Text blocks
Double-click a text box to type directly on the page, or choose Edit text on page on a phone. Add bullet or numbered lists, choose heading styles, and adjust the font, alignment, colour, and spacing. Text boxes can grow as you type.
Private document maker
Create a PDF in your browser
Build a polished document from text, images, and shapes. Preview it, organize every page, and download it without uploading your work.
New document
Choose how to start
Templates and document settings stay on your device.
Create PDF
Not saved yet
Shapes
Double-click text to type. Drag handles to resize; hold Shift for proportions. Lines have draggable endpoints.
A practical PDF creator for everyday documents
Create PDF is designed for documents that need a stable page layout, such as letters, invoices, meeting notes, simple reports, cover pages, and resumes. You control the dimensions and position of each item instead of relying on a server to convert an unknown document format.
- STEP 1
Choose a starting point
Select a blank document or a starter template, then choose page size, orientation, margins, and the initial number of pages.
- STEP 2
Add and arrange content
Insert text, images, rectangles, lines, or rules. Drag items on the page and use the settings panel for exact position and size.
- STEP 3
Organize the pages
Add, duplicate, delete, or reorder pages from the thumbnail strip. Use headers, footers, or automatic page numbers when needed.
- STEP 4
Check the PDF Preview
Choose PDF Preview to confirm how fonts, line breaks, images, and shapes will appear. The highlighted Back to editing button returns to the editor.
- STEP 5
Set details and download
Add optional metadata, choose a filename and password, then generate and download the finished PDF locally.
Start with the right document setup
A PDF page has a fixed physical size. Choose A4 for many international business documents, Letter for common North American use, Legal for longer forms, or A3 and A5 for larger and smaller layouts. Custom dimensions are useful for certificates, labels, inserts, and other special formats.
Margins create a consistent safe area for your content. They do not clip an element that you deliberately place outside the guide, but they make it easier to keep important text away from printer edges. Portrait and landscape settings swap the page dimensions before the document begins.
Use templates as editable starting points
The six included templates are ordinary editable documents, not locked designs. Select any text box to replace its sample copy, adjust the typography, move a divider, change the background, or duplicate the page. A blank template provides the same tools without predefined content.
Templates are created locally when you press Create document. They do not load content from a third-party service, and LocalPDFLab does not add branding or a watermark to the downloaded PDF.
What you can add
Flexible content with precise placement
Every item belongs to a page and can be moved, resized, duplicated, layered, or deleted independently. Exact X, Y, width, height, and opacity values help when a document needs consistent alignment.
Images
Drop an image onto the editor or choose it from your device. Resize and reposition it while preserving the original proportions when required.
Shapes and rules
Add rectangles, ellipses, triangles, diamonds, arrows, and straight lines. Drag the edge or corner handles to resize a shape. Lock proportions for circles and squares, and use the angle control or line endpoints to change direction.
Running page content
Apply a simple header, footer, or page number sequence to the document. Use placeholders for the current page and total page count.
Switch between editing and PDF Preview
The editable canvas lets you select, drag, resize, and restyle content quickly. PDF Preview shows the selected page as it will appear in the downloaded file. While that mode is active, the button is highlighted and reads Back to editing, and the page displays a clear preview notice.
ViewBest used for
- Editable canvas
- Adding content, changing styles, dragging items, resizing boxes, and arranging layers quickly.
- PDF Preview
- Checking final line breaks, embedded fonts, image placement, shapes, headers, footers, and numbering before download.
Page management without guesswork
The page strip shows the order of the document and creates PDF-rendered thumbnails in the background. Drag a thumbnail to reorder pages on a mouse or trackpad. On touch screens and for keyboard use, the Move up and Move down buttons provide a predictable alternative.
Duplicating a page copies its content into a new independent page. Clearing removes all page elements but keeps the page itself. Delete page is disabled when only one page remains, so the document always stays valid.
Undo, redo, and local draft recovery
The editor keeps up to 50 document states for undo and redo during the current session. Common shortcuts include Control or Command Z, Control or Command Y, Delete, arrow keys for precise movement, and Shift plus an arrow key for a larger movement.
Auto-save uses IndexedDB, a browser storage system. The draft includes document settings and locally selected assets, but never the optional PDF password. Private browsing, storage limits, browser cleanup, or site-data deletion can remove a draft, so download important work when it is ready.
Privacy and performance notes
Local processing
The document model, image preparation, preview, PDF generation, font embedding, and optional encryption run on your device. There is no account requirement or document upload.
Memory-aware images
Very large images are prepared before insertion to reduce needless PDF size and browser memory use. Image-heavy documents can still require significant memory, especially on phones and tablets.
Final generation on demand
The full PDF is generated when you download it. Background previews are temporary and focused on visual checking, so ordinary editing stays responsive.
Tips for a reliable finished PDF
- Keep text inside its visible box. Increase the box height when adding more lines or increasing line height.
- Use an uploaded Unicode font when standard PDF fonts cannot represent a language, symbol, or special character.
- Check PDF Preview after typography changes and before downloading a document with a tightly controlled layout.
- Use metadata to make the downloaded file easier to identify in document libraries and PDF reader properties.
- For a large image-heavy project, work on a desktop browser, close unused tabs, and keep this tab active during download.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create a PDF without uploading my content?
Yes. Text, images, fonts, drafts, previews, and final PDF generation stay inside your browser. The tool does not send document content to LocalPDFLab or a document processing API.
Which page sizes can I use?
You can start with A4, Letter, Legal, A3, or A5. Custom width and height are also available in millimetres or inches, with portrait and landscape orientation.
Can I add my own font?
Yes. Upload a TTF or OTF font, then apply it to a selected text block. The font is embedded into the generated PDF and remains local to your browser.
Does the tool save my unfinished document?
The editor automatically saves a local draft with IndexedDB when browser storage is available. Returning in the same browser lets you resume it. Clearing site data removes that draft.
Can I reorder and duplicate pages?
Yes. Drag page thumbnails to reorder them, or use the move controls for keyboard-friendly page ordering. You can add, duplicate, clear, and delete pages as you work.
Why can the editable preview differ slightly from the PDF?
Web browsers and PDF files use different text layout engines. Use PDF Preview to check the generated page before downloading, especially when using custom fonts or tightly fitted text. Choose Back to editing when you want to make changes.
Can I password protect the PDF?
Yes. Enter an opening password before download. Encryption is applied locally after the PDF is generated, and the password is never included in the saved draft.
Does Create PDF make fillable form fields?
This editor creates visible text, images, and shapes. Download your design, then open Create Fillable PDF to add interactive fields. Form building is a separate tool so ordinary document creation stays focused.
Next steps
Related PDF tools
Choose another private, browser-based tool for the next step in your document workflow.