Opening and adding attachments in PDF by Zaweba

A PDF can carry other files inside it. An invoice might include the spreadsheet behind its figures, a set of drawings might carry the original CAD files, a report might attach the raw survey data. These are easy to miss, because they don't show on the pages. The Attachments panel in PDF by Zaweba lists them, lets you open or save them, and lets you add your own.

Seeing what is attached

Open the Attachments panel and it lists every file embedded in the PDF. If a document arrives with a note saying the data is attached, this is where to look. It is worth a glance with any PDF that has come from an accounts system, a design office or a government department, as these often bundle source files without saying so.

Opening and saving attachments

You can open an attachment straight from the panel. The app opens it from a temporary copy, so the file inside the PDF isn't touched. Programs and scripts are never opened this way. That is a deliberate safety rule. An attachment can be anything, and a program hidden inside a PDF is a common way to try to get someone to run something they shouldn't. The app simply won't do it.

For anything you want to keep, choose save instead. The attachment is written out to a folder of your choice and from there it is an ordinary file. This is also the way to deal with an attached program you do trust: save it, check it as you would any download, and run it yourself if you are sure.

Attaching your own files

The panel works in the other direction too. You can attach a file to the PDF, change its description or remove it. Attaching is a tidy way to keep things together. Send a quote as a PDF with the detailed costing spreadsheet attached, or a signed contract with the schedules attached as their original files. The person receiving it gets one document instead of an email full of separate attachments that drift apart.

Descriptions matter more than people expect. A file called final2.xlsx tells a reader very little. A description such as costing for the March quote, all prices before tax, tells them what it is and why it is there. Set one whenever you attach something that will be read by someone else.

Remove an attachment when it shouldn't travel any further. If you received a PDF with internal notes attached and are about to pass it to a customer, check the panel first and take out anything they shouldn't see.

Size, printing and saving

Attachments add to the file size. A small PDF with a large video attached is a large PDF, which matters when you email it.

Attachments aren't shown when someone prints the PDF, and many people never open the panel. If an attached file is important, say so on the page as well, in the covering text or a comment.

Finally, save after attaching or removing. The change is part of the document, so it is kept only once you save the PDF.

Used well, the Attachments panel in PDF by Zaweba turns a PDF into a neat envelope for everything that belongs with it, while keeping the risky contents of other people's envelopes at arm's length.