suite of clever document management tools for everyone—for work, for home, for life. Founded in 2013, Smallpdf provides a simple, secure, and reliable answer to heavy, awkward PDF software. By removing unnecessary features and adding a deep focus on user experience, Smallpdf has become the most-loved and most-trusted PDF software on the planet, serving over 500 million users, 100,000 different companies, in 24 different languages, and in every country in the world—even Antarctica! Smallpdf integrates seamlessly with professional and personal tasks, boosting productivity and simplifying the way people manage their documents, with tools to compress, convert, edit, sign, protect, and unlock PDF documents in just a few easy steps.Starting Price: $7/month/user -
9
PDF24
geek software
Free and easy to use online PDF tools. PDF24 is a project of geek software GmbH, a German company that was founded in 2006. PDF24 offers free and easy to use PDF solutions for many PDF problems, online and as software for download. Solutions include the well-known PDF24 Creator and PDF24 Online Tools. PDF24 consists of a small agile team dedicated to the development and improvement of PDF solutions. The PDF24 team is small, but passionate about PDF, which likes to develop solutions that help many people around the world with their PDF problems. Within a few years, we have managed to establish the PDF24 Creator and PDF24 Online Tools, which are used by millions of people around the world. PDF24 also offers PDF24 Fax, which is an online fax service for people who want to send and receive faxes online, without a fax machine. -
10
pdfRest API Toolkit Self-Hosted
Datalogics Inc.
pdfRest API Toolkit Self-Hosted is available on the AWS Marketplace and can be spun up in just a few clicks. Self-host a production ready server to integrate the PDF processing API Toolkit into your own service or to automate your internal document workflow. Watermark PDF, Add to PDF, Query PDF, Convert to PDF, PDF to Images, Convert PDF Colors, Convert to PDF/A, Convert to PDF/X, Compress PDF, Linearize PDF, Flatten Annotations, Flatten Layers, Flatten Transparencies, Merge PDFs, Split PDF, Encrypt PDF, Decrypt PDF, Restrict PDF, Extract Text, OCR PDF, Upload Files, Zip Files. Maintain full control with a dedicated EC2-based RESTful API with scalable performance to meet your needs. Built with Adobe PDF Library, the same technology that powers Adobe Acrobat, and developed by Datalogics, globally-trusted document processing experts for over 50 years, pdfRest has the gold-standard API Toolkit for high-quality PDF processing.Starting Price: $0.242 per hour -
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ShinePDF
ShinePDF
ShinePDF was built with you in mind. Say goodbye to complicated software & hello to easy-to-use PDF tools. Autofill, merge, split, convert, compress, secure your documents in just a few clicks. 1) Convert PDF documents to Excel, Word, HTML, Text and Image. 2) Easily convert Excel, MS Word, PowerPoint, Html, Text and Image files into PDF documents. 3) Split documents. Remove, extract or organize PDF pages as you need. 4) Merge and Encrypt PDF files with a password to prevent unauthorized access to the file content. 5) Automatically fill PDF forms from Excel. 6) Reduce the size of your normal and scanned PDF while maintaining its original quality and formatting.Starting Price: $15 -
12
Folder Lock
NewSoftwares.net
Encrypt your files with AES 256-bit military-grade encryption or lock your files from view and access. Keep prying eyes at bay! Folder Lock can Lock and Hide files and folders within seconds. It enables you to Password Protect and restricts unwanted eyes from viewing files, folders, and drives. Once you’ve locked a folder, it will be hidden from its previous location and can only be accessed through the software interface. Folder Lock creates Lockers. Just as you would put your money in a safe, would you like to keep your files in a digital ‘Locker’ that’s safer than a bank’s vault? You can create ‘Locker(s)’ which are protected by AES 256-bit encryption. You need not encrypt or decrypt files when accessing; simply copy them to Locker and voila! They are encrypted on the fly. Folder Lock offers a 2-way encryption and backup method, letting you backup your encrypted ‘Lockers’ online.Starting Price: $39.95/one-time/user -
13
AxCrypt
AxCrypt
AxCrypt is an award-winning and easy to use, file and password encryption software, available on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Use AxCrypt to encrypt and protect your sensitive files, passwords and business data. AxCrypt comes with several unique features, including: ✅ Mobile Encryption ✅ Automatic Cloud Encryption ✅ Password Manager ✅ Automatic Encryption ✅ Encrypted File Sharing ✅ Master Key AxCrypt has been consistently awarded as the ‘Best Encryption Software’ by PC Mag for 7 years in a row, starting in 2016. AxCrypt is available on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, and integrates with popular cloud storage providers such as Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. "Advanced encryption in a superbly simple setting" - PCMag Editor's choice 2023 With AxCrypt you easily and securely protect all your important files, in an interface that is clean and simple to use. AxCrypt implements strong AES-256 encryption.Starting Price: $3.63 per month -
