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How to merge PDF files into one document

Invoices for a month, the chapters of a report, a signed contract with its appendices: a lot of paperwork is easier to send, file and read as a single PDF. Merging takes a minute. The details that trip people up are the order of the pages, mixed page sizes and locked files, so this guide covers all three.

Updated September 15, 20265 min read

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On this page
  1. 01How to merge PDFs, step by step
  2. 02Getting the order right
  3. 03Mixing A4 and Letter pages
  4. 04Merging password-protected PDFs
  5. 05Finishing touches after merging

How to merge PDFs, step by step

You can add as many files as you need; the practical limit is available memory rather than a rule.

  1. Open Merge PDF and add two or more PDF files. You can pick them all at once or keep adding.
  2. Put them in the order you want. Use the arrows next to each file to move it up or down, or sort the list by file name when the names already carry the order, such as scan-1, scan-2 and so on.
  3. Run the tool. One PDF comes out containing every page of every file, in that order.
  4. Download the merged file and flip through it once before sending it on.

Getting the order right

File pickers do not guarantee the order you selected files in, which is why the list is shown before anything is merged. What you see is exactly the order the pages will end up in. Nothing is sorted alphabetically behind your back.

If the order within a single file is wrong, for example a scan that came out back to front, merge first and then fix it in Organize PDF, where every page appears as a thumbnail you can drag into place, rotate or delete.

Mixing A4 and Letter pages

Every page is copied at its own dimensions. An A4 page stays A4 and a Letter page stays Letter inside the same merged document, so a scanned US contract combined with a European report looks exactly as each original did.

If you need every page the same size, for printing or for a portal that insists on it, run Resize PDF on the merged file afterwards.

Merging password-protected PDFs

An encrypted PDF cannot be read until it is unlocked, so it cannot be merged directly. Open Unlock PDF, enter the password you already know, and merge the unlocked copy. DocuGrip does not try to break passwords you do not have.

Finishing touches after merging

A merged document often benefits from one more pass before it goes out.

  • Add page numbers so references like “see page 14” work across what used to be separate files.
  • Compress the result if the combined size is too large for email.
  • Add bookmarks for each section with Edit bookmarks, so readers can jump between the original documents.

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Frequently asked questions

As many as available memory allows. There is no file count or file size cap on any plan.

Yes. Pages are copied as they are, not re-rendered, so text stays text and images are not recompressed during a merge.

No. The files are combined without being transmitted, so there is no copy on a server to worry about.

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