# CCS PDF Editor — User Guide

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| **Version** | 1.5.40 |
| **Owner** | CCS Information Technology |
| **Approved by** | CCS Information Technology |
| **Last updated** | 2026-08-15 |
| **Review frequency** | Annual (or after significant UX change) |
| **Next review** | 2027-08-05 |

How to use the **CCS PDF Editor** for day-to-day work. Short landing page: [HOW-TO.md](HOW-TO.md). Training tracks: [USER-TRAINING.md](USER-TRAINING.md). Privacy/support context: [GOVERNANCE.md](GOVERNANCE.md).

---

## 1. What this tool is

A **local-first** editor for viewing and working with PDFs **on your computer**. Your document is processed **in the browser** (or the Windows desktop shell, if IT issued it). It is **not uploaded** to a CCS application server by this app.

| You can | You should not expect |
|---------|------------------------|
| Open PDFs and `.ccspdf` projects (including many password-protected PDFs) | Automatic cloud backup of open work |
| **Fill** existing fillable forms (Editor + Pointer) | Full Adobe Acrobat feature parity |
| Annotate with text, shapes, images, tables | Server-side form submission / workflow engine |
| **Design** fillable fields (Form workspace) | Multi-user co-authoring |
| OCR English scans offline | Perfect OCR on every scan |
| Save projects or final PDFs; optional password on export | Certified legal e-signature / identity proofing |
| Print | Central application audit of *who* edited which PDF (see §6.1 for the short project change log) |

**How you open it (IT will tell you which):** intranet HTTPS link, offline browser pack, or **CCS PDF Editor** Windows desktop app.

---

## 2. Open a document

1. Start the app (URL, desktop shortcut, or package launcher).  
2. **File → Open / Append PDF**, or drag-and-drop PDF / `.ccspdf` files.  
3. If pages are already open, choose **start new** or **append**.  
4. **Password-protected PDFs:** enter the password in the unlock dialog (center of screen). Wrong password can be retried; Cancel aborts open.  
5. **Existing fillable PDFs:** supported fields become fillable immediately. Layout tools for those fields are available in **Form** mode without an extra prompt.

**Tips**

- You can open **multiple** PDFs to combine pages.  
- `.ccspdf` files are CCS project files (PDF + saved edits, including form layout).  
- Rare DRM/proprietary encryption may still need an authorized **Print to PDF** first.

---

## 3. Editor vs Form workspace

The header has a **sliding switch**:

| Side | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| **Editor** (blue) | Annotate **and fill** form fields. Use **Pointer / Move** to click into fields. |
| **Form** (purple) | Place / move / resize / rename fillable field widgets. Annotations are dimmed and locked. |

**Always lands on Pointer / Move** when you switch workspace via the switch or **M**.

| Shortcut | Action |
|----------|--------|
| **F** | **Form** workspace + **Pointer** |
| **E** in Form | **Editor** + **Pointer** |
| **E** in Editor | **Edit / Stamp** tool |
| **M** | Toggle workspace (always Pointer) |

**Rule of thumb:** fill and annotate in **Editor** with **Pointer**. Design field layout only in **Form**.

---

## 4. Editor tools

Visible when the switch is on **Editor**.

| Tool | Use it to… |
|------|------------|
| **Pointer / Move** | Select and drag annotations; **fill form fields** (type, check, pick) |
| **Edit / Stamp** | Work with existing PDF text layer / stamps |
| **Snip & Move** | Capture a region and place it as an image overlay |
| **Add Text** | Click to place a text box (**T**) |
| **Table / Grid** | Place a simple table overlay (**G**) |
| **Rectangle** | Drag a rectangular outline; optional fill, stroke color/thickness (**R**) |
| **Circle / Ellipse** | Drag an oval; equal width/height (or **Shift** while resizing) makes a perfect circle (**O**) |
| **Line** | Draw a line; thicken via corner handle or thickness spinner (**L**) |
| **Redact** | Click a word or drag over text (or a blank region) to place a black cover bar (**D**) — visual cover only, not certified redaction |
| **Insert Image** | Place a picture from your files (**I**) |
| **Insert Signature** | Place a signature **image** (see §10) |
| **Toggle Smoothing** | Canvas scaling quality preference |

**Shape tips:** select a shape to change stroke / fill. Toolbars and handles stay **screen-upright** when you rotate an object; thickness is measured from the outer edge so the chrome does not jump when you fatten the stroke.

