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Open and edit PDFs locally with Caseware Open PDF

Note: This functionality is only available on Windows OS.

You can open a PDF from your engagement in a desktop PDF editor, edit it, and have your changes sync back to Caseware Cloud automatically. This requires Caseware Open PDF, a small helper application on your computer.

Open a PDF locally

To open a PDF locally:

  1. On the Documents page, click the PDF to open it in your engagement.

  2. Click the Open menu, then select Open file locally.

  3. In the Install Caseware Open PDF dialog that appears, select Open. See Respond to the Open file locally dialog below for what the other options do.

  4. Make your changes, then select Save.

Your changes sync to the online PDF in your engagement. You can keep editing while the document is open — your changes sync each time you save.

Note: Make sure only one person edits a PDF at a time. If more than one person edits the same PDF at the same time, they can overwrite each other's changes.

Respond to the Open file locally dialog

Each time you select Open file locally, the Install Caseware Open PDF dialog appears — regardless of whether Caseware Open PDF is already installed on your computer. It reads:

Note: “To open PDF files from your engagement, install Caseware Open PDF.”

The Install Caseware Open PDF dialog with Close, Download installer, and Open buttons.

The dialog offers three options:

  • Close — dismisses the dialog. Nothing else happens.

  • Download installer — downloads the installer only. You still need to install it manually. See Install or update using Download installer below.

  • Open — closes this dialog and attempts to open the PDF, using the Caseware Open PDF version configured for your firm. If the PDF doesn't open within about 5 seconds, that means Caseware Open PDF genuinely isn't installed, and the Caseware Open PDF required message appears instead:

Note: “Caseware Open PDF is not installed on this computer. Install it, then open the PDF again.”

The Caseware Open PDF required message with a Close button and a link to download Caseware Open PDF.

Select Close, install it, then select Open file locally again — there's no automatic retry.

Note: This dialog appears every time you select Open file locally, even if you already have Caseware Open PDF installed. The title and text say “install,” but that's expected — select Open to continue using your installed version.

Install or update using Download installer

  1. Select Download installer. This downloads the installer (a .msix file) to your Downloads folder.

  2. Double-click the downloaded file to start the installation.

Note: Windows shows an “Install WebDAV Drive?” confirmation screen at this point. “WebDAV Drive” is the application's underlying Windows name and stays the same regardless of what Caseware Cloud calls it in its own dialogs — this is expected, not a sign you're installing the wrong thing.

  1. Follow the prompts and accept the default settings.

  2. Go back to your engagement's Documents page and select Open file locally again on the PDF you want to edit.

You can also download the installer directly at any time:
Note: If your IT team is installing Caseware Open PDF for everyone on a computer, or across your organization, see Install Caseware Open PDF unattended.

How your firm's configured version is used

Your firm can be configured to use a specific version of Caseware Open PDF. Selecting Open always uses that configured version to open your PDF — you don't need to check or manage this yourself.

Allow the connection request

Separately from the Caseware Open PDF dialogs above, your browser shows its own connection request the first time (and sometimes each time) you open a PDF. This is a standard browser security prompt, not something Caseware Cloud controls — it confirms you intended to open the file with Caseware Open PDF and stops other websites from launching it without your permission.

To allow the connection:

  1. Select Open to open the file in your desktop app this one time.

  2. (Optional) Select Always allow to skip this prompt for this site going forward.

Your operating system may prompt you to provide permission to open the WebDAV protocol to install it.

The PDF opens in the desktop app you use to edit PDFs.