How To Merge/Split Multiple PDF Files

Are you looking to combine multiple PDF files into a single one? Or divide a PDF into a certain number of files? Well! There is a big benefit to doing this. Say you’re required to send several different files to a single entity that could very well lose track of those files. Or you want to extract confidential content to a separate file. Think of the last time you were downloading information about something and ended up saving it in half-a-dozen different files. Or the time when you were unable to upload file due to size limit. In both cases, it’s important that you either merge or split your PDF files.

In this article, we’ll be looking into different ways you could merge/split PDF files. Let’s get going!

Combining multiple PDF files into one using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

On Windows, you can view PDF files in Edge or any other web browser of your choice. But you can’t really combine multiple PDF files into one without the use of third-party software. Here, we’ll be talking about how you can do this using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, perhaps the most popular and ubiquitous third-party software for viewing PDF files. Follow these steps:

1. On the shortcut pane at the right side of the screen, click on Combine Files. Alternatively, you can access it via Tools > Combine Files.
2. Click on Add Files. Locate the PDF files that you want to merge into one and select them. You could also add Word Files, Image files, Excel spreadsheets and a whole range of other formats of files.
   Alternatively, you could also add an entire folder or drag and drop files directly from your file system. You could also add content directly from the clipboard, scanner or a web page.
   
3. Once you’ve selected the files the combine, click on Add Files. Then click on Combine at the upper right-hand corner of the screen to combine the files.
   Alternatively, you could preview the document, reorder pages or delete pages. To preview, hover the mouse over the thumbnail and click on the magnifying icon. If you want to reorder the pages, click on the thumbnail for the page and drag it to the desired location. To delete pages, press Shift, click on the pages you want to delete and then press Delete.
4. The combined file is automatically named by Adobe, but you could rename it if needed.

Merging multiple PDF files into one in Mac

Unlike in Windows, in Mac, you can use to print function within the preview app to simply combine multiple PDF files into one without the use of third-party software. Follow these steps:

1. In your Mac’s dock, find the blue icon for Finder. Click on it to open the Finder window.
2. In the Finder window, locate the PDF files that you want to merge.
3. Right-click on one of the files and select Open With > Preview.
4. In Preview, go to View and click on Thumbnails. A Thumbnail section will appear on the left side of the Preview window.
5. Now select the rest of the PDF files and drag them onto the Thumbnail bar of the Preview window.
6. In Preview, go to File and click on Export as PDF.
   Alternatively:
7. In Preview, go to File and click on Print. The Print window will appear.
8. At the bottom left corner of this window, click on the drop-down menu that says PDF. Select Save as PDF.
   
9. Navigate to the desired location and give the merged file an appropriate name. Then click Save.

Combining multiple PDF files into one for free using an online tool

When all else fails, you can always rely on free online tools to help you merge multiple PDF files into one. In this article, we’ll be talking about one online tool, in particular, called I Love PDF. Follow these steps:

1. On the browser of your choice, go to I Love PDF and click on Merge PDF.
2. Click on Select PDF files and find the PDF files within your file system. Alternatively, you can also select a file saved in your dropbox or google drive account.
3. You can now rearrange the order of the files you want to merge. To do this simply click and hold onto the thumbnails and move them around.
   
4. Once all is set, click on Merge PDF. Then click on Download merged PDF and select where you want the files saved. Alternatively, you could save the files to your dropbox or google drive account.

If you need to add a new section to a merged PDF file, simply repeat the process with the merged file as one PDF file and the new section as to another. You can repeat this process as many times as you want.

How to split a PDF file into multiple files

Instead of merging multiple PDF files into one, perhaps you’re looking to do the opposite. That is, you want to split one file into many files. We’ll be looking at two methods for this.

On Adobe Acrobat DC

1. Select Organize Pages from the tools section or the shortcut panel on the right.
2. Within the Organize Pages tool select Split. You can now decide how exactly you want to split the file.
3. Once all is set, click on Output Options. Here, you will decide what to name and where to save the new files. Once all is set, click on OK.

Using An Online Tool

The quickest and easiest way to split one PDF file into many is by using one of the many online tools. Most of them are very easy to use. Here, we’ll be talking about the same online tool we used to merge multiple files.

1. On the browser of your choice, go to I Love PDF and click on Split PDF .
2. Click on Select PDF file and find the PDF file within your file system. Alternatively, you can also select a file saved in your dropbox or google drive account.
3. You can now choose how you want to split the files. Either select custom ranges where you get to divide the PDF file into multiple sections of varying lengths. Alternatively, select fixed ranges if you want the file divided into multiple files of fixed lengths.
   
4. Once all is set, click on Split PDF. Then click on Download split PDF file and select where you want the files saved. Alternatively, you could save the files to your dropbox or google drive account.

Hope you found this article helpful. Perhaps you might also find the article on how to remove the password from the PDF file useful.