[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

you can add your own JavaScript to every form field with the form editor, online at https://tools.pdf24.org/en/make-pdf-fillable and in the PDF24 Toolbox (Make PDF fillable, since version 11.30.0):

1. Open the PDF and click the field.
2. In the properties panel you find the script boxes Calculate Action, Format Action, Validate Action, Keystroke Action, Focus Action and Blur Action. For a button, choose JavaScript under Action.
3. Enter your script there and save the PDF.

The scripts use the JavaScript of PDF forms (the Acrobat JavaScript API). There is no ready-made option for "today's date" yet. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list. In the online editor you can at least set Format to Date, then the field shows and accepts the date in the chosen format.

Please note: scripts are only run by PDF programs that support JavaScript and have it switched on, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. Many browsers and apps ignore them.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

entering the post-office box in the field "Street 1" is the right way. The e-invoice standard (EN 16931), which our e-invoices follow, has no separate field for a post-office box: the first address line is meant for the street and house number or the post-office box.

A hint at this field ("street and number or PO box") would make this clearer. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

The tool also works online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/create-electronic-invoice

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

the Pages per sheet tool in the Toolbox and online chooses the layout by itself: with portrait pages, 2 pages per sheet are placed side by side on a landscape sheet. There is no option to change this there yet.

The PDF24 Reader (version 11.31 or later) can do it: open the PDF and use the tool Pages per sheet. Set Orientation to Portrait. The two pages are then placed one above the other on a portrait sheet, each scaled down to half the height.

The online tool: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/pages-per-sheet

An orientation option in the Pages per sheet tool would make this easier. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

your setting is right: Page layout = TwoPageRight means two pages side by side with the first page (the cover) alone on the right. The tool stores this in the PDF file: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/set-pdf-viewer-preferences

However, these viewer preferences are only a request to the program that opens the file. Each viewer decides itself whether it follows them. Adobe Acrobat Reader, for example, takes them into account. PDF24 Reader currently does not read the page layout from the file and always opens with its own display mode, which is why you always see a single page there. To try your file, please open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

In PDF24 Reader you can choose Two pages with cover sheet in the display mode menu. We will add support for the page layout stored in the PDF to our list for PDF24 Reader.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

you are right: the SIREN belongs in BT-30 (legal registration identifier of the seller) with schemeID 0002.

In the e-invoice generator enter the SIREN in the field Trade ID of the seller and choose 0002 (SIRENE) in the field Type next to it. The buyer has the same fields for BT-47.

In older versions the selected scheme was not written into the Factur-X/ZUGFeRD XML. This is fixed in the current version 11.31.1, please update: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/creator

The online generator writes the schemeID as well: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/create-electronic-invoice

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

administrator rights are always needed: pdf24-PrinterInstall.exe asks for them, also when it is started by the + button in the settings.

Installing a printer for the current user only is possible since version 11.31.0 with the driverless PDF printer (Windows Protected Print, Windows 11 24H2 / Windows Server 2025 and later). On the command line, choose the driverless printer with -printerType wpp and leave out the option -allUsers: then the printer is set up only for the user signed in to the session, so please run it in the session of that user.

In the settings you can choose the same when adding a printer with +: Windows Protected Print and Current user or All users.

The classic PostScript printer is always installed for all users of the computer.

Details:

• Classic and driverless PDF printers: https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#63-classic-and-driverless-pdf-printers
• Command line of pdf24-PrinterInstall.exe: https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#71-command-line

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

PDF24 Reader does not have keyboard shortcuts for highlighting and comments yet. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

Until then: select the text with the mouse and choose Highlight in the small toolbar or the right-click menu. After you have picked a custom color once, it is offered there as Last chosen. A comment can be added by right-clicking the highlight and choosing Add comment.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

unfortunately the screenshot did not reach us: the image in the forum post only contains a path on your computer, and the ibb.co link shows "page not found".

So that we can reproduce this, please send us a file where it happens to forum@pdf24.org, together with:

• a screenshot of the problem
• which tool you use to write the text (for example Edit PDF in the PDF24 Toolbox, or PDF24 Reader)
• the PDF24 version you use now and, if you know it, the version where it still worked

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the trouble. So that we can help, please tell us:

1. Which version of PDF24 Creator do you use?
2. How do you convert: by dragging the Word file into the PDF24 Creator or the PDF24 Toolbox, via the right-click menu, or by printing from Word on the PDF24 printer?
3. What exactly happens: is there an error message (a screenshot helps), or does nothing happen at all?

Some background: If Microsoft Word is installed, PDF24 lets Word itself export the PDF. If that fails, Word prints the file on the PDF24 printer. So two things can be the cause: Word itself (for example after an Office update), or a missing PDF24 printer. Please check whether the printer "PDF24" is still listed in the Windows printers.

