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Security and OCR Nodes Reference
Technical reference for `ocrPdf`, `signPdf`, `protectPdf`, and `unlockPdf`, including current async OCR behavior and signing constraints.
Updated 2 min read
Overview
These nodes add text extraction, signature overlays, password protection, or password removal to PDF workflows.
Configuration / Settings
| Node | Key settings | Details |
|---|---|---|
ocrPdf | language, outputFormat | Sidebar exposes text or JSON output selection. |
signPdf | signature placements, coordinates, showTimestamp | Multiple signatures are applied sequentially. |
protectPdf | password | The API also supports permission flags such as print/modify/extract/annotate. |
unlockPdf | password | Required to remove encryption. |
Inputs Expected
- All covered nodes expect PDF files.
signPdfexpects either a legacy text signature or the newer multi-signature configuration from the signature panel.protectPdfrequires a password of at least 6 characters at the API layer.
Variables Exported / Outputs
| Node | Output shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|
signPdf | Blob[] | Signed PDFs only. |
protectPdf | Blob[] | Protected PDF files. |
unlockPdf | Blob[] | Unlocked PDF files. |
ocrPdf | current implementation nuance | The OCR route enqueues an async job and returns a JSON job payload, so workflow automation should treat OCR as currently constrained until status polling is wired into the executor. |
Common Use Cases
- Apply visible signatures before a download or Drive upload.
- Lock sensitive PDFs before emailing them externally.
- Unlock encrypted inbound PDFs before conversion.
- Submit OCR work for scanned documents that need later extraction.
Edge Cases
- OCR is asynchronous in the current API design. The route returns a job reference rather than final extracted text in the first response.
signPdfprocesses signatures one at a time per file, so large signature sets increase run time linearly.protectPdfandunlockPdfboth fail fast when the password is missing or invalid.