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ByteScout PDF Suite
ByteScout
Fast to market engine to setup reading of unstructured PDF, images, scanned documents using powerful and easy to use extraction templates editor. Create templates in a visual editor with no programming or coding required. Supports fields, tables, pdf forms, multi-paged tables, unstructured tables. Use OCR engine with multi-language OCR support, re-use built-in AI-powered templates. Extract text, tables, images, attachments and other data from PDF, Reads Tables to CSV, Gets text from Images, Extracts Attachments, supports OCR with one or more languages. Handle noisy images and damaged texts transparently with the built-in OCR filters. Convert to common data structures like TXT, JSON, XLS, XLSX, CSV or XML. AI powered tables and document analysis functions.Starting Price: $10 per user per year -
15
PDFelement
Wondershare
PDFelement is a one-stop PDF solution powered by AI. Fast, smart, affordable, and easy way to manage (.pdf) documents across desktop, mobile, and web. It provides a great user experience and is an excellent alternative to Adobe® Acrobat®, making it perfect for individuals and small businesses. The mission is to stay at the forefront of PDF technology, constantly innovating and improving our product to meet the evolving needs of our users. Support service: Knowledgeable representatives available through instant live chat and email response within 24 hours. Money-back guarantee: A 30-day money-back guarantee. Top Features: AI tools, esign, edit, convert, scan&OCR, create, organize, share&protect, build&fill forms, annotate.Starting Price: $79.99USD/year/user -
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Locklizard Safeguard PDF Security
LockLizard
Locklizard protects PDF files and other digital documents from piracy, leakage and misuse. We stop unuauthorized access to documents and control how authorized users can use them. Stop theft of confidential and sensitive information, intellectual property, trade secrets, training courses, reports, ebooks, etc. Share and sell documents securely, stop data leakage and enforce compliance. Lock documents to devices and locations, dynamically watermark content, control expiry, stop printing, editing, copying and screen grabbing, and revoke access at any time. Track how your documents are being used. Locklizard uses strong US Gov strength encryption, DRM and licensing controls to ensure your documents remain fully protected at all times regardless of their location.Starting Price: $500.00/month -
17
PDFescape
Red Software
Free online PDF editor & form filler. PDFescape is a free, online PDF reader, editor, form filler, & form designer. A new way to open and edit PDF files online, PDFescape frees users from the typical software requirements for using the de facto document file format. Completely online, PDFescape requires no more than a modern internet browser and an active internet connection. Add text, shapes, whiteout & more to PDF files. Crop, deskew, move, delete, & insert PDF pages. Create links to other PDF pages or web content. Change PDF information tags. Encrypt PDF contents using a password. Add images to PDF files. Sign PDF documents using your scanned signature. Fill out PDF forms using existing form fields or use text tool. PDF text, checkbox, radio, list, and drop down fields supported. Essential PDF field calculation and formatting supported. Basic PDF field styling properties supported. Quickly tab from field to field.Starting Price: $2.99 per month -
18
PaperScan
ORPALIS
Drag & drop files from windows explorer to PaperScan. Information about resolution, size and color mode of an image. PDF encryption. Paperscan can read encrypted PDFs and create PDFs with encryption. Bitonal filters to remove isolated dots or to dilate/erode characters. Apply contour, sepia or scanline effects. Freehand pen and rubber stamp, ruler and polygon ruler, highlighter and freehand highlighter, automatic color detection, blank pages detection and removal and adjustment color (brightness,contrast, saturation, gamma).Starting Price: $79 one-time payment -
19
Xvast
Haihaisoft
Chrome's core speed. Your fast and secure browser. Support the latest HTML5 features, including playlist and PDF viewer, support encrypted PDF DRM. Xvast supports DRM-X 4.0 protection. It enables you easily enjoy the protected premium content. It supports DRM-X 4.0 web page encryption (HTM,HTML encryption), audio/video encryption, PDF encryption, image encryption, and Javascript encryption. Includes HTML5 Video DRM protection, it supports playback high definition video both online and offline. Security updates, memory optimization, PDF download button added, and error message display optimized. Support third-party apps import files to Xvast iOS. Solved messy code problems in a non-UTF8 webpage. The web page is now displayed in full size. Xvast core upgraded to Chrome 85, fix Android 10 spin crash bug. Online playback audio and high definition video smoothly, and save more battery.Starting Price: Free -
20
WinZip
Alludo
Get the world’s leading zip utility and complete file management solution that includes exclusive WinZip productivity apps. Open all major compression formats, including Zip, Zipx, RAR, 7z, TAR, GZIP, VHD, XZ, POSIX TAR and more. Encrypt files as you zip to secure information and data. Create read-only PDFs and add watermarks to deter copying. Find, open, edit, move, and share your files, whether they are on your computer, network, or cloud service. Share large files by email, cloud services, social media, and instant messaging.Starting Price: $29.95 -
21
WinZip SafeShare
WinZip
A modernized sharing experience. Share your files with confidence and security in an intuitive environment built with simplicity in mind. This powerful sharing tool allows you to share, compress, and encrypt, all within a simple interface. Easily share files to one or many locations, surrounded by extra layers of security, including military-grade encryption and time bomb capabilities. Enjoy expanded cloud services, including OpenStack and SwiftStack regions and credential files, Alibaba, Wasabi, HP, Oracle, Azure, WebDAV, CenturyLink, IONOS and OVH cloud providers. Combine multiple PDF files into a single PDF file to save, zip, or share. Streamline workflow when sharing via Slack IM. Manage files shared by WinZip or ZipShare. Open and view, share again or remove shared files. Keep track of which Zip files you have shared via WinZip or ZipShare. Email anyone directly from WinZip by adding contacts from all your supported sources into one combined address book.Starting Price: $34.95 one-time payment -
22
PDFill
PlotSoft
Please try PDFill if you're looking for an inexpensive alternative to Adobe Acrobat. You can use the Free PDF Writer to create free PDF or Image from any printable application. You can use the Free PDF Tools to merge, split, reorder, delete, encrypt, decrypt, rotate, crop and reformat PDF pages, add information/header/footer/watermark, convert image to PDF or PDF to image, scan a Paper to PDF, and more. You can use the FREE PDF Editor to fill the form, type text, comment, create form, and more. Besides, with a fraction of the cost of Adobe Acrobat, PDFill PDF Editor can do more than the free Adobe Reader. Group texts, shapes or pictures into a complicated object. Lock the object from editing. Save the PDFill Object and use it later easily. Scan your paper form or photo directly into a new or existing PDF document, then you can fill it in using a computer! -
23
Icecream PDF Editor
Icecream Apps
Meet Icecream PDF Editor, intuitive free PDF editor for Windows that enables you to create and edit PDF files. Make use of 4 major PDF editing modes: Edit, Annotate, Manage pages and Fill in forms. You can edit text and objects, add notes, manage pages, merge PDFs, protect files, and much more with the PDF editor. Use the best PDF Editor to immensely increase the productivity while managing your PDF files. Edit any text in a PDF document with ease. Visually combine and reorder PDF pages, split and merge PDF files. Easily create PDF documents from scratch. Set password or limit editing/copying rights for document protection purposes. Complete in-built forms in your PDF documents. Add notes, highlight areas, strike through or highlight text, add comments and more. Quickly search through document before editing it. Create custom stamps for better and quicker PDF proofreading.Starting Price: $49.95 one-time payment -
24
FormatPDF
FormatPDF
FormatPDF is a website that provides a variety of online tools for working with PDF documents. These tools include PDF conversion, merging and splitting, compression, encryption and decryption, as well as editing and annotating PDF files. With FormatPDF, users can easily convert a wide range of document formats to PDF, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image files. The website also allows users to merge multiple PDF files into a single document, or to split a large PDF into smaller ones. In addition to conversion and manipulation tools, FormatPDF.com offers features for improving the quality and security of PDF documents. The website includes tools for compressing PDF files, which can reduce the size of large documents for easier sharing and storage. Users can also encrypt PDF files with passwords to restrict access, or decrypt protected files if they have the necessary credentials.Starting Price: $4.90/month -
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PDFEncrypt
PDFEncrypt