You can also try another method: open the PDF24 settings (PDF24 Toolbox > Open Settings), go to Preferred Methods and set "Convert Word to PDF" to OLE Print instead of OLE Export.

Until it works again, you can convert Word files online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/word-to-pdf

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

the PDF24 Reader can already add some annotations: select text, right-click it and choose Highlight, Underline or Strike out. From the same menu you can add a comment to the marking. Comments can also be placed on a page via the right-click menu, and since version 11.31.0 the Comments panel in the sidebar lists all comments of the document.

For drawing on pages and adding text, shapes or images, use the Annotate PDF tool in the PDF24 Toolbox. It also works online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/annotate-pdf

A freehand pen directly in the Reader, as in the Chrome PDF viewer, and annotating straight from the preview of the PDF24 Creator are not available yet. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

this is available since version 11.31.0: a click with the middle mouse button (mouse wheel) on the page starts the auto-scroll known from web browsers. Move the mouse pointer up or down to scroll, another click with the middle mouse button ends it. Please update PDF24 to the current version.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

since version 11.31.0, PDF24 Creator converts PDF files to Word, Excel and PowerPoint with converters of its own. Please update to the current version and try again: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/creator

If the conversion still fails on this computer, please send us the PDF file and a screenshot of the error message to forum@pdf24.org, and tell us whether the same file works on another computer.

This also works online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/pdf-to-word

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

thank you for the analysis, that was exactly the right lead. The bookmarks that fail point to a named destination (a name instead of a page) that does not exist in the PDF. The editor then stores the entry with an empty fallback target ("rdest": null), and saving stops with "Not a JSON Array: null". This happens in the online tool https://tools.pdf24.org/en/edit-pdf-bookmarks and in PDF24 Creator alike. This is a bug, we have passed it on to development.

Until then your workaround is fine: after replacing rdest with dest in the exported file, these bookmarks are saved without a target. They had no valid target in the PDF before either.

That the desktop version shows no message in this case and the save does not continue is fixed with the next version: it will then report the error, and you can save again.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

the online tool for changing existing forms has been rebuilt since then: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/make-pdf-fillable. Please try it again with your file. New forms from scratch are created here: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/create-fillable-pdf-form

If deleted fields still come back or fields are missing after saving, please send us a file where it happens to forum@pdf24.org, together with a short note which fields you removed or added. Then we can reproduce it.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the late reply. We have checked it: when the XML is embedded into the PDF/A file given with -pdfaFile, PDF24 currently rewrites the document properties and does not take over the title, author and subject of the original PDF. The keywords stay, as you noticed. This is a bug, we have passed it on to development.

At the moment there is no command line option to keep them.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

thank you all for your feedback. PDF24 for Linux and Mac is in the works and will be released once it is finished.

Until then you can use the PDF24 online tools, which run in any browser on Linux and Mac: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

a short addition for everyone who wants it in the desktop software: PDF to Markdown will also come to the PDF24 Creator with the next version. In the Toolbox, open Convert from PDF and choose Markdown (.md) as the target format. It uses the same converter as the online tool and works offline.

Until then: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/pdf-to-markdown

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the late reply. When you save in the PDF editor, PDF24 first converts the objects you added into PDF and then places them on the pages. The message "Could not convert file to PDF" means that this step failed. This step uses the Java runtime included in PDF24 Creator, and so did the conversion from PDF to Excel in your version.

Version 11.31.0 fixed memory errors of the Java based functions, which could occur especially on busy systems, and the conversion from PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint uses new converters since then. Please update to the current version 11.31.1 and try again.

If it still happens, please let us know your Windows version and how much memory (RAM) your computer has. So that we can reproduce this, please send us a file where it happens to forum@pdf24.org.

Until then, both functions are also available online:

• https://tools.pdf24.org/en/edit-pdf
• https://tools.pdf24.org/en/pdf-to-excel

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the late reply. We do not know this problem yet. Since it happens only with an older Vectorworks version and also with another PDF printer, it may be related to how this Vectorworks version prints after the Windows update. To find out whether we can do something about it, please tell us:

• your PDF24 Creator version (please also try the current version 11.31.1),
• your Vectorworks version,
• the Windows update installed on that day (the KB number, shown in the update history of Windows Update).

So that we can reproduce this, please send us a file where it happens to forum@pdf24.org: the PDF created with PDF24 and, if possible, the drawing.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

the built-in profiles have these IDs:

• default/low (Low quality)
• default/medium (Medium quality)
• default/good (Good quality)
• default/high (High quality)
• default/best (Best quality)

So you use -profile default/good. See also: https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#1114-apply-a-profile-to-input-files

The built-in profiles do not add a watermark. You can switch it on with -profileParam, which overrides values of any profile, also of a built-in one:

pdf24-DocTool.exe -applyProfile -profile default/good -profileParam pdf-useWatermark true -profileParam pdf-watermarkText "CONFIDENTIAL" -outputFile C:\out\file.pdf -silent C:\in\file.pdf

For other settings such as color, font or position of the watermark, a profile of your own (user/...) as described above is easier.

