You can merge PDF or PDF documents and other files.
PDFs are often used as official documents files online, so I consider it an important professional skill that a person should know how to convert to and from this file format I.e PDF.
Arranging PDF files all together in a single document is something that you should know importantly.
How to do both of these tasks concerning different platforms as well. And I assure you that these methods will not cost you a penny, so are you guys ready?
What is a PDF file?
These are called Adobe PDF files, and PDF stands for portable document format’ files. It is a fact that these files are one of the most commonly used file types today in this modern technology world.
If you have ever downloaded a printable form or some document directly from the internet, it is possible with some great chances that the file you downloaded would be a PDF (Portable Document Format) file.
These Portable Document Formats files are most commonly used for documents like eBooks, application forms, user manuals, and scanned documents as well, to send it to somebody or to name some.
This Portable Document Format was created by Adobe in the late 1990s to achieve two things.
The first thing they wanted to achieve was that the people should be able to open any of the documents on any hardware device or operating system, without needing to need the software or application which is used to create them or any other certain application.
What you only need to do the job for you is a PDF reader and these days, most of the web browsers fit the bill for you.
Why should you use PDF files?
This is one of the most common questions asked by a majority of people.
Just suppose that if you are creating any type of document file, take a newsletter for example. You are creating a newsletter in Microsoft Word from Microsoft Office and you want to share it as a (.docx) file, which is the default file format for documents by Word.
If a lot of people don’t have this Microsoft Word installed on their computers or any device they open the file you shared to them, there is no guarantee or surety that they would be able to open that file and view the newsletter you created.
Another fact is that you know the Word documents are meant to be edited, right? So, there is a possible chance that some of the formatting and text in that document of yours may shift around here and there.
When it comes to PDF files, the basic thing about them is that they are meant for viewing purposes only, not for editing.
And the one reason why these Portable Document Format files are very much popular in usage and everything is that these PDFs can preserve your document formatting.
Preserving the formatting of the document is a really impressive and most needed feature when it comes to sharing documents. This feature makes these PDF files more shareable and helps the people you share your documents to view these files just the way you created them.
Sharing your newsletter as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file to all your friends will help you make sure that each and everyone will be able to view it just as you intended.
The decision is yours to take now. What do you think, if these PDF files are better or not? Yes, they are.
How to open and view a PDF file?
Opening and viewing a Portable Document Format (PDF) file is a very simple and easy thing to do, just because these PDF files are a regular format, there is a great number of applications available out there that will help you in opening these Portable Document Format files.
You can use web browsers, official Acrobat Reader from Adobe, third party applications, and even word processing apps to open and view PDF files.
The easiest and convenient way to view a PDF file is to use your web browser for it and this procedure is mostly the same for both platforms namely macOS and Windows operating system.
Most of the modern web browsers nowadays are capable of opening Portable Document Format (PDF) files directly in your browser windows without even downloading them to your computer or any other device.
If anyone’s browser is not able to do this, so it will surely prompt you to download that PDF file on your computer instead.
If you want to view any particular Portable Document Format (PDF) file only once, then opening that PDF file in your web browser is the most convenient thing to do.
What you need to do is just double click the file to open it and it will automatically open up your browser and open up the PDF file for you in a different browser window or tab.
If by any chance your web browser is not set as default for viewing such type of files, then just right-click on your Portable Document Format (PDF) file and click “Open With” menu which will show you several applications that you can use to view this file.
- Click on your favorite browser and click on OK to open up that PDF file in your web browser.
- You can download and use a desktop reader as well, to have more control over these files and better feature support.
- To do this, the Acrobat Reader from Adobe is the official tool that provides you with the services to read PDF files for you.
- This application is free to download and it is available for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android as well.
After you download and install this Acrobat Reader from Adobe into your computer or any other device, you only have to open up the PDF file you want to view and it will open it up for you without taking any unnecessary time.
How to create a PDF file?
Well, there are several ways you can apply to create Portable Document Format (PDF) files, but these methods depend according to the device you are using to create a PDF file.
If you are one of those people who are using the Windows 10 operating system, then what you can do is to go to the Print dialog box, locate and select PDF from the list of printers visible at the top.
This will allow you to create a Portable Document Format (PDF) file of anything which you would normally be able to print out as well. This may include documents, emails, as well as web pages.
If you are one of those people who are using macOS, then the Print dialog box on a Mac device has a PDF menu that allows you to save any file as a Portable Document Format (PDF). Easy it is.
Well, now you know everything about these PDF files and without any further wait, I should get onto the actual procedure now.
How to combine PDF files?
Knowing how to combine pdf files online is not reserved for the computer savvy.
For the people who use Windows, there are a couple of websites that offer doing so for free, and also the third party also offer this, such as free PDF editors and free PDF readers.
Some of these will either try to upsell or even worse, can carry malware, so it is useful and helpful to know which ones are the legit and reliable ones.
There is also the Adobe Acrobat DP app, which is specifically created and designed by Adobe to create, manage, and edit PDF files.
On the other hand, the people who use macOS need not worry about these sites or any apps, as Apple has already got it on its own which is easy – not to mention but is free with no strings attached – a tool that you have most likely already used and utilized for many other things.
I am here to show you how you can combine pdf file software without any issue, on both macOS and Windows 10. The following are the steps and details on how to combine the PDF files.
macOS
That is much better, you mostly only just need to drag and drop the files, so the process here is really fast, effortless, and very easy.
Now, before you start, just be sure that you have all the files that you would like to combine in one folder to make the merging process much more flawless and seamless.
Step 1
Open the Finder folder where your files are stored and saved then you make a duplicate copy of the file which you want as your first page.
You will want to use a duplicate to make the changes in it, so that you are preserving the original file, for suppose if you make a mistake or need it for something else in the future, that preserved original file will be helpful.
To create a duplicate file, just simply two fingers click on the file and select the Duplicate option in the dropdown menu.
Step 2
Now double click on the original file to open it in Preview.
- You have to make sure that the thumbnail sidebar is visible. If it is not visible, then go to View > Thumbnails or just simply press Option+Cmd+2.
- If your file is not opening in Preview at default, you can then two-finger click on that file and then go to Open with > Preview.
Step 3
Add the PDF, JPG, PNG, and also other additional files to Preview by dragging and dropping them into the thumbnail sidebar.
Unluckily, Preview won’t let you add Word, Excel, and HTML files to a PDF document.
If you want to add these using the Preview, you must first convert them into a PDF document. Or else, it is best that you just use the Adobe Acrobat DC app, which is available in macOS.
If you are choosing to use the Adobe Acrobat DC app, also do read the steps which are written below for Windows 10 as they are the same as on the macOS.
Step 4
Set and arrange the files in the order which you want by dragging and dropping the files in the sidebar.
Step 5
When it is ready, then go to File > Export as PDF. Then type in the filename which you want and select the folder in which you would like to save the file.
Step 6
Simply hit Save.
Windows 10
As I have mentioned earlier, there are many websites and also third-party apps that you can use to combine and merge multiple PDF documents in a single file.
And many of them make it very easy and convenient, mostly, it is just a matter of selecting the files clicking a button and you are all done.
Step 1
Open the Adobe Acrobat DC and then go to Tools > Create and Edit.
Step 2
Under the Combine Files, click Open.
This will take you to the workspace of Combine Files and where you can add files, rearrange them in whatever order you want, and merge them into a single PDF file.
The beauty and effectiveness of this tool are that it accepts many of the different file types, from PDF and image files to also Word and Excel documents.
Step 3
In that Combine Files workspace, you either drag and drop the files which you would like to combine or you can click on Add Files and choose the files in a dialogue box.
You can also add folders, add a webpage or add from the Clipboard. It is pretty much effective and nifty.
Step 4
Arrange the files in the order in which you want them to appear in the final PDF document by dragging and dropping those files.
Step 5
When it is ready, click on the Combine button which is on the top right section, or you just simply press Shift+Ctrl+I.
When all of your files have been combined into a single PDF document, then a tab will appear next to the Home and Tools tab. Click on that to access the document.
Step 6
When you are satisfied with the PDF document, just click on the Save icon which is on the top left to save it. You can also press Ctrl+S to save it.
You also have the option to save the file to your Adobe Document Club, which is contained in your paid subscription, so that you will save the storage space on your computer.
To do this, simply click on the cloud with an arrow that is pointing up the icon, that is right next to the Save button. Or simply just press Shift+Ctrl+W.
Step 7
Choose and select the folder in which you want to save your new PDF document, type in the filename which you want, and hit Save.
These were the steps you can take to merge/combine PDF files into one large document.
Conclusion
I hope that this article of mine helped both the users of the Windows operating system and the macOS users as well.
How do I combine multiple PDFs into one PDF?
The easiest way is to use File-> New Document and select the option to merge files into a single PDF.
The file list box will open. Drag the files you want to combine into a single PDF.
How can I merge PDF files without Acrobat?
You can combine multiple files into one PDF without the need for online services software sites like PDF Joiner or Acrobat I Love PDF.
They are very easy to use. All you have to do is upload several files to the site and then merge or click on a similar word and then you will be sent a link to find a shared PDF document.
How do I merge PDF files into Windows 10?
Choose to merge files into one PDF:
- Click Add Files.
- Select each PDF that you want to attach by clicking on a file and then CTRL + clicking on each additional file.
- Click Combine.
- Finally, select File > Save as and select a location to save your new shared PDF to it.
