This article explains how to merge two or more PDFs together to make a single document. You can do this on any computer using a free web service called PDF Joiner or using an app called PDF Creator on Windows systems or the Preview program on all Macs.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Using PDF Joiner
Step 1. Visit the website https://pdfjoiner.com/it/ using your computer browser
PDF Joiner is a free web service that allows you to merge multiple PDFs into one file.
Step 2. Click the Upload Files button
It is placed in the center of the page. The Windows "File Explorer" or "Finder" on Mac dialog will appear. Now click on the folder where the PDF files to be merged are stored.
Step 3. Navigate to the folder where the PDFs are stored
Use the left panel of the dialog box that appeared to access the folder in question.
Step 4. Select the PDFs to process
To select multiple PDFs, hold down the key Ctrl in Windows or Command on Mac while clicking on the icon of each file you want to include in the selection.
You can join up to 20 PDFs at once using the PDF Joiner website
Step 5. Click the Open button
It is located in the lower right corner of the window. The PDF files you have chosen will be uploaded to the PDF Joiner site. When the upload is complete, in the center of the page, you will see the thumbnails of all the documents you want to merge.
Click on the button Upload files if you need to upload additional PDFs.
Step 6. Wait for all files to complete uploading
Depending on the size and number of files to upload, this step may take a few minutes to complete.
Step 7. Change the order of the files by dragging the corresponding icon
If the order in which you uploaded the PDFs does not match the order in which they should appear in the final document, you can make the necessary changes simply by dragging each thumbnail to the correct position using the mouse.
Step 8. Click the Merge Files button
When the PDF upload is complete, this button will be activated and will be visible at the bottom of the list of documents to be merged. By clicking on the button Merge files, all PDFs will be merged in the order listed and can be downloaded to your computer as a single file.
By default, the file that will be saved on your computer will be stored in the "Downloads" folder
Method 2 of 4: Windows
Step 1. Download the PDF Merger & Splitter program
This is a free app that allows you to merge multiple PDFs together and extract individual pages from a document. You can download PDF Merger & Splitter for free from the Microsoft Store. Follow these instructions to download and install PDF Merger & Splitter on your computer:
- Click on the Windows "Start" button;
- Click on the "Microsoft Store" item characterized by a white shopping bag;
- Click on the option Research placed in the upper right corner;
- Type the keywords "PDF Merger & Splitter" into the search bar that appears;
- Click on the icon PDF Merger & Splitter;
- Click on the button Get.
Step 2. Launch the PDF Merger & Splitter app
It is characterized by an icon depicting a page of a document. You can find it in the "Start" menu or you can click on the button Start appeared in the Microsoft Store window at the end of the installation.
Step 3. Click on the Merge PDF button
It is purple in color and placed in the center of the page.
Step 4. Click on Add PDFs
It is the first option visible in the upper left corner of the window. The "File Explorer" dialog will appear allowing you to select the PDFs to merge.
Step 5. Navigate to the folder where the files you want to merge are stored
Use the "File Explorer" dialog to navigate to the directory where the PDF documents to be processed are stored. Double-click on the icon of the folder where the files under examination are present.
Step 6. Select the PDFs and click the Open button
You can select multiple files at the same time by holding down the key Ctrl as you click on the icon of each PDF you want to merge. At the end of the selection, click on the button You open located in the lower right corner.
- Click the button again Add PDFs if you need to upload additional documents.
- To change the order of the files, click the icon of the PDF you want to move, then click the button Move Up or Move Down displayed at the top of the list.
- To remove a PDF from the list, click on the corresponding icon, then click on the button Remove displayed at the top of the file list.
Step 7. Click on the Merge PDFs option
It is located in the lower right corner of the program window. A dialog box will appear that will allow you to choose where to save the final file generated by merging all selected iPDFs.
Step 8. Name the final document
Use the "File Name" text field to type in the chosen name.
You can also select the folder where you want the final PDF to be stored
Step 9. Click the Save button
The original PDFs will be merged into a single document which will be stored in the folder indicated with the name you have chosen.
Method 3 of 4: Mac
Step 1. Open a Finder window by clicking on the icon
It features a blue and white smiley face. It is visible on the Mac Dock located at the bottom of the screen. You can use the Finder window to navigate through the files and folders on your Mac.
