PDF4QT Updates & Release Notes

PDF4QT 1.6.0.0 - Image Compression and Workflow Refresh

PDF4QT 1.6.0.0 brings a major image compression and optimization update, especially for PageMaster and assembled output documents. Image compression is now integrated into the assembly/export workflow, backed by new optimizer infrastructure, UI controls, feedback fixes, and tests. This should make PageMaster much more useful for producing smaller output PDFs directly from assembled or reorganized documents.

The release also contains a large PageMaster refresh with improved drag and drop, recent files, crop pages, save/restore functionality, rotation and size indicators, a reworked icon set, and faster output preview rendering. Viewer and Editor workflows were improved with wildcard Advanced Find, Enter-to-search behavior, better outline keyboard selection, startup settings, fullscreen support, side-to-side scrolling, smoother scrolling, text selection, snapping, and expanded annotation controls.

Compatibility and platform behavior were improved as well, including fixes for embedded files, fonts, checkboxes, invisible text, menu colors, highlights, XMP metadata, Windows color management, AppImage packaging, MSIX generation, installer behavior, translations, and newer compiler/Qt warnings. The commit history also includes a new scan-and-edit plugin foundation and color management performance work.

Highlights

• Image compression for PageMaster / DocPage Organizer and assembled output documents (#92)
• Major PageMaster UX refresh, including drag and drop, recent files, crop pages, save/restore, icons, and output preview performance (#383, #18)
• Improved image optimization feedback, including final resolution and DPI updates (#384)
• Better Viewer and Editor navigation: fullscreen, side-to-side scrolling, smoother scrolling, text selection, snapping, and outline keyboard selection (#242, #368, #136, #321, #250, #373)
• Advanced Find wildcard mode and Enter-to-search behavior (#379, #378)
• PDF compatibility fixes for embedded files, fonts, checkboxes, invisible text, form content suppression, and Windows color management (#225, #356, #256, #230, #326, #224, #385, #388)
• Startup settings, custom settings directory support, Linux double-click viewer separation, and packaging/build fixes (#382, #380, #381)
• Scan-and-edit plugin foundation and broader translation updates from the 1.6.0.0 development cycle

Resolved Issues

• Issue #389: Adding hyperlink to internal object in PDF
• Issue #388: Update Windows color management system
• Issue #385: PDFTextLayoutGenerator::isContentKindSuppressed(ContentKind kind) is missing ContentKind::Form
• Issue #384: In the "Optimize Images" dialog, the info on the final image resolution and final DPI does not update
• Issue #383: UX improvements for PDF4QT PageMaster tool (v1.5.3.1) (ex. DocPage Organizer)
• Issue #382: Startup Settings
• Issue #381: Separated apps for double-click viewer in Linux
• Issue #380: Ability to run app with custom settings directory - executable parameter with path
• Issue #379: Advanced Find - Wildcard Mode
• Issue #378: Advanced Find - Should start searching if Enter key is pressed
• Issue #376: Deleting a note jumps to Outline
• Issue #375: Not enough maximum compiled page cache
• Issue #373: Ctrl/Shift keyboard selection for Outline
• Issue #372: Option to not color images
• Issue #370: Extracting pages within a range
• Issue #369: Keeping redact box on
• Issue #368: Side-to-side scrolling
• Issue #357: Bulk delete/add/edit of page labels
• Issue #356: Compatibility issues - font problems
• Issue #354: Color blend mode for highlights
• Issue #352: Icon size of the sidebar
• Issue #349: Add inherit zoom to bookmark zoom options
• Issue #338: Editor toolbox higher than editor window
• Issue #334: Impossible to set French language
• Issue #326: Checkboxes don't render in PDF4QT
• Issue #324: Menu text not rendered with correct color
• Issue #321: Select text in Viewer
• Issue #291: Support for editing XMP metadata or exporting to PDF/UA format
• Issue #282: Editor outline view: always zooms to around 50%
• Issue #256: PDF4QT cannot show some specific fonts correctly
• Issue #253: Undo/redo doesn't work in "edit page content" mode
• Issue #250: Snapping
• Issue #242: Full screen
• Issue #234: Setting font, font size and area of text annotations
• Issue #230: Garbled characters when opening PDF files with PDF4QT
• Issue #225: PDF4QT cannot open PDF files with embedded files
• Issue #224: Option to remove invisible text
• Issue #194: Change page size
• Issue #160: Color | Custom (green/black) does not work
• Issue #136: Smooth scrolling of document with mouse middle wheel - flywheel
• Issue #92: Add image compression to PDF DocPage Organizer
• Issue #18: Performance optimization - OutputPreview Renderer