Adding a watermark is also possible online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/add-watermark

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

thank you for the detailed suggestion. Some of it is already possible:

• Explorer context menu: Right-click a PDF and choose PDF24 > Open with > Toolbox. This opens the PDF24 Toolbox with the file. Some functions are also directly in the PDF24 context menu, e.g. Compress, Join, Extract pages, Apply profile and Lock PDF.
• Favorites: In the PDF24 Toolbox you can mark tools as favorites with the star (Toggle favorite status). They are then shown under Your favourites on the start page of the Toolbox.

Direct context menu entries for tools such as Convert PDF to Word or Add watermark do not exist yet. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

Both tools also work online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/pdf-to-word and https://tools.pdf24.org/en/add-watermark-to-pdf

@Fredd: Splitting a PDF by file size is on our to-do list. Splitting by pages is possible in the Toolbox and online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/split-pdf

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the late reply.

1. JSON from XML: -createInvoice cannot write a JSON file. JSON (or an XML invoice) is only accepted as input; the output is a PDF, an XML invoice (XRechnung, EN16931, PEPPOL) or a ZUGFeRD/Factur-X PDF (see https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#914-create-invoices). Exporting the invoice data as JSON is currently only possible in the e-invoice tool itself (also available online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/create-electronic-invoice). Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

1. Extracting factur-x.xml: the next version of PDF24 Creator brings a new DocTool command that saves the attachments of PDF files into a folder, including the factur-x.xml of an e-invoice:

pdf24-DocTool.exe -extractAttachments -silent -outputDir C:\invoices\xml invoice1.pdf invoice2.pdf

Existing files are not overwritten, a number is appended instead (e.g. factur-x (1).xml). The same function will also be available as Extract attachments in the file tools and in the Explorer context menu, and as the Toolbox tool Extract PDF attachments. Description: https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#11120-extract-file-attachments-from-pdf-files

Then you no longer need pdftk for this.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

sorry for the late reply.

Metadata: You are right. When the XML is embedded into the PDF given with -pdfaFile, PDF24 replaces the document information of that PDF and does not keep Title, Author and Subject. This is a bug, we have passed it on to development. There is no option to keep them at the moment.

File size: "Optimize for web" only rearranges the file so that it can be displayed page by page while it is still loading. It does not make the file smaller. The size of the invoice PDF is mainly determined when it is created with your printer profile liw_pdf24, because -createInvoice embeds the XML into this file without compressing it again. In the profile you can lower the settings for images (resolution and quality under the image compression settings), which usually has the biggest effect. For PDF/A the fonts have to be embedded; "Subset fonts" keeps them small by embedding only the characters that are used.

If the files are still too large, please send us an example (the PDF from the printer and the final Factur-X file) to forum@pdf24.org and tell us the size, then we can look at what takes up the space.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

Persistent output profile: Save your settings as your own profile. In the dialog where you choose the profile, set PDF 1.4 and the quality, then use New under Profiles at the bottom, enter a name and click Save. Then set Settings > Output profiles > Selection mode to Select. The profile you selected last is then preselected, and you only click Continue. A setting for a fixed default profile does not exist yet; thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

Output folder and file names: "Save all" in PDF24 Creator asks for the folder every time and saves the files under their document names. A fixed folder, saving to the source folders and a name suffix are not possible there at the moment. Thank you for the suggestion, we will add it to our list.

For processing many files, two other ways are better suited:

• PDF24 DocTool on the command line: pdf24-DocTool.exe -applyProfile with -profile user/<name of your profile> applies your profile without a dialog, -outputDir sets the output folder, and -expandDirs together with -includeFileExtensions .pdf processes all PDFs of a folder. File names with spaces work if you put them in quotes. The output files keep the names of the input files, so use a separate output folder. Description: https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#1114-apply-a-profile-to-input-files and the general options in https://creator.pdf24.org/manual/11/#1111-general-format-and-options
• PDF24 Compress: It has a Save file suffix (e.g. -pdf24), Remember settings, and a Hot folder: PDFs placed in this folder are compressed automatically and saved next to the original with the suffix. Compress only changes the image settings (DPI, image quality, color model), not the PDF version.

Compressing also works online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/compress-pdf

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

PDF24 has no paper size setting of its own for scanning. When you click From scanner in PDF24 OCR and choose your scanner under Select source, PDF24 opens the window of your scanner driver. The paper size (or scan area), resolution and color are set there, and the scanned page has the size that the scanner delivers.

If that window does not offer A4 or does not keep the setting:

1. In the Select source window your scanner is often listed more than once, in the groups x64, x86 and x86 MS. Each of them opens a different driver window. Please try the scanner from another group.
2. If none of them lets you choose A4, please tell us the model of your scanner and which group you used.

