User guide
How to open, edit and save documents in Papy. Features marked v0.4.0 work in the current version (v0.4.0).
- Getting started
- Opening documents
- Viewing and navigating
- Edit mode
- Editing PDFs
- Saving and converting
- AI assistant
- What is supported
- Troubleshooting
On macOS, use ⌘ wherever this guide says Ctrl.
Getting started
- Install Papy by following the installation guide, then open it.
- The start screen appears right away, with no sign-in or sign-up.
- Documents open in view mode. Switch to edit mode only when you want to make changes.
Opening documents v0.4.0
- Choose a file: the Open button or Ctrl+O.
- Drag and drop: drop a file onto the Papy window.
- Double-click: once installed, PDF, HWP, HWPX, DOCX and DOC files can open in Papy.
- Recent documents: reopen them from the start screen. The list stays on your computer and you can clear it at any time.
- Password-protected files: Papy asks for the password of protected PDF and HWP files. Passwords are never stored.
Papy only reads the files you choose. It does not scan other folders or upload files anywhere.
Viewing and navigating v0.4.0
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Next / previous page | → / ←, or scroll |
| First / last page | Home / End |
| Go to a page | Type the page number in the toolbar |
| Zoom in / out | Ctrl++ / -, fit width Ctrl+0 |
| Outline and page list | Ctrl+\ opens and closes the side panel |
Edit mode v0.4.0
Use the Edit button in the toolbar or Ctrl+E to switch between view mode and edit mode. HWP, HWPX, DOCX and DOC files are edited like in a word processor.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Type text | Click where you want to type (input methods such as Korean IME are supported) |
| Select | Drag, Shift+arrow keys, Ctrl+A |
| Character format | Bold Ctrl+B, italic Ctrl+I, underline Ctrl+U; strikethrough, size and color in the format bar |
| Paragraph | Align left, center, right or justify |
| Undo / redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z |
Advanced editing (HWP, HWPX)
Click Advanced editing at the right of the format bar in edit mode to open an editor for tables and cells, images and objects, headers and footers, footnotes, and find and replace. Click Apply to bring the changes into the document, then save as usual with Ctrl+S. The editor works offline too.
Editing PDFs v0.4.0
A toolbar appears when you switch a PDF to edit mode.
- Highlight, underline, strikethrough: pick a tool and drag over the text.
- Pen: draw freely, with your choice of color and width.
- Text box and note: click where you want it and type (Korean is supported).
- Pages: rotate, move forward or back, and delete pages.
- Undo with Ctrl+Z; press Esc to put the tool down.
Changing text that is already in a PDF is not supported yet.
Saving and converting v0.4.0
- Save Ctrl+S: overwrites the original file. Papy writes to a temporary file first, so the original stays intact if something goes wrong.
- Save as Ctrl+Shift+S: choose a new location and format.
- Export: save in another format from the export menu in the toolbar.
- Unsaved changes are marked on screen, and Papy asks whether to save when you close.
| Open document | Can be saved as |
|---|---|
| HWP · HWPX · DOCX | HWP, HWPX, DOCX, PDF, plain text |
| DOC | DOCX (recommended), HWP, HWPX, PDF, plain text — not written back as DOC |
| PDF, plain text |
Converting between formats can change the layout slightly. Hangul and Word lay out lines and pages differently, so saving a Hangul document as DOCX (or the other way round) can change line breaks, page count and object positions. Word documents (DOCX, DOC) are also shown with Papy's layout engine, so they may look different from Word. The content is carried over, and Papy tells you how many elements it could not carry over. Keep a copy of the original file.
AI assistant (optional) v0.5.0 preview
Open the chat with the ✦ button at the right end of the toolbar. AI is a separate plugin; without it Papy keeps working offline as before.
- Install: press Install plugin in the chat. Papy downloads the plugin for its own version from GitHub, checks its signature and installs it.
- Assistants: Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini (your API key), Ollama (models on your computer), Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI (your subscription; sign in to each program first).
- API keys: add them in settings (gear). They are stored only in your operating system's keychain and never shown again. Tokens used, and an estimated cost for Claude, appear under the chat.
- Edits: when the assistant wants to change the document you get a proposal showing before and after. Nothing changes until you press Apply, and Undo (Ctrl+Z) reverts it. You save as usual.
- What is sent: Papy asks once per document before sending anything to an outside service. Only the parts the assistant reads with its tools are sent; with Ollama nothing leaves your computer.
- Use from other AI apps (MCP): paste the MCP setting from settings into Claude Desktop, Claude Code and similar apps. They can then read documents with Papy and save edited copies as new files. Originals are never overwritten.
What is supported
| Format | Viewing | Editing |
|---|---|---|
| v0.4.0 | Annotations, text boxes, pen, fixing text, page editing | |
| HWPX · HWP (5.x) | v0.4.0 | Text and formatting / tables, images and headers with advanced editing |
| DOCX | v0.4.0 | Text and formatting; images, shapes, grouped shapes, charts (as pictures), headers, footnotes and endnotes kept |
| DOC (Word 97–2003) | v0.4.0 | Text and formatting; tables, images, footnotes and headers kept / floating shapes and OLE objects are left out; Word 6/95 and password-protected DOC files cannot be opened |
| PPT · PPTX → XLS · XLSX | Planned | PowerPoint first, then Excel |
If a DOCX or DOC file has elements that are not carried over yet (OLE objects, first-page-only headers, floating shapes in .doc files and so on), Papy tells you when it opens the file. Keep a copy of important originals.
Troubleshooting
The app does not open
Check the security warning steps for your operating system in the installation guide.
I found a bug / I have an idea
Please open a GitHub Issue. Describe the symptoms only; do not attach personal documents.