CCS PDF Editor · Docs

# 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. Training tracks: USER-TRAINING.md. Privacy/support context: 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 Track D and 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 (staff landing / `docs/index.html`)
- USER-TRAINING.md
- README.md

Rendered for the browser from repository markdown. Edit the `.md` sources, then re-run `powershell -File docs/marketing/render-docs.ps1` from the repo root.