For PDF files that already exist, text recognition also works online: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/ocr-pdf

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

this is not a bug. Default Value is not the text that is shown when the form is opened. It is the value a field returns to when the form is reset, for example with a button whose action is Reset Form. What a field shows is its Value.

So please enter your representative text under Value. If the fields should return to this text after a reset, enter the same text under Default Value as well.

Please note that a text entered under Value is normal field content: whoever fills in the form has to delete or overwrite it. There is no setting for a hint text that disappears automatically when typing.

The online tool for this: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/make-pdf-fillable

[PDF24 Support]

Hello Daniel,

thank you for the precise analysis, you are right. The mode "Halve pages" of the tool "Split PDF" keeps the MediaBox of the original page (the full A3 landscape page) for both halves and only sets the CropBox to the left or right half. PDF viewers show the CropBox, so the file looks correct there, but programs that read the MediaBox see the full A3 size. The online tools use the same code.

This is a bug, we have added it to our list. Until it is fixed, printing the split file again on the PDF24 printer, as you did, gives pages with the correct size.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello Shena,

thank you for the kind words!

You are right: in the PDF24 Creator tool Create fillable PDF form, list boxes currently have no option for multiple selection, so they only allow one entry, like a dropdown.

Our online tool already has this option: https://tools.pdf24.org/en/make-pdf-fillable

Select the list box there and tick Multiple selection under its properties. You can also open the form you have already created there; existing fields can be edited, so you do not have to start again.

We will add the option to the PDF24 Creator as well.

[PDF24 Support]

Hallo,

der Unterschied zwischen beiden Fällen ist der Benutzer, von dem der Druckauftrag kommt. Wenn Sie im Programm selbst auf Drucken klicken, kommt der Auftrag von Ihrem angemeldeten Benutzer, und PDF24 gibt ihn an das PDF24 in Ihrer Sitzung weiter, das ihn speichert. Druckt der Dienst von Programm X, kommt der Auftrag vom Konto „Local System“. Für dieses Konto gibt es keine Benutzersitzung, an die PDF24 den Auftrag weitergeben kann. In der Standardeinstellung bleibt der Auftrag deshalb mit Fehler in der Warteschlange.

Für diesen Fall gibt es die Option „Speichern mit dem PDF24 Windows Dienst“. Dann speichert der PDF24-Dienst die Datei selbst, auch wenn niemand angemeldet ist:

1. Öffnen Sie die PDF24-Einstellungen, Bereich „PDF Drucker“, und klicken Sie dort auf „Als Administrator ausführen“. Die Option wird nur als Administrator angezeigt.
2. Wählen Sie den PDF24-Drucker und bei „PDF Drucker Tool“ die Option „Dokumente nach dem Drucken automatisch speichern“. Tragen Sie unter „Automatisches Speichern“ den Zielordner ein.
3. Setzen Sie den Haken „Speichern mit dem PDF24 Windows Dienst“. Der Haken „Dateinamen, unter dem gespeichert werden soll, abfragen.“ sollte nicht gesetzt sein, weil ohne angemeldeten Benutzer niemand diese Abfrage beantworten kann. Speichern Sie die Einstellungen.
4. Löschen Sie die hängenden Aufträge in der Warteschlange und starten Sie den Windows-Dienst „PDF24“ neu (oder den Server). Die Option wird erst nach einem Neustart des Dienstes wirksam.

Der PDF24-Dienst läuft ebenfalls unter „Local System“ und speichert die Datei unter diesem Konto. Nehmen Sie deshalb am besten einen lokalen Ordner, in den dieses Konto schreiben darf.

Falls der Haken bei Ihnen schon gesetzt war, liegt es wahrscheinlich am fehlenden Neustart des Dienstes. Wenn es auch danach nicht funktioniert, schreiben Sie uns bitte noch einmal, welche Fehlermeldung der Auftrag in der Warteschlange zeigt.

[PDF24 Support]

Hello,

in PDF24 Creator, open the tool "Add page numbers" in the PDF24 Toolbox and enter 19 in the field "Offset". The offset is added to the page number, so the first numbered page gets 20, the next one 21 and so on. With "First page" you choose the page on which the numbering starts. In version 11.31.1 both fields are shown directly in the form; in the next version they are in the dialog "Additional options" behind the cog icon.

In the online tool https://tools.pdf24.org/en/add-page-numbers the field is called "First number", there you enter 20 directly. If you do not see the field, click the cog icon ("Additional options").

Please note: the placeholder for the number of pages ({COUNT} in PDF24 Creator, {CNT} online) then shows the last page number, e.g. 29 for a file with 10 pages. If you only want the page number, use {NUM} as pattern.

[Author]

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