Issues Solved

• Issue #313: Remove history UX improvement
• Issue #310: Docpage organiser uses PDF title rather than filename
• Issue #306: Unable to delete the recent files history.
• Issue #303: Add Dockerfile for Simplified PDF4QT Setup with Qt 6.9.1 and All Dependencies
• Issue #301: Russian Language file
• Issue #296: Redaction annotation support in PdfTool
• Issue #295: Request: Make page layout choice persist between files
• Issue #279: qt_add_translations uses options only in qt 6.9
• Issue #284: Scaling dimensions [Enhancements, Features]
• Issue #281: install API headers for reuse by other applications ?
• Issue #251: Let user lock direction of lines/polylines when pressing keybinding (e.g. shift)

What's Changed

• fix(pdfccittfaxdecoder): Remove whitespace in _bitlength operator by @ptitjano in #260
• Translate into chinese(zh_CN) by @knm100 in #285
• Translate the “scale 1:” and optimized ungroup's translation by @knm100 in #288
• minor fix: remove extention from Icon endtry in a desktop file by @Fat-Zer in #218
• Update PDF4QT_zh_CN.ts by @knm100 in #294
• The Turkish language file is ready. by @mhalil in #304
• Update PDF4QT_zh_CN.ts by @knm100 in #305
• Update Turkish Language File by @mhalil in #307
• Fix 'multi-line comment' warning on gcc build by @nyalldawson in #316
• Add missing overrides by @nyalldawson in #315
• Update PDF4QT_zh_CN.ts by @knm100 in #309

New Contributors

• @ptitjano made their first contribution in #260
• @knm100 made their first contribution in #285
• @Fat-Zer made their first contribution in #218
• @mhalil made their first contribution in #304

Full Changelog: v1.5.1.0...v1.5.2.0

Version 1.5.1.0, released on April 27, 2025, focuses on bug fixes and stability improvements. Users are encouraged to update to this latest version to benefit from a more reliable and efficient experience.

Issue #271: Change of the license to MIT

Issue #257: Force light mode (or dark mode)

Issue #255: PDF4QT Page Master invert selection does not work

Issue #254: Unit Settings default window size too small

Issue #248: update version and year in Help > About page

Issue #247: option to hide cross when adding annotations

Full Changelog: v1.5.0.0...v1.5.1.0

Version 1.5.0.0, released on March 9, 2025, focuses on bug fixes and stability improvements. Users are encouraged to update to this latest version to benefit from a more reliable and efficient experience.

Issue #244: PageMaster: united one document after remove pages leads to lose the outline

Issue #236: Highligting - Allow color selection and intensity [Enhancement]

Issue #229: Can't add picture to PDF

Issue #228: [feature] reverse pages order

Issue #222: UnitTests fails several tests

Issue #207: Zoom to Cursor (Zoom Anchoring)

Issue #206: Name of the executable / command

Issue #205: Editor cannot create white, whitesmoke or transparent annotations

Issue #202: Certain raster content not rendered

Issue #200: Icons under dark theme on Arch/KDE is broken

Issue #185: Latest git fails to build in linux

Issue #165: Insert > Inline Text latency issues on Flatpak and Appimage packages

Issue #161: Can it be possible to trust a certificate like in acrobat?