PDFEncrypt is a free, open source utility to encrypt PDF files using standard PDF encryption algorithms. When a document is encrypted, its contents become unreadable. An authorized user can decrypt the document to obtain access to the contents. If a PDF document is encrypted with a password, the user must specify the password before the document can be viewed in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. PDFEncrypt provides a means to encrypt any standard PDF document for free, without the need to purchase the Adobe Acrobat software or upload your confidential PDF files to a third-party server for encryption. The app runs directly on your Windows PC and allows you to specify a password (required to open the document) as well as many options and permissions to apply to the PDF file.Starting Price: Free -
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GIRDAC PDF Converter Pro
GIRDAC
GIRDAC PDF Converter Pro is a software utility to convert PDF to Word, and PDF to Excel. It converts PDF to DOC, PDF to DOCX, PDF to RTF, PDF to XML, PDF to XLS, PDF to XLSX. It converts scanned PDFs in English through OCR technology. It can create PDFs from any printable file. PDF Converter Pro has six Layout options, flowing, continuous, formatted text, plain text, images, and OCR. Flowing is the most preferred option because it allows to convert PDF documents retaining the format with text, columns, tables and images. GIRDAC PDF Converter Pro is the first PDF Converter that converts standardized PDF files in many languages. One can look at the converted PDF documents encompassing various categories and languages.Starting Price: $39.95 one-time payment -
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Coolmuster PDF Encrypter
Coolmuster
The content in the PDF may be private and you don't want other people to see it. The information contained in the PDF is valuable, it could be a training course, bid file, healthcare record, price list, or consulting report. Anyway, you don't want to lose them. Then just try to use this PDF Encryption program to add a password to protect your own PDF files. For different situations, you may have different encryption needs in daily life and work. So CoolMuster PDF Encrypter provides users with 3 levels of encryption system: 40-bit RC4, 128-bit RC4 and 128-bit AES. Besides password and encryption levels, there are also lots of other options for your reference, such as resolution settings, document printing, copying, etc. You're enabled to select all your wanted options with one click.Starting Price: $25.95/Lifetime License -
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PDF Suite
PDF Suite
PDF Suite allows you to read, create, convert, edit, review & secure PDFs. We don`t believe in a steep learning curve or in overpriced PDF applications. With PDF Suite`s intuitive interface, you`ll start managing electronic documents within minutes! You can use PDF Suite to create PDFs from an existing document or start from a blank page. You`ll be able to edit any PDF file by modifying the text or images, create and fill forms, apply 256-bit passwords and restrictions, customize printing... & so much more! Why spend $400+ on a slow and difficult to use PDF application when you can do all the most useful features for a fraction of the price? If you`re still not convinced that PDF Suite is right for you, then try it for free for 14-days!Starting Price: $29.95 one-time payment -
29
DRM-X
Haihaisoft
DRM-X 4.0 content protection platform, with new security architecture and more advanced security features. You can securely distribute protected Audio/Video, PDF, Web pages, Images and Javascript to Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPad and Android. With DRM-X 4.0 protection, you can get rid of the problem that you cannot effectively deliver and sell these contents due to piracy. DRM-X, Haihaisoft's digital rights management platform. Haihaisoft provides DRM as a service. The copy protection platform includes: File Encryption, Audio/Video Encryption, PDF Encryption, and Web Page (HTML DRM Encryption), all of them with DRM-X 4.0 advanced DRM features, and you can manage users, groups, rights and license profiles online in your DRM-X account. DRM-X 4.0 is a new generation DRM software platform based-on Xvast browser. It with new security architecture, support online/offline playback, improved user experience. DRM-X provides dynamic watermarking capabilities on protected digital content. -
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Investintech PDF Library SDK
Investintech PDF Solutions
Seamlessly integrate robust PDF editing, parsing and rendering functionalities into your projects with PDF library SDK. Multi-platform shared library (dll, so and dylib) with C-compatible interface. C#.Net, Python, Java 8, C++ 11, libraries/modules. APIs for Linux, Windows, and Mac. Numerous interface functions for transforming and creating new content for PDF files, providing a huge variety of options and broad flexibility for implementation tailored to the specific needs of your project. Efficient utilization of multi-core CPUs for stream decoding and content rendering purposes achieved by closely following portable document format specification guidelines. Apply electronic signatures (with or without cryptographic security layer). PDF encryption & decryption (a password-based encryption handler). Document structure manipulation (create, delete, move, insert, extract, resize, and rotate pages).