Discussion

Edit PDFs easily and securely.

beh: Is this any different from your other submission of the same tool[0] or simply a duplicate?[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43880962

philjohnson: Last year there were a couple features, but it was pretty limited. In the year since, I've added a ton more features, created desktop app and CLI. So it was a major overhaul since last time, which is why I posted it again

thangalin: Related: My FOSS tool allows uploading PDF files to a private server for annotating within a browser. Annotations are saved server-side in JSON format, which can be viewed and modified by anyone with the URL.https://repo.autonoma.ca/repo/notanexus/blob/HEAD/README.mdThe software uses PHP and PDF.js for displaying and annotating. Screenshot:https://i.ibb.co/gL39qGdc/notanexus.png

fabioz: I usually go for https://simplepdf.com/ (gets the job done, files never leave the browser either).

hilliardfarmer: That was 10 months ago!!!

madhacker: my goto -> pdf24

kykat: Tried to convert to docx, got failed to import js module error.

philjohnson: Sorry about that! Fixing now

maxloh: Several open-source alternatives already exist. All are powered by pdf-lib, with the first two also utilizing PyMuPDF.- BentoPDF (12.3k stars): https://github.com/alam00000/bentopdf- PDFCraft (3.6k stars): https://github.com/PDFCraftTool/pdfcraft- PDFLince (31 stars): https://github.com/GSiesto/pdflinceSince this project likely uses the same stack, I’m not sure what the selling point of a more limiting product is.

philjohnson: Well, if you aren't a developer you're not going install a PDF editor by going to GitHub, especially if having a desktop app means downloading the code yourself. Also, all of these you listed were created within the last 6 months, which is after when BreezePDF was initially created anyways. Lots of options out there, everyone can choose however they see fit!

ramon156: These aren't real arguments for/against your project. The body is also AI generated. I do not see a reason why I would want to try out your version, seeing as you don't care about writing a welcoming body.

philjohnson: I'm not sure what you mean by "body"

souvlakee: >This will use 1 of your free monthly downloads. You have 3 remaining.If this is in [my] browser, why should I pay?

hackernewds: This is not related. This is self-promotion and contributes little to OP's show. Poor form..

hackernewds: I take that back it does contribute since I realize OP's is paid and yours is FOSS

zemlyansky: "You've used all 3 free downloads this month" much free very no signup

philjohnson: There is no sign up required to use it for the 3 free downloads (unlike many other PDF products).

hackernewds: Bit bummed to see many posts pitching their own products (often paid) rather than give OP feedback which is the spirit of a ShowHN. There should be a blanket policy of disallowing that.

philjohnson: If I go to the grocery store and I grab bananas off the shelf, they're already in my hand, so why should I pay?

tomhow: The HN rule is that a repost of a past submission is a dupe if it last had significant attention and discussion in the preceding 12 months.The exception is that if it is a major upgrade, such that it is effectively a new/different product.If this is the case, you need make it clear in your introduction post, how that is the case. You should reference the previous post ("Hey HN, we posted this project here a few months ago and at that time the state of the app was ___". Since then we've added ____, changed ____ and removed ____").If you can write an intro like that and if the community agrees it's sufficiently changed, it can have some more front page time (because the discussion can be substantially different from what it was last time).

hackernewds: you should pay because you did not build it. same as how you pay for a burger that digests in your intestines

raphman: Looks nice.Redacting text seems to actually work. However, editing existing text results in both the original text and the edited version being shown in the PDF after download.(The page downloads mupdf (WASM) for rendering the PDF. When "downloading" (= saving) the PDF, the page first checks whether the allowed three downloads have been reached via a POST request (no PDF data uploaded), then it downloads PyIodide and some Python wheels (pdfrw, defusedxml) before creating the PDF file.

philjohnson: Thanks! Looking into text removal issue, fixing now.Yes, PDF data is never uploaded to the servers. It's the entire reason I created the project, after seeing the all the main results you see when you search on Google upload your data to their servers.

philjohnson: Understood. Yes, it was a major upgrade since last time, where then it only had maybe 6/7 features. Now it has nearly 40, plus desktop and a CLI.I updated the intro, is if sufficient to be unmarked as dup? Thanks

zemlyansky: this doesn't make it a free editor. in the EU, you could probably be sued for using that wording: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELE...