Zero Toolbox
Zero-Cost PDF toolbox
Hello fellow hackers! 👋
I’m a hobbyist developer who recently fell in love with coding. Like many of you, I deal with documents like PDFs and PPTs every day. But I hit a breaking point recently.
The Problem: The "Free Tool" Trap Every time I needed to do something simple—like merging two PDFs or deleting a single page—I was faced with a paywall. Adobe is expensive, and most "free" online tools have annoying 1-2 use limits or force you into a subscription. I found it ridiculous to pay a monthly fee just to merge a couple of files.
The Solution: ZeroToolbox So, out of pure frustration, I decided to build my own solution. I wanted something that was fast, unlimited, and privacy-focused.
What I’ve built so far:
PDF Merge & Page Deletion: Clean and simple.
PDF to JPG: Fast local conversion.
PDF to PPT: This one was a challenge!
The "In-Public" Confession (Work in Progress) Since I wanted to keep everything 100% client-side (to ensure your data never leaves your browser), the quality isn't perfect yet. For the PDF to PPT tool, I’m currently converting pages into images first. This means users sometimes have to manually adjust image ratios, which is a bit of a hassle. It’s definitely on my list for a major update!
The Vision It’s not perfect, and I’m still learning every day. But building this has taught me so much about browser-side processing. My goal is to keep improving the quality and eventually find a way to monetize it while keeping the "Zero-hassle" spirit alive.
I’d love your feedback:
How do you usually handle PDF to PPT conversion on the client side without losing layout?
Are there any "simple but annoying" document tasks you wish you had a tool for?
Check it out here: https://zerotoolbox.pages.dev/
Thanks for reading my journey!
#buildinpublic
3 Comments
Congrats on the launch, looks solid. How are you currently thinking about acquiring early users and gathering feedback?
Thank you for the comments. Um... I made a short video on YouTube and Instagram and shared it, but it's not as effective as I thought.
It's very common to struggle with early traction on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. While these can be effective long-term channels, they can be challenging to gain initial momentum, especially if you don't already have an existing audience.
At this stage, I've noticed that founders often receive much faster feedback by engaging in communities where discussions about their specific problem are already taking place, rather than simply posting content into feeds.
Have you tried joining conversations in niche communities where your target users are active, or have you primarily focused on content creation so far?