**Pages & History** (header icon or label, depending on window width): pages and undo history.

**Zoom:** defaults to **100%**; use `−` / `+` as needed. On narrower windows, some header labels collapse to icons — hover for tooltips.

---

## 5. Fillable forms

### 5.1 Filling (Editor + Pointer)

1. Stay in **Editor** with **Pointer / Move**.  
2. Click fields and type, check boxes, choose dropdown options, or use signature prompts.  
3. **Save PDF** (or Save Project) when finished.

Works for:

- Forms that already had fields in the PDF  
- Fields you designed in Form mode  
- Fields auto-prepared for Form layout when a fillable PDF is opened  

### 5.2 Designing fields (Form workspace)

1. Switch to **Form** (**F** or the header switch).  
2. Choose a form tool; **click-drag** on the page to size a field.  
3. Select a field to rename it, set options, or adjust size.  
4. **Save Project** to keep designing later, or **Save PDF** for a fillable file.

| Tool | What the recipient gets |
|------|-------------------------|
| **Form: Text field** | Type-in box (optional multiline, font size, default text) |
| **Form: Checkbox** | Clickable check box |
| **Form: Radio button** | One option in a group — **same group name**, unique **option value** |
| **Form: Dropdown** | Choice list — use **Options…** |
| **Form: Signature field** | Signature widget in PDF readers |

**Radio tip:** Same group name (e.g. `payment_type`), unique option values (`cash`, `card`). Mark at most one as **Default**.

**Save PDF** keeps fields **fillable**. Editor annotations are **flattened** into the page. Recipients fill in a normal PDF reader.

---

## 6. Save Project vs Save PDF

### 6.1 Save Project (`.ccspdf`) — while working

- Keeps **editable** annotations **and** form-field layout.  
- File → **Save Project (.ccspdf)**.  
- Choose location/name when prompted (**before** long work finishes on some browsers).  
- State is embedded in the PDF catalog as **`/CCSProject`** (integrity-hashed). Open again in CCS to restore edits.

### Rolling change log (inside the project file)

When you **Save Project** (and also when you **Export PDF**), the file can store a short **rolling change log** (insight only) of high-level edits:

| Property | Detail |
|----------|--------|
| How many | About the **last 200** high-level actions (oldest drop off) |
| What | Coarse events such as field create/fill/import, form **sign**, overlays (text, shapes, images), moves/resizes, page changes, saves |
| What not | Not keystrokes, not full field values (values truncated), not passwords, **not** a signed legal ledger |
| Who / when at file level | Still **OneDrive / network-share version history** and org IAM — the app does not know your Windows user name |

**Why it exists:** support and incident responders can open a `.ccspdf` later and see *what kind of edits* were recorded, without opening the full editor.

**Who extracts it:** IT / support only — see [USER-TRAINING.md](USER-TRAINING.md) Track D and [ARCHITECTURE.md](ARCHITECTURE.md) §9.3. Staff day-to-day work does **not** require using the extract utility.

### 6.2 Export / Save PDF (`.pdf`) — final / shareable

- Annotations are **flattened** (burned into the page).  
- Form fields are written as **live fillable** AcroForm widgets.  
- CCS also embeds **`/CCSProject`** for form/audit restore (ordinary readers ignore it and show a normal PDF).  
- File → **Save PDF (.pdf)** / **Export PDF** → choose **export quality**.  
- Optionally **Password-protect this PDF** (AES-style protection via the app’s offline encryption module). **Passwords are not stored** and cannot be recovered if forgotten.  
- Save location is requested **up front**, then the app processes pages.  
- You can save while in Form mode; Form-mode dimming is **not** burned into the PDF.

| Situation | Prefer |
|-----------|--------|
| Still editing tomorrow | **Project** |
| Share a form people can fill | **PDF** |
| Share marked-up read-only content | **PDF** (annotations only) |
| Both | Project first, then PDF |

**Important:** Closing the tab **without saving** discards unsaved work. There is no autosave to a server.

---

## 7. OCR (Scan text)

1. Open a scanned PDF.  
2. Click **Scan OCR** (or **OCR** on a narrow window).  
3. Pages that already have a text layer may be skipped; hold **Shift** and click to force rescan.  
4. Wait for local progress; keep the tab open.

