PDF tools for engineers
Combine specification packets, OCR scanned datasheets, extract tables from test reports, sign approvals. Built for engineering workflows.
Engineering documentation is overwhelmingly PDF: component datasheets, regulatory submissions, test reports, change orders, signed approvals. Across mechanical, electrical, civil, and software engineering, the daily friction is dealing with PDFs that aren't searchable, can't be edited cleanly, or arrive in bloated sizes.
PDFOnly's daily engineering toolkit: OCR scanned vendor datasheets so part numbers and specs are searchable; combine spec packets, drawings, and test data into review-ready PDFs; extract test data tables straight to Excel for analysis; sign approval packets digitally; compress for secure-portal uploads to clients or regulators. Free for the basics — most engineering work falls within free-tier limits except for very large drawing archives.
Frequently asked questions
Can I extract test data from PDFs into Excel?
Yes — PDF to Excel and Extract Tables both handle structured test reports. The extracted data comes through as real numbers (so calculations work immediately). For instrumentation logs that span hundreds of pages, our API on Pro plans makes batch extraction straightforward.
Will OCR get small numbers right?
On 300 DPI scans: 95%+ for typical numeric content. Decimal points and tiny subscripts can be misread on lower-resolution scans — for safety-critical numbers (load calculations, tolerances), always verify against the original.
Is there an engineering-specific OCR model?
We use Tesseract's general English model, which performs well on engineering English (technical terms, units, abbreviations). For specialty notation (Greek letters, math symbols), accuracy drops — use specialized scientific OCR for heavy equation work.