Merge PDF

Step by step: from separate files to one PDF

1. Add your PDFs. Drop them on the box above, or click the box and pick them. You can add files in several rounds. Each new file goes to the end of the list.
2. Put the files in order. Every file shows its position number, name and size. The files are merged from top to bottom, in exactly this order. Use the ↑ and ↓ buttons to move a file up or down. On a computer you can also drag a row to a new place.
3. Remove what you do not need. Click the ✕ next to a file to take it out. Clear All empties the list so you can start again.
4. Click Merge PDFs. The button becomes active once the list has at least two files. A progress bar fills as each file is added.
5. Save the result. The new file downloads as merged.pdf. Your original files are not changed.

Only PDF files are added. A file counts as a PDF if your browser reports it as one, or if its name ends in .pdf. Other files, such as photos or Word documents, are skipped, and a short message under the list tells you which ones.

Getting the order right

New files go to the end of the list. The number on the left of each row is its position in the merged file. File 1 comes first.

• Use the arrow buttons to move a file. ↑ moves it one place up and ↓ moves it one place down. For example, if your CV is number 2 and should come first, press ↑ once. The arrows work on phones and with the keyboard (Tab to the button, then press Enter).
• Drag a row on a computer. Hold the mouse on a file, drag it, and drop it where you want it. A line shows where it will land. Dragging does not work on most phones, so use the arrows there.
• Be careful when you select many files at once. The file picker decides their first order, not you. Many systems sort them by name, but this is not guaranteed. Look at the numbers before you merge.
• Put a number at the start of each file name if you often merge the same set. For example: 01-cover-letter.pdf, 02-cv.pdf, 03-degree.pdf. Then a name-sorted selection usually comes out in the right order, and you have less to move.

When merging PDFs helps

A job application

Many employers ask for one file. Follow the order they ask for. If they give none, a common order is cover letter, CV, then certificates and references. Put the most important certificate first. A recruiter may only look at the first few pages.

Visa, university and government portals

Many upload forms accept only one PDF for a section such as "supporting documents". Merge the passport scan, bank statement and letters into one file in the order the checklist lists them. These portals often have a size limit too.

Expense claims

If you scanned each receipt as its own PDF, merge them into one file for the claim. Add them by date, or in the same order as the lines on your expense form. The person checking it can then match each line to a page.

What stays the same and what is lost

The tool uses the pdf-lib library. It creates a new, empty PDF and copies every page of every file into it. The pages are copied, not redrawn. This is good for quality, but some parts of a PDF live outside the pages, and those are not copied.

Mixed page sizes are normal after a merge. A letter from a US company and a scan from an A4 printer will sit next to each other at their own sizes. If you print the file, check that your print settings scale each page to fit the paper.

Password-protected PDFs

The tool cannot open a PDF that is encrypted. This includes some files that open without a password but block printing or editing. If one file in the list is encrypted, the whole merge stops. You will see a message under the list that names the encrypted file, and nothing is downloaded.

To fix it, open that file in a PDF reader and enter the password. Then save or print it to a new PDF without a password. Add the new copy to the list instead of the old one. Only remove a password from files that you own or have permission to change.

A damaged file can also stop the merge. The message under the list names the file that could not be read. Remove that file with ✕, fix or replace it, and merge again.

If the result is too big, or you need only some pages

The merged file is roughly the size of all your files added together. Scanned pages are often the largest part. If a portal or email rejects the file, run it through Compress PDF.

This tool always adds every page of every file. If you need only a few pages from a long document, first take them out with Split PDF. Then merge the smaller file. To add photos of documents, turn them into a PDF with Image to PDF first.

All the work happens in your browser's memory. On a phone, very large files may fail or make the page slow. If that happens, close other tabs, or merge on a computer.

Common mistakes

• Not checking the list before merging. Check the position numbers. The same file can also be added twice, and it will then appear twice in the result.
• Sending the file as merged.pdf. Rename it to something clear, such as Sharma-Priya-application.pdf. A reviewer may get many files called merged.pdf, and yours will be hard to find.
• Not opening the result. Scroll through the merged file once. Check the order, check that no page is missing, and check that scans are the right way up.
• Merging forms before filling them in. Fields may stop working after the merge. Fill them in and save first.
• Deleting the originals. Keep the separate files. You will need them if you have to change the order or replace one document later.