34 guides on PDF editing, 3D and CAD formats, image and video compression, and keeping CSV, JSON and YAML data clean.
Editing, redacting, comparing and preparing PDFs — including the things that quietly go wrong.
Online PDF mergers put your contracts and invoices on someone else’s server. Your browser can do the same job locally — here is how, and how to verify it.
Turning photos and scans into a PDF sounds trivial until the pages come out the wrong size. A practical guide to page geometry, DPI and file size.
Add text, a handwritten signature, highlights or images to a PDF locally - and understand what a browser PDF editor can and cannot safely change.
A practical guide to choosing between PNG, WebP and JPEG: compression, transparency, quality and browser support — with a free converter to switch between them.
CSV and JSON solve different problems: flat tables vs nested structures. When each wins, common conversion pitfalls, and a free browser-based converter.
A practical guide to JSON syntax errors, formatting vs minifying, key sorting and safe handling of API payloads with a private browser tool.
Which file format should you actually print from? A practical ranking of STL, OBJ, 3MF and AMF for FDM and resin printing, with free conversion tools.
IGES and STEP both move CAD data between systems, but they are generations apart. When IGES still appears, why STEP usually wins, and how to convert both for free.
A scanned PDF is a picture of a document, not a document. Here is what OCR actually does to it, how accurate to expect, and how to run it without uploading the file.
A black rectangle drawn over text hides nothing — the words are still in the file. Here is why that keeps leaking documents, and how real redaction differs.
Someone sent back a revised contract with no track changes. Here is how to find every altered line between two PDFs, and where automated comparison misleads you.
Most PDF bloat comes from images, not text. Here is how to find what is actually large, what each compression method costs you, and when not to compress at all.
Interactive PDF forms lose their answers in the wrong reader, and keep data you thought you deleted. Here is what filling really does and when to flatten.
Bates numbers make every page in a disclosure citable, and watermarks mark a draft as a draft. What each convention requires, and the mistakes that break a set.
Which 3D format should you ship on the web? A practical comparison of glTF, GLB and OBJ — file size, materials, loading speed — with free conversion tools.
STEP stores exact CAD geometry, STL stores triangles. Understand the difference, when each format wins, and how to convert between them for free.
Choosing between exchange formats, converting them without losing what matters, and reading what came out.
What the commands in a .gcode file mean, which ones matter, and how previewing the toolpath catches failed prints before they waste filament.
GLB is the binary form of glTF — the standard format for 3D on the web and in AR. What GLB files contain, how to open them free, and how to convert to and from GLB.
3MF fixes almost everything wrong with STL — units, colors, watertightness, file size. A practical comparison, plus free tools to convert STL to 3MF.
You received a .step or .stp file but have no CAD program installed. Here are your options — including a free browser-based STEP viewer that needs no install.
What do tessellation quality settings actually control? Linear and angular deflection explained with practical presets for 3D printing, rendering and web delivery.
Most online CAD converters upload your intellectual property to unknown servers. Learn what actually happens to uploaded files and how client-side conversion avoids the risk.
A 40 MB mesh that stalls the browser usually has far more triangles than it needs. What decimation does, what it destroys, and how far you can safely go.
A practical guide to converting STEP files to printable STL: tessellation quality, common pitfalls, and a free browser-based converter that keeps files private.
Compression, resizing, favicons and the metadata your photos carry without telling you.
Favicon guides list a dozen files. Here is the short list that genuinely matters today, what each one does, and the exact HTML to paste.
Most online image converters send your photos to a server. Your browser can do the same conversion locally — here is how it works and why it matters.
A practical image-compression workflow: choose the right dimensions, format and quality, then verify the result instead of trusting one magic setting.
Resize a folder of images to exact dimensions or a maximum edge, understand contain vs cover, and download one ZIP without uploading private files.
A photo you send can carry the exact coordinates it was taken at, the device that took it, and the time. Here is what is really in there and how to remove it.
Encoding trade-offs, and when a different format is the real answer.
Why GIFs balloon to 20 MB and how to keep them under two. Frame rate, width and palette generation explained, with concrete settings.
M4A/AAC is technically better than MP3, so why convert? A practical look at compatibility, quality loss in re-encoding, and which bitrate to pick.
Resolution, bitrate, frame rate and codec each affect video size differently. Which to cut first, what ffmpeg.wasm can realistically do, and where it runs out.
CSV, JSON, YAML and XML — which to use, and how to keep them clean.
A cautious CSV cleanup checklist: whitespace, empty and duplicate rows, inconsistent columns, quoted commas and type traps before database import.
Three formats for structured data, each good at something different. Where each one belongs, the traps in every YAML file, and how to convert between them safely.
Start with STEP vs STL if you are deciding which format to send, and tessellation quality explained if you already know you need a mesh — that setting is the one irreversible decision in the conversion and the default is rarely the right answer for both printing and rendering.
Read “How to redact a PDF properly”. Drawing a black rectangle over text does not remove it — the words stay in the file and can be selected, searched and copied straight back out. The guide explains what real redaction requires and what to verify before the document leaves your hands.
It depends on the file. For documents, “How to compress a PDF without wrecking it” explains why the weight is almost always images rather than text. For images, “How to compress images for the web”. For video, “How to compress a video in your browser”, which covers why resolution is the first dial to turn and bitrate the last.
STL still works everywhere and 3MF is the better modern choice, since it carries units, colour and multiple objects in one file. “Best 3D file format for 3D printing” and “3MF vs STL” cover the differences, and “How to read G-code” explains what the slicer produces afterwards.
They are updated in place when a format or a tool changes, rather than being replaced with a new post, so an older publication date does not mean the content is stale.