Use PDF tools in Chrome’s side panel: compress, merge and split without leaving the page

The YourFreePDF extension contains a local workspace in Chrome’s side panel. Selecting a basic tool does not open the website. You choose files explicitly, inspect a preview and run the supported operation in the extension.

The panel stays beside your normal browsing page, which is useful when you are reading upload instructions while preparing an attachment. The current local tools are compression, merge, split, remove pages, rotate, reorder, reverse, page numbering, watermarking, JPG/PNG to PDF and PDF to JPG. It does not automatically inspect the contents of your active webpage or find every PDF you have open elsewhere.

Choose the files you want it to process rather than expecting access to your browser history or local folders.

Download the extension ZIP from the developer page and extract it to a folder you will keep. In desktop Chrome, open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode and choose Load unpacked. Select the folder containing manifest.json, then pin YourFreePDF from the extensions menu.

Click its icon and confirm that Chrome’s side panel opens. This package is an unpacked preview, not a Chrome Web Store release or a centrally managed enterprise installation. Test with a synthetic or non-sensitive PDF first.

When updating the package, replace its files and use Reload on the extension card. Reinstalling is not required just to test a new version of the same unpacked folder.

Choose Compress PDF in the panel and select a source PDF. Review the preview and choose a compression level or a measured 100 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB target. Run the task and read the actual output size.

Some sources cannot reach a strict target without unacceptable loss of readable detail. The image-based method removes selectable source text, live links, forms, accessibility tags and existing signatures, so retain the original and confirm that the result type fits the recipient’s needs. Download the finished copy when ready.

A basic local compression job should not open a website tab, request account sign-in or upload the source to a conversion server.

For Split and Remove, use the page-number chips or enter a range such as 1, 3-5. Selected chips are visibly marked, and clicking a selected chip deselects it. Read the operation label carefully: extracting keeps the selected pages in a new PDF, while removing excludes those pages from the output.

Rotate updates the local preview, helping you check orientation before exporting. For Merge, choose at least two PDFs and use the file-order arrows to set their sequence. For Reorder, enter every page number exactly once in the intended order.

These controls are suited to a focused task; a large bundle or detailed annotation job may be easier in the full-screen editor.

When a task produces a PDF, choose Use result in another tool to make the completed PDF the next local source. Change the tool selector and run the next operation after checking its settings. This avoids downloading an intermediate file just to upload it into another local tool.

A PDF-to-JPG result is a ZIP of images, so it is a download rather than a PDF continuation source. Keep the extension panel open while you work; local file references and pending full-screen transfers live in its memory. Download an important final result before closing the panel.

Clear files and results releases the current sources and generated download link when you deliberately want to start again.

For signatures, fillable forms, annotations or a larger crop workspace, choose the relevant full-screen tool and click the explicit website button. The extension opens a YourFreePDF tab and passes the selected PDF directly into that editor. The handoff uses a temporary nonce tied to that tab, expires after five minutes and is held in extension memory.

It does not upload the file to a server as part of the handoff. Keep the panel open until the file arrives. Connected website features, such as an optional account save, remain separate decisions with their own file handling.

Opening a full-screen editor is therefore an action you choose, not a redirect triggered by every tool selection.

Local core page tasks support up to 500 pages and a combined 50 MB input limit. Rendered conversions have a 150-page limit plus a pixel budget, and device memory can impose practical limits below those figures. Cancel a long task before choosing a different source.

Test the downloaded result in your normal PDF reader and inspect the properties that matter: page count, order, orientation and readable detail. In a fresh test installation, confirm that basic processing stays in the panel, downloads work, continuation uses the finished PDF, and the website opens only after the full-screen button is clicked. The preview package should be evaluated in actual desktop Chrome before wider distribution.