2026-08-28
A view crop changes only the page's "window" (CropBox): readers show just that region while the underlying content stays untouched in the file — and can be restored at any time.
A hard crop rebuilds the page itself; content outside the box is genuinely removed from the file.
Reading, removing scan borders, fitting screens: view crop — safe and reversible. Reducing oversized pages to a fixed paper size for printing or booklet layouts: hard crop, so every tool treats the page as truly smaller.
The trap of view cropping is "out of sight, out of mind": cropped-away annotations and personal data remain fully intact and can be revealed by another reader or a CropBox change.
Before sharing externally, use find-and-redact to truly cover sensitive text, and clean the metadata as well.