Forensic check

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES appears on 9.1% of modified results in our corpus. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it.

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Marker profile

Document Assembly

Pages assembled from more than one source.

Share of modified results
9.1%
Frequency rank
#7
Among the 56 markers seen in modified results
Certain confidence
38.9%
Of results with this marker rated certain rather than high
Fires alone
31.8%
Results where it is the only marker found

Marker profile

What HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES tells you

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES is one of the named findings returned in modification_markers when a PDF is reported as modified. It belongs to the Document Assembly group of checks. These checks look at whether a document reads as one coherent production or as pages and parts brought together from several places.

On 31.8% of the modified results that carry HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES it is the only marker. A result with this marker carries 2.7 markers on average. It is most often found together with HTPBE_MULTIPLE_REVISION_LAYERS, on 37.2% of these results.

Example API response

How it appears in a result

When a PDF is reported as modified, HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES is listed in modification_markers next to the verdict and its confidence. Each marker is a named, actionable finding – not a score.

GET /api/v1/result/{id}
{
  "id": "9f3a2c1d-8b47-4e6f-a012-3d5e7f890123",
  "status": "modified",
  "modification_confidence": "high",
  "modification_markers": [
    "HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES"
  ],
  "creator": "Adobe Acrobat Pro DC",
  "has_incremental_updates": true,
  "page_count": 3
}

Full schema in the API reference →

Distributions

What ships alongside HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES

The tools, formats and document traits that appear on the modified results carrying this marker. Shares are of those results.

Common Producers

macOS Print to PDF writes 20.8% of these results – and 34.2% of all modified results naming it carry this marker.

macOS Print to PDF34.2% of its modified20.8%
Microsoft Word15.0% of its modified11.9%
Acrobat Distiller57.4% of its modified11.8%
iOS Print to PDF28.0% of its modified8.8%
Adobe Express91.5% of its modified4.5%
iText4.2% of its modified4.2%
OpenPDF20.0% of its modified1.8%
Microsoft Reporting Services16.0% of its modified1.6%

Common Creators

Microsoft Word is the Creator on 20.9% of these results.

Microsoft Word18.0% of its modified20.9%
Preview85.6% of its modified13.8%
PScript565.9% of its modified11.6%
Adobe Express91.5% of its modified4.5%
Microsoft Reporting Services5.2% of its modified1.9%
Bank of America25.4% of its modified1.8%
JasperReports13.3% of its modified1.8%
Canva23.3% of its modified1.5%

Often found together with

HTPBE_MULTIPLE_REVISION_LAYERS sits next to HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES more often than any other marker.

Document origin

Consumer software55.4%
Institutional33.1%
Unknown8.9%
Online editor1.6%
Analysis incomplete0.6%
Scanned0.4%

Creator → Producer pairs

Preview → macOS Print to PDF13.7%
Microsoft Word → Microsoft Word11.9%
PScript5 → Acrobat Distiller11.6%
Microsoft Word → iOS Print to PDF8.5%
Adobe Express → Adobe Express4.5%
Microsoft Reporting Services → Microsoft Reporting Services1.6%
JasperReports → OpenPDF1.5%
Canva → Canva1.4%

Detected origin software

macOS / iOS (Quartz)21.0%
Microsoft Word20.9%
Adobe Express4.5%
Browser (Print to PDF)2.1%
Canva1.5%
LibreOffice1.1%
Adobe Illustrator0.8%
iLovePDF0.8%

Confidence of the verdict

Certain38.4%
High60.3%

When these results were checked

March 20261.2%
April 202665.7%
May 20264.9%
June 20261.8%
July 20265.3%
August 20266.4%
September 20263.6%
October 20268.4%
November 20262.8%

Document length

1 page21.4%
2–5 pages37.9%
6–20 pages34.6%
21–100 pages4.8%

File size

Under 100 KB6.0%
100 KB – 1 MB82.2%
1 – 5 MB11.4%
Over 5 MB0.3%

PDF versions

PDF 1.331.0%
PDF 1.729.7%
PDF 1.519.0%
PDF 1.49.5%
PDF 1.69.2%

Year the document says it was created

20210.8%
20220.4%
20230.7%
202412.0%
20252.5%
202676.1%

Long tail

Notable observations

Smaller cuts of the results carrying HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES – useful context, but treat each row as a single data point rather than a strong signal.

Digitally signed
1.1%

Of files carry at least one digital signature

Saved revisions
38.9%

Of files contain earlier saved revisions

Embedded JavaScript
0.1%

Of files contain JavaScript code

Embedded files
0.6%

Of files have attachments inside

Avg pages per document
7.6
Markers per result
2.7

Average number of markers on these results

FAQ

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES: common questions

What does HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES mean?

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES is a named finding in an HTPBE? result: pages assembled from more than one source. It is returned in the modification_markers list of a modified result and belongs to the Document Assembly group of checks.

Does HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES mean the document is fake?

No. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it. It records that the file shows this pattern; it does not say why, and it does not assess what the document states. Read it together with the verdict and any other markers on the same result.

What should I do when a result contains HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES?

Ask the sender for the original file straight from the issuing system, or request a fresh copy from the issuer. Check whether the document went through a later step such as re-saving, merging or converting, and verify it with the issuer before relying on it for a decision.

How common is HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES?

HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES appears on 9.1% of the modified results in the HTPBE? corpus. The corpus consists of PDFs people chose to submit for checking, so it skews towards documents someone had a reason to doubt and is not a sample of all PDFs.

Where do I see HTPBE_PAGES_FROM_MULTIPLE_SOURCES?

In the modification_markers list of the result returned by the HTPBE? API, and on the result page of a modified document. Other checks in the Document Assembly group are listed below on this page; all 63 checks are listed on the how-it-works page.

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