Full Changelog: v1.4.0.0...v1.5.0.0

Editing PDF

I am excited to announce a major update to my application, now rebranded as PDF4QT Editor! This version introduces a highly anticipated feature: the ability to edit PDF files directly within the application. Along with this significant enhancement, I've also addressed numerous issues and implemented various improvements to enhance your user experience. Check out the details below for a full list of what's changed.

What's Changed

Issue #190: PageMaster crash + black bubbles instead of bubbles with correct color
Issue #184: Form field font size too large
Issue #183: Option to ignore PDF security settings
Issue #182: PDF4QT Document Diff command line cmd line arguments ignored
Issue #181: where is the dark mode?
Issue #180: PDF4QT editor and options windows higher than desktop
Issue #174: Support for Linux seems to be very limited
Issue #173: errors loading file Echoplex.pdf
Issue #172: access keys are missing from most menu items/action text strings
Issue #168: When opening a PDF file or merging some PDF files, stamp will disappear.
Issue #166: Adding images to PDF?
Issue #164: Taskbar icon not shown in linux mint.
Issue #163: Unable to render probably valid PDF
Issue #161: Can it be possible to trust a certificate like in acrobat?
Issue #159: Offer 4 AppImage one for each App [enhancement]
Issue #123: Alternative software rendering backend (Blend2D)
Issue #42: Is REAL pdf text editing planned ?
Issue #26: Add pictures in PDF files
Full Changelog: v1.3.7...v1.4.0.0

New Release: PDF4QT Version 1.3.7 (January 10, 2024)

It is with great pleasure that I announce the latest update to my PDF toolkit: PDF4QT Version 1.3.7. This version brings a wealth of improvements and bug fixes, enhancing the overall stability and functionality of the software. We've worked hard to address issues that matter most to our users, and we're excited to roll out these changes to improve your PDF management experience.

Here's a rundown of the key updates in this release:

• Issue #142: Resolved a problem where users were unable to scroll to the top of documents.
• Issue #141: Added a convenient Save button to the toolbar for quick access.
• Issue #140: Fixed a bug that caused newly created bookmarks to be empty.
• Issue #139: Changing the page layout no longer resets the current page, preserving your workflow.
• Issue #137: Corrected an issue where hex color codes weren't properly converted to color values in redactions.
• Issue #134: Implemented a search bar for quick actions to enhance user efficiency.
• Issue #133: Improved the rectangle selector for easier page selection within PDFs.
• Issue #129: Ensured compatibility with lcms 2.16 to prevent compilation issues.
• Issue #128: Created a comprehensive list of markup annotations for better annotation management.
• Issue #126: Removed unnecessary QtCore include from main headers to streamline the codebase.
• Issue #119: Further improvements to the search bar for a more powerful search experience.
• Issue #118: Added CMAKE options for creating minimal builds, optimizing resource usage.
• Issue #116: Enhanced the search bar functionality to remember searched text and support scroll and zoom.
• Issue #115: A redesigned sidebar widget with new, intuitive icons.
• Issue #113: Fixed a color customization issue that occurred in certain scanned PDFs.
• Issue #112: Introduced smooth scrolling for a more natural reading experience.
• Issue #104: Clarified the pdf_3d branch and licensing details.
• Issue #102: Addressed queries regarding the use of Qt's PDF tools versus Poppler or muPDF.
• Issue #99: Added icons optimized for dark mode, reducing eye strain.
• Issue #55: Resolved the issue with system certificates store not being found.
• Issue #54: Enhanced bookmarking functionality for easier navigation through pages.

These updates are part of my ongoing commitment to providing a robust and user-friendly PDF solution. I hope that these new features and fixes will greatly enhance your productivity and enjoyment when working with PDF4QT.

Your feedback is invaluable to me, and it is your insights that help shape my software. Please continue to send me your thoughts, ideas, and reviews.

Upgrade to PDF4QT Version 1.3.7 today and take advantage of the latest features and improvements. I am confident that this update will offer you a smoother and more efficient PDF editing experience.

Thank you for your continued support, and for making PDF4QT your PDF software of choice.