How to merge PDF files into one

Open Merge PDF

Job applications, visa forms and expense claims often ask for one PDF, while your papers sit in five separate files. Merging puts them together in the order you choose, without changing what’s on the pages.

Merge your files

Open Merge PDF and add your files. You can pick several at once, or add more afterwards.
Put them in order. The first file in the list becomes the first pages of the new PDF.
Press the merge button and download the result.
Open the new PDF and check the page count: it should be the pages of all your files added together.

Name your files first

If you have a lot of files, numbering them before you add them saves time: 1-cover-letter.pdf, 2-resume.pdf, 3-certificates.pdf. It’s also easier to check that nothing is missing.

Pick the order the reader expects

When a form lists documents, keep to its order. The person checking your application is usually working down that same list. If there’s no list, put the document they asked for first and the supporting papers after it.

When you only want some of the pages

Merging takes every page of every file. To leave pages out or change the order page by page, useOrganize PDF instead. It takes several PDFs too, and shows each page so you can move or remove it. To take a few pages out of a long file first, use Split PDF.

Problems you may run into

A file is password-protected

Its pages can’t be read without the password, so it can’t be merged as it is. If you know the password,Unlock PDF saves a copy without it, and you can merge that copy.

The merged file is too big for the form

Merging doesn’t make anything smaller: the new file is about the size of all your files together. Run it throughCompress PDF afterwards. The guide onmaking a PDF smaller has more on this.

Some of your papers are photos

Turn them into a PDF first with JPG to PDF, then merge that PDF with the rest.

A page is sideways

Rotate PDF turns single pages or the whole file. It’s easiest to do this before you merge, while each file is still separate.

Limits

You can merge up to 50 PDFs, up to 100 MB each and 300 MB together. Your own device does the work, so very large files need a computer with enough memory. Bookmarks from the original files aren’t kept in the merged PDF.