How it works
Real workflows, straight from the code
Each flow below is the behaviour the shipped application actually implements, with the test suite that proves it.
Install and first run
Verified by: test_health_check (23), installer script irfan_pdf.iss
Run the installer (or extract the ZIP)
IrfanPDF_Setup_1.7.0.exe installs per-user with no administrator rights. The Professional ZIP needs only extraction — run START-APPLICATION\START-APPLICATION.bat.
Launch from the shortcut
The desktop window opens; if the native window cannot start, the same application opens in your default browser.
Run Health check first
Open Health check in the sidebar and press “Run full test” — every line executes a real operation (OCR, conversions, encryption), not a library probe.
Start working
Drop a PDF anywhere on the dashboard.
A working installation you have already proven with the app's own self-test.
Make a scan searchable or editable
Verified by: _test_ocr_fidelity (19), _test_deskew (16), test_e2e (37)
Open the file
Scanned pages are rotated upright and straightened automatically at upload (skew up to 5° corrected).
Choose OCR mode
“Make searchable” keeps the original appearance with an invisible text layer. “Make editable” covers the glyphs and inserts real editable text at their original positions.
Run it
Progress is per page; raw file IDs never leak into messages.
Check the result
Text is now selectable and searchable. Spot-check numbers and names — no OCR system is perfect.
A text layer you can search, select and correct — offline.
Convert PDF → Word, Excel or images
Verified by: test_e2e (37), _test_extract_tools (34)
Pick the converter
PDF to Word, PDF to Excel, PDF to Images, or Extract Images from the dashboard's Convert section.
Select pages (optional)
Ranges like 1-3,5 are accepted wherever pages matter.
Run and wait
Word conversion uses pdf2docx with Microsoft Word itself as an accuracy fallback when Word is installed.
Verify the output
Extracted images are re-opened and their pixel dimensions validated; Excel files are opened and cells read back as numbers — before the app calls the job done.
A .docx / .xlsx / image files that the app has already validated.
Edit and save without breaking the layout
Verified by: _test_font_preserve (24), _test_style_edit (13), _test_edit_keeps_form (14)
Open the editor
Thumbnail strip, zoom modes (whole page / fill width / actual size) and the object toolbar.
Click the content
Edit existing text with font, size, colour, weight and alignment controls — the word is written back with the document's own embedded font.
Add what is missing
Text boxes, images, drawn/uploaded/typed signatures, rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, highlights, free-hand.
Save
Ctrl+S (or the Save button) writes the file; closing with unsaved changes keeps a restorable draft. Saving over the original is refused with 409.
An edited PDF whose borders, tables and fonts still look original.
Organise, compress and finish pages
Verified by: _test_compress_target (22), test_security_pages (73), test_tool_wiring (55)
Open the tool
Merge, Split, Compress, Rotate, Crop, Resize, Page numbers, Watermark, Greyscale, Repair and friends live together on the tools page.
Set the options
Every tool follows the same pattern: pick files → set options → run. The UI announces jobs through an ARIA live region.
Run
For compression you can type an exact target size; up to seven passes run, each result measured, and an unreachable target is reported honestly.
Review the outcome card
Size before/after, pages touched, warnings — the original file is never silently overwritten.
Finished documents with proven numbers.
Secure, redact, sign safely
Verified by: test_security_pages (73), _test_password_pdf (23), _test_auth_users (71)
Protect with a password
Real AES-256 — the saved file is proven to refuse a blank password.
Redact what must disappear
Redacted characters are deleted from the file itself; they cannot be copied or searched out of the result.
Leave signatures alone
Digitally signed PDFs are refused with an explanation — adding a text layer would invalidate the signature.
Optional accounts
If you switch sign-in on: ADMIN/USER roles, per-tool permissions, PBKDF2-hashed passwords, login rate limiting.
Protected output, and documents you were never allowed to break.
Print with real page geometry
Verified by: test_print (78), test_print_api (63)
Open Print
Ranges like 1,3,5 or odd / last, and 2/4/6/8/9 pages per sheet with scaling.
Check Print view
Every sheet is rendered at 200 DPI from the print document — A4 shows as 209.9 × 297 mm.
Hand over to Windows
The file goes to the Windows print dialog; “Microsoft Print to PDF” can also save a copy.
Paper (or a printed PDF) that matches the preview exactly.
No fictional workflows