How to combine PDF files
Quick answer
On a Mac, open the first PDF in Preview, show thumbnails, and drag the other PDFs into the sidebar. On Windows, which has no built-in merger, use Adobe Acrobat (including its free online tool) or a free desktop app such as PDFsam Basic.
Macs can merge PDFs out of the box. Windows can’t, which surprises a lot of people, but the free workarounds are quick.
How to combine PDF files on Mac with Preview
- Open the first PDF in Preview.
- Go to View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.
- Drag the other PDF files from Finder into the sidebar, dropping them where you want them to appear.
- Drag thumbnails up or down to reorder pages.
- Go to File > Export as PDF to save the combined file under a new name.
You can also select several PDFs in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF, which merges them in the order they’re listed.
How to combine PDF files on Windows
| Option | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat online | Free with limits | Upload files in the browser and merge |
| PDFsam Basic | Free, open source | Desktop app, files stay on your PC |
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | Paid | Full editing, reordering and compression |
With PDFsam Basic, choose Merge, drag your PDFs in, set the order, and click Run. Because it runs on your own computer, it’s a good choice for private documents.
Keep the result small
Merged files can get large, especially from scans. Acrobat and many free tools offer a compress or reduce file size option, which helps if you need to attach the file to an email.
Once it’s merged, you can edit the text in Word: here’s how to convert a PDF to Word.
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