This wikiHow teaches you how to combine two or more PDF documents into one file. You can do this on your computer through a free online PDF joiner service called PDF Joiner. You can also use a free application called PDF Creator on a Windows computer, or the built-in Preview application on a Mac.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Using Online Services
Step 1. Visit https://pdfjoiner.com/ via a web browser
PDF Joiner is a free online tool that allows you to combine multiple PDF documents into one file.
Step 2. Click UPLOAD FILES
This bluish-green button appears in the center of the page. A File Explorer window on a Windows computer or Finder on a Mac will open. After that, click the subfolder where the PDF files are stored.
Step 3. Visit the location where the PDF document is saved
Click the document storage folder on the left side of the file browsing window.
Step 4. Select the PDF document
To select multiple documents, press and hold the “ Ctrl ” on a Windows computer, or “ Command ” on a Mac computer. After that, click on the PDF files that you want to merge.
You can combine up to 20 PDF documents at once with PDF Joiner
Step 5. Click Open
This button appears in the lower-right corner of the window. The selected PDF files will be uploaded to PDF Joiner. The inset of all uploaded files will appear in the middle of the page.
Click the bluish green button labeled “ Upload Files ” to upload additional files.
Step 6. Wait for the file upload to complete
This process can take a few minutes, depending on how many files you upload.
Step 7. Click and drag the files to change their order
If the order in which the PDF files were uploaded doesn't match the order in which they were merged, click and drag the inset of the PDF files left or right to reorder them.
Step 8. Click JOIN FILES
Once all the files are uploaded, you will see this button below the upload list. Choose JOIN FILES ” to download PDF documents combined into a single PDF file to your computer.
Usually, the downloaded files can be found in the “Downloads” folder
Method 2 of 4: Via Windows Computer
Step 1. Download PDF Merger & Splitter
PDF Merger & Splitter is a free application to combine PDF documents and extract pages from a single PDF file. You can download PDF Merger & Splitter for free from the Microsoft Store. Follow these steps to download and install PDF Merger & Splitter:
- Click the Windows “Start” menu.
- Click the Microsoft Store icon which looks like a white shopping bag.
- Click " Search ” in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Type “" PDF Merger & Splitter "” into the search bar.
- Click " PDF Merger & Splitter ”.
- Click " GET ”.
Step 2. Open PDF Merger & Splitter
PDF Merger & Splitter is indicated by a book page icon. You can find it in the Windows “Start” menu, or by clicking the “ Launch ” in the Microsoft Store window after the program has finished downloading.
Step 3. Click Merge PDF
The first purple button is in the middle of the page.
Step 4. Click Add PDFs
This button is the first option in the upper-left corner of the screen. File Explorer will open so you can browse the PDF files on your computer.
Step 5. Visit the directory where the PDF documents you want to merge are stored
Use File Explorer to access the folder where the PDF files that need to be merged are stored. Double-click the file's storage folder to open it.
Step 6. Select the PDF files and click Open
You can select more than one file by holding down the “ Ctrl ” and click on the files you want to open. After that, click the button Open ” in the lower right corner of the window.
- Click back" Add PDFs ” to upload additional PDF files.
- To change the order of files, click the file you want to move in the list, then select “ Move Up " or " Move Down ” at the top of the list.
- To delete a PDF file, click the file you want to delete and click “ Remove ” at the top of the list.
Step 7. Click Merge PDFs
It's in the lower-right corner of the program. A “Save” command window will appear so you can save the merged PDF file.
Step 8. Type a name for the merged file
Use the field next to " Filename " to type a file name.
You can also specify a file storage location
Step 9. Click Save
The PDF documents will be combined and saved as a single PDF file.
Method 3 of 4: Via Mac Computer
Step 1. Open a Finder window
This app is marked by a blue and white smiley face icon. You can see it in the Dock at the bottom of the screen. Finder allows you to browse files and folders on a Mac computer.
Step 2. Visit the directory where the PDF files are stored
Click the folder where the PDF files are stored on the left side of the Finder window.
Step 3. Open the first PDF document you want to merge in Preview
Unlike Windows, Macs come with applications that you can use to merge and split PDF documents. You can use the Preview app for this purpose. Follow these steps to open a PDF file in Preview.
- Right-click the PDF file (if you're using a trackpad or magic mouse, click with two fingers).
- Hover over the option " Open with… ”.
- Click " Preview ”.
Step 4. Click View
It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear after that.
Step 5. Click Thumbnails
This option is displayed in the drop-down menu “ View A pop-out window will appear on the left side of the Preview window and include an inset of each page in the PDF document.
Step 6. Click and drag another PDF file to the inset list
To add another PDF file to a PDF document that's already opened in Preview, click an additional PDF file in the Finder window and drag it to the inset list on the left side of the Preview window. Drop the PDF file to the desired point in the inset list.
- To add multiple files, hold down the “ Command ”, then click the files you want to select. After that, drag all the selected files to the inset list in the Preview window.
- You can also rearrange the pages of the document by clicking the inset on the left side of the window and dragging it up or down.
Step 7. Click File
This menu option appears on the upper left side of the computer screen.
Step 8. Click Export as PDF
It's in the "File" drop-down menu, at the bottom.
Step 9. Type a name for the merged PDF file
Use the field next to " Save as " to type a name for the merged file.
Step 10. Click Save
This button appears in the lower right side of the window. The selected PDF documents will be combined into one file and saved to the same folder with other PDF documents.
Method 4 of 4: Using Adobe Acrobat DC
Step 1. Open Adobe Acrobat DC
Adobe Acrobat DC Pro is marked by a red and white icon with a white node in the middle. Adobe Acrobat DC is a paid PDF file creation tool from Adobe. To use Adobe Acrobat, you need to pay a subscription fee of 14.99 US dollars per month (about 220 thousand rupiah). Click the Adobe Acrobat DC icon on the Windows “Start” menu or the “Applications” folder on a Mac to open Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC program does not have a PDF document merging feature
Step 2. Click Tools
This option is the second tab at the top of the window. The PDF file creation tool will be displayed afterwards.
Step 3. Click Combine Files
This option is the second option on the “Tools” page. This option is indicated by a purple icon that looks like two pages.
Step 4. Click Add Files
It's a blue button in the middle of the page. A File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window will then open.
Step 5. Visit the location where the PDF document is saved
Use a File Explorer or Finder window to access the folder where the PDF files you want to merge are stored.
Step 6. Select the PDF files you want to merge
To select multiple files, press and hold the “ Ctrl ” on Windows or “ Command ” on Macs. After that, click the files that you want to add.
Step 7. Click Open
It's in the lower-right corner. All PDF files that have been added will be displayed as insets in Adobe Acrobat DC.
- To add another file, click “ Add Files ” at the top of the screen.
- Click and drag the inset on Adobe Acrobat DC to change the order of the files.
- To delete a PDF document, click on the corresponding document insert to select it, then select “ Remove ” at the top of the page.
Step 8. Click Combine
It's a blue button at the top of the page. All PDF documents in the inset list will be combined into one PDF file.
Step 9. Click File
It's in the menu bar at the top of the Adobe Acrobat DC window.
Step 10. Click Save as
This option is in the drop-down menu under "File" in the Adobe Acrobat DC window.
Step 11. Click the latest save location or select Choose a different folder
You can select one of the most recent storage directories, or click the blue button labeled “ Choose a different folder ” to select another storage folder.
Step 12. Type in a name for the merged PDF file
Use the field next to " Filename " to type a file name.
Step 13. Click Save
It's in the lower-right corner of the "Save" window. The merged PDF file with the selected name will be saved to the computer.