Automate PDF Workflows — Chain Multiple Tools Into One Pipeline

Why Custom Workflows?

Do you find yourself applying the same sequence of PDF edits over and over? Maybe you always compress invoices, add a watermark, then password-protect them. Or perhaps you need to unlock a document, rotate specific pages, crop margins, and add page numbers before sharing.

Repeating these multi-step processes wastes time and increases the chance of missing a step. Custom Workflows solve this problem by letting you chain up to 8 PDF tools into a single automated pipeline that you can save and reuse.

Common workflow scenarios:

• Invoice processing: Unlock → Remove pages → Compress → Watermark → Protect
• Document finalization: Rotate → Crop → Add page numbers → Sign
• Report preparation: Extract pages → Watermark → Add page numbers → Compress
• Secure distribution: Compress → Watermark → Protect with permissions

What Are Custom Workflows?

Custom Workflows is a new feature on PDFlys that lets you build reusable PDF processing pipelines. Instead of running through multiple tools manually, you create a workflow once and run it on any PDF with a single click.

Each workflow can include up to 8 steps, chosen from 10 available tools:

• Organize: Extract pages, remove pages, rotate
• Edit: Crop, add page numbers, add signature
• Security: Unlock, protect, watermark
• Optimize: Compress

Your workflows are saved to your account, so you can reuse them anytime. All processing happens entirely in your browser — your files never leave your device.

How to Create a Custom Workflow (Step-by-Step)

Building your first workflow takes just a few minutes.

Step 1: Navigate to Custom Workflows

Go to the PDFlys Custom Workflows page from the main menu. Click "New Workflow" to open the workflow builder.

Step 2: Name Your Workflow

Give your workflow a descriptive name that reflects its purpose, like "Invoice Prep" or "Report Finalization". This makes it easy to identify when you have multiple workflows saved.

Step 3: Add Steps to Your Pipeline

Click "Add Step" to choose your first tool. You'll see all 10 available tools organized by category (Organize, Edit, Security). Select the tool you want to add.

Each tool has its own configuration options. For example:

• Compress: Choose compression level (low, medium, high), remove metadata, convert to grayscale
• Watermark: Set text, font size, opacity, rotation, position, and color
• Protect: Set user password, owner password, and permissions (printing, copying, modifying)
• Rotate: Choose angle (90°, 180°, 270°) and which pages to apply to
• Add Page Numbers: Select position, format, starting number, font size, and color

Configure each step according to your needs. The workflow builder validates your configuration in real-time to catch any issues before you run it.

Step 4: Reorder Steps (If Needed)

Steps execute in order from top to bottom. You can drag and drop steps to reorder them. The workflow builder automatically enforces certain rules:

• Unlock must be first if you're processing a password-protected PDF
• Protect must be last since you can't edit a protected PDF

If you add steps in the wrong order, the builder will auto-reorder them and notify you.

Step 5: Save Your Workflow

Once you've configured all your steps, click "Save". Your workflow is now stored in your account and ready to use. You can create up to 20 saved workflows.

Running a Workflow

After saving your workflow, you can run it on any PDF:

1. From the Custom Workflows page, find your saved workflow and click "Run"
2. Upload or drag-and-drop your PDF file
3. The workflow executes all steps automatically — you'll see real-time progress for each step
4. Download your processed PDF when complete

Every step runs entirely in your browser using client-side processing. Your PDF is never uploaded to a server.

Workflow Validation and Best Practices

The workflow builder includes smart validation to prevent common mistakes:

• Minimum 2 steps: A workflow needs at least two steps (otherwise, just use a single tool)
• Maximum 8 steps: Keeps workflows focused and performant
• No duplicate tools: Each tool can only be used once (except Sign, which you can use multiple times)
• Required passwords: Unlock and Protect steps require passwords
• Page specifications: Extract pages and Remove pages require you to specify which pages

Tips for Building Effective Workflows

• Start simple: Begin with 2-3 steps and expand as needed
• Order matters: Think through the logical sequence — you can't crop after protecting
• Test with sample PDFs: Run your workflow on a test file before using it on important documents
• Name workflows clearly: Use descriptive names that reflect the workflow's purpose

Privacy and Security

Custom Workflows maintains PDFlys's privacy-first approach:

• Client-side execution: Every step runs in your browser — your files never leave your device
• No server uploads: PDFs are processed entirely locally using WebAssembly and browser APIs
• Secure storage: Saved workflows are stored in your account, but the actual PDFs you process are never saved
• Full control: You can delete workflows anytime, and we never see the files you process

This is fundamentally different from online workflow tools that upload your documents to process them. With PDFlys, you get the convenience of automation without sacrificing privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are my files safe when using Custom Workflows?

Yes, absolutely. Custom Workflows processes your PDFs entirely in your browser using the same privacy-first approach as all PDFlys tools. Your files never leave your device. We save your workflow configuration (the steps and settings), but we never see or store the actual PDF files you process.

Is it really free?

Yes. Custom Workflows is completely free with no limits on usage. You can create up to 20 saved workflows and run them as many times as you want. There are no hidden costs, no premium tiers, and no usage restrictions.

How many steps can a workflow have?

Each workflow can have between 2 and 8 steps. This range balances flexibility with performance — 8 steps is enough for complex document preparation while keeping execution fast.

Can I use the same tool multiple times in a workflow?

Most tools can only be used once per workflow to keep pipelines simple and logical. The exception is the Sign tool, which you can use multiple times to add signatures to different pages or locations.

What happens if my workflow fails mid-execution?

If a step fails (for example, due to an incorrect password or invalid page range), the workflow stops and shows you the error. You can then fix the issue and retry. Your original PDF remains unchanged — we never modify your source file.

Can I share workflows with teammates?

Not yet. Currently, workflows are saved to your individual account. Workflow sharing is on our roadmap for future updates.

Related Tools

Custom Workflows brings together PDFlys's most popular tools into automated pipelines. If you only need a single operation, you can still use these tools individually:

• Merge PDF — Combine multiple PDFs into one document
• Split PDF — Break large PDFs into smaller files
• Compress PDF — Reduce file size for easier sharing

All PDFlys tools are free and process your files entirely in your browser, giving you complete privacy and control.

---

Ready to automate your PDF workflows? Create your first custom pipeline today and stop repeating the same edits over and over.