OCR runs **on your device** (English data ships with the app). Offline / `file://` packs include the needed engine assets.

---

## 8. Print

**File → Print** prepares pages and opens the browser print dialog. Form designer chrome is not printed as purple boxes; annotations print at full strength even if you were in Form mode.

---

## 9. Keyboard & help

Click **?** in the header for the full shortcut list.

| Area | Keys |
|------|------|
| Workspace | **F** Form · **E** (Form → Editor + Pointer; Editor → Edit/Stamp) · **M** toggle |
| Editor tools | **T** text · **R** rectangle · **O** circle/ellipse · **L** line · **D** redact · **G** table · **S** snip · **I** image · **V** pointer |
| Undo / Redo | Header or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y |
| Escape | Clear tool / selection |

---

## 10. Signatures (two different features)

| Feature | Workspace | What it is |
|---------|-----------|------------|
| **Insert Signature** | Editor | Stamps a **picture** of a signature (flattened on Export PDF) |
| **Form: Signature field** | Form (design) / Editor (fill) | A **name line** you design in Form mode and fill in Editor |

### Filling a form signature

1. Switch to **Editor**, select **Pointer**, click the signature field.  
2. Confirm the **attestation** checkbox (required) and type or pick a signature style.  
3. After signing, a small caption appears under the ink: **name · ✓ · time**, plus shortened **doc** / **sig** hashes.  
4. **Hover** the caption (or ink) to open a popover with the **full** document and signature hashes and **Copy** buttons.  
5. **Click** the caption strip if you need to re-sign.

**Export PDF / Print:** once signed, the **ink + caption** are burned into the page and the field is **not** left fillable (final for that export — no stacked re-import shell). To re-sign later, keep a **Save Project (.ccspdf)** copy. Unsigned signature fields still export as a fillable name line. Attestation digests stay in project audit / `burnedSignatures` on export.

Attestation details (name, time, basic browser/device info, hashes) are stored in the project schema for support/audit — **not** a certified legal e-sign with identity proofing. When policy requires DocuSign / Adobe Sign / another approved workflow, use **that** system.

---

## 11. Sensitive documents (PHI / Confidential)

Same rules as opening a chart PDF in any other viewer:

1. Only open documents you are **authorized** to see.  
2. Avoid unlocked shared computers for PHI when possible.  
3. Save finished files to **approved** network locations if they are records.  
4. Close the tab when finished.  
5. Do not paste client content into tickets or chat without redaction.

This app does **not** replace records retention rules: **you** choose where the file lives.

---

## 12. Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Try |
|---------|-----|
| Save dialog never appeared | Hard-refresh; save location is requested **before** long processing |
| Firefox download | Use the name dialog, then check Downloads |
| Cannot type in form fields | **Editor** + **Pointer**; click inside the field |
| Cannot move form field widgets | **Form** mode |
| Cannot select annotations | **Editor** mode |
| Password dialog appears | Enter the PDF open password; Cancel aborts |
| Forgot export password | Cannot be recovered — re-export if you still have the project |
| Password PDF missing form fields after export | Confirm **1.5.25+** package; re-export with password option |
| OCR stuck | Confirm assets loaded; retry; offline packs need full `lib/` tree |
| PDF won’t open | Wrong password; rare DRM → authorized print-to-PDF |
| Edits missing after reopen | Saved as **PDF** (flattened annotations) instead of **Project** |
| Desktop app won’t start | WebView2 Runtime / .NET Desktop Runtime (see Windows package START-HERE) |

Still stuck: IT Helpdesk — **ITHelpdesk@ccsemail.org** (note browser or Windows app, file size, Save Project vs Save PDF, Editor vs Form).

---

## 13. Related

- [HOW-TO.md](HOW-TO.md) (staff landing / `docs/index.html`)
- [USER-TRAINING.md](USER-TRAINING.md)  
- [README.md](../README.md)  
