How to merge PDF files into one, in the right order
Published
Job applications, visa forms and expense claims often ask for one PDF, while your documents are spread across five files. Merging them takes a few seconds once you know the steps.
Step by step
- Open Merge PDF and add two or more PDF files. You can select them together or drop them in.
- Use the arrows next to each file to put them in the order you want.
- Press Merge PDFs and save the combined file.
- Open the result and flip through it once to check the order.
Tips for a tidy result
Name your files with numbers first, such as 1-cover.pdf and 2-passport.pdf, and they are easier to sort before you merge. If one document has pages you do not need, remove them first with Remove pages, or merge everything and then use Organize PDF to drag pages into place, turn sideways pages and delete extras.
Fillable form fields keep working after merging, so a form you merge with other documents can still be filled in.
Scanned front and back pages
If your scanner made one file of front sides and another of back sides, Merge PDF would put all fronts first. Use Alternate & mix instead: it interleaves the two files page by page, and can reverse the back sides if they were scanned last page first.
Is it private?
Yes. The files are combined by your own browser, so your documents are never sent to a server. That matters for the kind of papers people usually merge: IDs, payslips and signed contracts.