Free PDF customization app
PDFTK Builder is a free PDF toolkit that comes with no ads, no tags and no bundled junk. This open license freeware helps you take control of your PDF documents by giving you all the functions required to merge, split, stamp, add page numbers and watermarks, rotate pages, or protect documents with passwords.
It’s worth noting that PDFTK Builder is an interface add-on to PDF Toolkit. The installation package comes with all the necessary setup and installation files for PDFTK. You can find alternative apps with similar functionality, such as PDF Combine and PDF Editor.
Join, split and rotate are the three essential functions of PDFTK Builder. The ‘Join’ function will merge separate documents into one according to the order of files in the ‘Source Documents’ window. ‘Split’ breaks up a multi-page document into a single PDF file for each page. ‘Rotate’ gives you the option to rotate by 90° or 180° clockwise and counterclockwise.
Basic options
Document settings
The more advanced customization options of this app give you the power to password-protect your document. You can set an ‘Owner’ or a ‘User’ password. The former provides protection against unconsented actions by others such as copying, printing, decrypting and sharing. Meanwhile, setting a ‘User’ password will ensure only users with a password can open the document to read.
You can also make use of the option to add page numbers in the bottom right corner of the pages in a document or add a stamp to the top of the source document. The last function is to add a background image or a watermark. ‘Background’ requires the addition of a separate file in the source documents list.
A handy PDF tool
Developed by Angus Johnson, PDFTK Builder is a fast and simple portable app that is very easy and intuitive to use. It has all the basic functions and some of the more advanced functions you’ll need to customize or optimize your PDF document. However, if you are looking for a more comprehensive PDF editor, you may want to consider an alternative paid software.