pdfpix

Combine pages into one PDF

Loose pages arrive as separate files far more often than anyone plans for: one file per scanned sheet, one per download, one per email. Getting them into one ordered PDF is two decisions, what order they go in and whether they are already PDFs, and then a single merge that checks itself.

Multiple PDF to one PDF

Sort out the order first

File names decide nothing here, which is the point most guides skip. A plain alphabetical list puts page 10 ahead of page 2, and a folder of scans named scan0001 through scan0043 is in scanner order, which is not always page order if the feeder jammed or you scanned the back sides in a second pass.

So look at the pages before you merge, not after. Open the first and last of each file and write down the real sequence. Five minutes here saves rebuilding the document twice.

If the pages are already PDFs

Open the multiple file page, add every file, and drag them into the order you worked out. The page count of each file shows next to it, so a file that holds three pages when you expected one is visible before you commit.

Press merge and you get one document. Nothing is re-rendered: text stays selectable, page sizes stay whatever each source had, and the tool compares the output page by page against the inputs before it hands the file over.

If they are images

Photographs and screenshots are not PDFs and do not go through the merge tool. They become pages first, and building one PDF per image and merging those is the long way round with worse results.

Images to PDF takes JPG and PNG files, one page per image, in the order you set on the page. It does not resample anything, so the pixels in the PDF are the pixels you started with.

Fixing the order afterwards

If the merged document comes out wrong, the fix is not another merge. Organize pages shows every page as a thumbnail, lets you drag them into place and drop the ones that should not be there, and writes the result as a new file.

That is also the tool for the cover sheets and blank separator pages a document feeder inserts. They are easy to spot in a grid of thumbnails and tedious to find any other way. Do it in one pass after the merge rather than opening each source file separately, which takes longer and misses the blanks that sit at a join between two documents.

What the merged file keeps

Text, page geometry and in-page links survive. Bookmarks, interactive form fields, custom page labels and attachments do not, because merging copies pages rather than the structures around them. The tool reads every source first and names which files carry any of those.

Document properties are cleared, so the merged PDF carries no title, author or dates from any of the parts. The full merging guide covers those rules in detail, and the merge hub lists the rest of the cluster.

Blank backs and separator sheets

A double sided scan of single sided paper produces a blank page after every real one, and a document feeder often adds a cover sheet of its own. Both are easy to miss in a stack of files and obvious to whoever reads the finished document.

Deal with them after the merge rather than before. In Organize pages every page is a thumbnail, so the blanks stand out as white rectangles and you can select and drop them in one pass. Doing it before the merge means opening each file separately for the same result.

Questions people ask

How do I check the order before I download?
Set the file order in the list, merge, then read the receipt. It reports the page count and compares each output page with its source. If a run of pages sits in the wrong place, merge again with the order corrected.
How do I combine separate pages into one PDF in the right order?
Work out the real page order by opening the files, then add them to the multiple file page and drag them into that order before merging. Do not rely on the file names, which sort alphabetically and put page 10 before page 2.
My scanner made one file per page. Is that a problem?
No, that is the ordinary case. Add all of them at once and set the order. Check the sequence against the paper first if the feeder jammed or you scanned the reverse sides separately.
Can I mix PDFs and images in one merge?
Not in one step. Turn the images into a PDF with Images to PDF first, then merge that document with the other PDFs. Two steps, both in the browser tab.
How do I remove a page I merged by mistake?
Open the merged file in Organize pages, find the page in the thumbnail grid, delete it and save. There is no need to merge the sources again.

Do it now

The tool runs in this browser. Your file never leaves the machine, and the result is checked before you download it.

Multiple PDF to one PDF

Where to go next