Step 2. Navigate to the folder where the PDFs to be merged are stored
Click on the icon of the directory where the files were saved using the left pane of the Finder window
Step 3. Open the first PDF using the Preview program
Unlike Windows computers, Macs integrate an application that can merge multiple PDFs or extract specific pages from a single document by effectively splitting it into multiple PDFs. You can use the Preview app to perform these operations on PDFs. Follow these instructions to open a PDF with Preview:
- Click on a PDF icon with the right mouse button (if you are using the Mac trackpad or a Magic mouse, click with two fingers);
- Move the mouse cursor over the option Open with…;
- Click on the option Preview.
Step 4. Click on the View menu
It is listed on the menu bar visible at the top of the screen. A list of options will be displayed.
Step 5. Click on the Thumbnails option
It is one of the items listed in the menu View. On the left side of the Preview program window, a new panel will appear in which you will see the thumbnails of all the pages that make up the selected PDF.
Step 6. Drag a second PDF icon into the page thumbnail list
To merge a PDF to the one you have already opened with Preview, click on the corresponding file icon displayed in the Finder window, then drag it into the left panel of the program window where the thumbnails of the pages of the first PDF are listed. Release the mouse button to have the second PDF load into the Preview window.
- To select multiple files at the same time, press and hold the key Command while clicking on the icons of the PDFs you want to include in the selection. At this point drag all the files into the left panel of the program window where the thumbnails of the pages of the first PDF are listed.
- You also have the option to change the order of the pages by clicking on the thumbnail to be moved and dragging it up or down.
Step 7. Click on the File menu
It is visible in the upper left corner of the Mac screen.
Step 8. Click on the Export as PDF option
It is one of the items listed at the bottom of the "File" menu.
Step 9. Enter the name you want to assign to the final PDF file
Use the "Export as" text field to enter the name you want to give to the PDF file that contains all the documents you have chosen to merge.
Step 10. Click the Save button
It is located in the lower right corner of the window. All the PDFs you have chosen will be merged together and saved to disk as a single document within the same folder where the original PDFs are.
Method 4 of 4: Using Adobe Acrobat DC
Step 1. Launch Adobe Acrobat DC
It features a red and black icon depicting a stylized white "A" in the center. Adobe Acrobat DC is a paid program from Adobe that allows you to create and edit PDF documents. In order to use this software, you need to take out a monthly subscription at the price of 15, 85 €. Start the program by clicking on the Adobe Acrobat DC icon visible in the Windows "Start" menu or in the "Applications" folder of the Mac.
The free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader does not integrate the functionality that allows you to merge multiple PDFs
Step 2. Click on the Tools menu
It is the second tab displayed at the top of the program window. A list of all the tools you have available will be shown.
Step 3. Click on the Combine Files option
It is the second item listed in the "Tools" panel. It is characterized by a purple icon depicting two pages of a document.
Step 4. Click the Add File button
It is blue in color and is visible in the center of the page. The "File Explorer" system window on Windows or "Finder" on Mac will appear.
Step 5. Navigate to the folder where the PDFs to be merged are stored
Use the "File Explorer" or "Finder" window to access the directory under consideration.
Step 6. Select the PDFs to merge
To make a multiple selection of files, hold down the key Ctrl on Windows or Command on Mac while clicking on the individual file icons to select.
Step 7. Click the Open button
It is located in the lower right corner. Within the Adobe Acrobat DC window, a list of all selected PDF files will be displayed in the form of thumbnails.
- To add new PDFs, click on the button Add files placed at the top of the window.
- To change the order in which individual PDFs will be merged, drag the corresponding thumbnails, displayed in the Adobe Acrobat DC window, to the location you want.
- To remove a PDF from the list, click on the corresponding thumbnail to select it, then click the button Delete displayed at the top of the window.
Step 8. Click the Combine button
It is blue in color and located at the top of the page. All the PDFs you have selected will be merged into one document.
Step 9. Click on the File menu
It is located at the top of the Adobe Acrobat DC window.
Step 10. Click on the Save As option
It is one of the items listed in the Adobe Acrobat DC "File" drop-down menu.
Step 11. Click on one of the save folders you recently used or choose a different one
You can select one of the directories you recently used to save your PDFs or you can choose a different one using the left panel of the dialog that appeared.
Step 12. Name the final PDF
Type it in the "File Name" text field.
Step 13. Click the Save button
It is visible in the lower right corner of the "Save As" dialog box. The PDF file resulting from the union of the documents you have chosen will be stored on disk with the name indicated.
