Documents
Blog
Notes from the small team that makes Poleta: getting real work done with documents on a phone, and what we run into while building it.
Documents
All posts
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Documents
What you can do with old .doc, .xls and .ppt files
Poleta opens the old binary formats for reading, printing and PDF. Spreadsheets and slides can be edited as a copy in the newer format; .doc files cannot.
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PDF
Make a PDF easier to read on a phone screen
Reading view, hidden margins, fit width, page colors and a reading ruler: the View settings that make an A4 PDF readable on a phone. Most are free.
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Documents
How to check spelling in a document on your phone
Spell check in Poleta is free and runs on your phone's own checker: tap a marked word, or check a whole document or deck page by page.
-
Spreadsheets
Open a CSV file without mangling it
Poleta shows a CSV exactly as written: leading zeros, dates and codes stay as they are, and a save rewrites only the cells you changed. Free, up to 24 MB.
-
Library & tips
Find any document by what you remember about it
Search the text of every document in your library, filter by type or name, keep favorites, and find files already on your phone. All free, all on the phone.
-
Library & tips
Back up your library before you change phones
Export data is free and takes a minute; scheduled backup with a passphrase is Pro. What a backup holds, what it never holds, and how to restore it.
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PDF
How to turn a PDF into a document you can edit
The PDF and scan conversion tools make editable .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files. What comes across, what does not, and what is free.
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PDF
How to add page numbers and a watermark to a PDF
Number the pages, add a header or footer, or mark every page with text or a logo. What the options do and what is written into the new file.
-
Scan
How to turn several photos into one PDF
Images to PDF puts your pictures into one PDF, one per page. When to use it, and when Scan to PDF is the better tool for the same photos.
-
PDF
How to compare two PDFs and see what changed
Compare documents marks every added, removed and moved word between two files, and for two PDFs also shows where the pages look different.
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Library & tips
How to get back an earlier version of a document
Poleta keeps your file as it was before each save. What is kept, for how long, how to restore it, and how much space it takes.
-
AI
Draft a document with AI, outline first
Create with AI writes an outline you can fix before it writes the document. How it works, what each step costs, and the 2 free tries.
-
Documents
How to edit a .docx on your phone without breaking it
Poleta saves your edits into the same .docx, keeps the parts it does not understand and keeps the version before. Here is how editing works.
-
PDF
How to fill in a PDF form on your phone
Some PDF forms have real fields you can type into; many are just a printed page. How to fill in both kinds, and when a form needs Pro.
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Privacy
How to keep private documents in the Vault
The Vault keeps chosen documents encrypted on your phone, opened with your fingerprint, face or PIN. How to set it up, and what happens if you forget the PIN.
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Library & tips
How to listen to a document instead of reading it
Read aloud turns a PDF, an e-book or a text document into speech with your phone's own voices, and keeps going with the screen off. Free.
-
PDF
How to make a PDF small enough to e-mail
Compress PDF shrinks a file by turning pages into pictures. What you lose, when it will not help, and other ways to get under a size limit.
-
PDF
How to merge, split and reorder PDF pages on your phone
Join several PDFs into one, split one into several, and move, turn or delete pages. All free, and your original file is never changed.
-
Library & tips
Open e-mail files and ZIP archives on your phone
Poleta opens saved .eml and .msg messages, ZIP, 7z, TAR and GZ archives, and files sent from other apps with Open with. Nothing in them is run.
-
Privacy
How to password-protect a PDF, and what the password stops
Add a password to open a PDF, set what others may do with it, and open protected PDFs you receive. Plus the difference between a password and limits.
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Slides
How to edit and present slides from your phone
Fix a slide in a .pptx minutes before you present, then run the slide show from your phone with a laser pointer, a pen and your notes.
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Library & tips
Read e-books on your phone and keep your highlights
Poleta reads EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and FB2 books without DRM. Set the text the way you like it, highlight, add notes, look up words offline and export it all.
-
Privacy
How to redact a PDF so the text is really gone
A black box drawn over text hides it on screen but leaves it in the file. What real redaction removes, how Redact in Poleta works, and its limits.
-
Scan
How to scan paper to a searchable PDF
Photograph the pages, straighten and clean them up, and save a PDF whose text you can search and copy. Text recognition runs on your phone.
-
PDF
How to sign a PDF on your phone
Draw or type your signature once, place it on the page and resize it. Plus what a signature added in an app proves, and what it does not.
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Spreadsheets
Working in a spreadsheet on a small screen
What works well in a .xlsx on a phone: editing cells and formulas, reading charts, refreshing pivot tables. What is free, what needs Pro, and the limits.
-
AI
How to summarize a long PDF and check every point
Summarize gives a long document's key points, each with a link to its page. What it costs, when stopping is free, and why you should still check.
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Documents
How to review tracked changes and comments on your phone
Someone sent you a .docx full of tracked changes. See who changed what, accept or reject each change, read the comments and send it back.
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Library & tips
Twenty templates that work offline
20 ready-made documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDF forms, built into Poleta. Previews are free; since 1.8, 19 of them are free to use.
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AI
What happens to your text when you use AI in Poleta
What Summarize, Ask and Create with AI send, who processes it, how long it is kept, what our server keeps, and how to delete it.
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Privacy
Why Poleta has no ads and no account
How Poleta is paid for (free everyday tools, Pro plans, credit packs for AI), what stays on your phone, and the trade-offs of building it this way.
8 posts
-
PDF
Make a PDF easier to read on a phone screen
Reading view, hidden margins, fit width, page colors and a reading ruler: the View settings that make an A4 PDF readable on a phone. Most are free.
-
PDF
How to turn a PDF into a document you can edit
The PDF and scan conversion tools make editable .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files. What comes across, what does not, and what is free.
-
PDF
How to add page numbers and a watermark to a PDF
Number the pages, add a header or footer, or mark every page with text or a logo. What the options do and what is written into the new file.
-
PDF
How to compare two PDFs and see what changed
Compare documents marks every added, removed and moved word between two files, and for two PDFs also shows where the pages look different.
-
PDF
How to fill in a PDF form on your phone
Some PDF forms have real fields you can type into; many are just a printed page. How to fill in both kinds, and when a form needs Pro.
-
PDF
How to make a PDF small enough to e-mail
Compress PDF shrinks a file by turning pages into pictures. What you lose, when it will not help, and other ways to get under a size limit.
-
PDF
How to merge, split and reorder PDF pages on your phone
Join several PDFs into one, split one into several, and move, turn or delete pages. All free, and your original file is never changed.
-
PDF
How to sign a PDF on your phone
Draw or type your signature once, place it on the page and resize it. Plus what a signature added in an app proves, and what it does not.
Documents
5 posts
-
Documents
Find and replace a word in a document, sheet or slide deck
Where Find and replace is in each editor, what Whole words and Match case do, and what a spreadsheet leaves alone. Free in all three.
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Documents
What you can do with old .doc, .xls and .ppt files
Poleta opens the old binary formats for reading, printing and PDF. Spreadsheets and slides can be edited as a copy in the newer format; .doc files cannot.
-
Documents
How to check spelling in a document on your phone
Spell check in Poleta is free and runs on your phone's own checker: tap a marked word, or check a whole document or deck page by page.
-
Documents
How to edit a .docx on your phone without breaking it
Poleta saves your edits into the same .docx, keeps the parts it does not understand and keeps the version before. Here is how editing works.
-
Documents
How to review tracked changes and comments on your phone
Someone sent you a .docx full of tracked changes. See who changed what, accept or reject each change, read the comments and send it back.
Spreadsheets
2 posts
-
Spreadsheets
Open a CSV file without mangling it
Poleta shows a CSV exactly as written: leading zeros, dates and codes stay as they are, and a save rewrites only the cells you changed. Free, up to 24 MB.
-
Spreadsheets
Working in a spreadsheet on a small screen
What works well in a .xlsx on a phone: editing cells and formulas, reading charts, refreshing pivot tables. What is free, what needs Pro, and the limits.
Slides
1 post
AI
3 posts
-
AI
Draft a document with AI, outline first
Create with AI writes an outline you can fix before it writes the document. How it works, what each step costs, and the 2 free tries.
-
AI
How to summarize a long PDF and check every point
Summarize gives a long document's key points, each with a link to its page. What it costs, when stopping is free, and why you should still check.
-
AI
What happens to your text when you use AI in Poleta
What Summarize, Ask and Create with AI send, who processes it, how long it is kept, what our server keeps, and how to delete it.
Scan
2 posts
-
Scan
How to turn several photos into one PDF
Images to PDF puts your pictures into one PDF, one per page. When to use it, and when Scan to PDF is the better tool for the same photos.
-
Scan
How to scan paper to a searchable PDF
Photograph the pages, straighten and clean them up, and save a PDF whose text you can search and copy. Text recognition runs on your phone.
Privacy
4 posts
-
Privacy
How to keep private documents in the Vault
The Vault keeps chosen documents encrypted on your phone, opened with your fingerprint, face or PIN. How to set it up, and what happens if you forget the PIN.
-
Privacy
How to password-protect a PDF, and what the password stops
Add a password to open a PDF, set what others may do with it, and open protected PDFs you receive. Plus the difference between a password and limits.
-
Privacy
How to redact a PDF so the text is really gone
A black box drawn over text hides it on screen but leaves it in the file. What real redaction removes, how Redact in Poleta works, and its limits.
-
Privacy
Why Poleta has no ads and no account
How Poleta is paid for (free everyday tools, Pro plans, credit packs for AI), what stays on your phone, and the trade-offs of building it this way.
Library & tips
7 posts
-
Library & tips
Find any document by what you remember about it
Search the text of every document in your library, filter by type or name, keep favorites, and find files already on your phone. All free, all on the phone.
-
Library & tips
Back up your library before you change phones
Export data is free and takes a minute; scheduled backup with a passphrase is Pro. What a backup holds, what it never holds, and how to restore it.
-
Library & tips
How to get back an earlier version of a document
Poleta keeps your file as it was before each save. What is kept, for how long, how to restore it, and how much space it takes.
-
Library & tips
How to listen to a document instead of reading it
Read aloud turns a PDF, an e-book or a text document into speech with your phone's own voices, and keeps going with the screen off. Free.
-
Library & tips
Open e-mail files and ZIP archives on your phone
Poleta opens saved .eml and .msg messages, ZIP, 7z, TAR and GZ archives, and files sent from other apps with Open with. Nothing in them is run.
-
Library & tips
Read e-books on your phone and keep your highlights
Poleta reads EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and FB2 books without DRM. Set the text the way you like it, highlight, add notes, look up words offline and export it all.
-
Library & tips
Twenty templates that work offline
20 ready-made documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDF forms, built into Poleta. Previews are free; since 1.8, 19 of them are free to use.