So you need to PDF merge. Maybe you’re creating a digital portfolio of your work or compiling research for a project. Whatever the reason, you don’t need to be a tech expert to get the job done. With a little bit of know-how, you can merge PDFs like a pro. Here are six tips to help you get started.
Merge PDFs Like a Pro
1. Know Your Tools
There are a few different ways to merge PDFs, and the method you use will depend on the tools you have at your disposal. If you’re using a Mac, the built-in Preview app is all you need. For Windows users, there’s the free PDF Sampler tool from Adobe. And if you want more options and features, there are plenty of paid options available, likePDF Expert for Mac and Acrobat Pro DC for Windows.
2. understand The Process
Merging PDFs is a pretty straightforward process, but it helps to understand how it works before you get started. Essentially, when you merge two or more PDFs, you’re just combining them into a single document. That document will retain all of the pages from the original files in the same order that they appeared in those files.
3. Choose Your Files
Now it’s time to select the PDFs that you want to merge. If you’re using Preview on a Mac, simply open each file in its own window. Then, go to Window > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar of each document. From there, just click and drag thumbnails from one document to another until all of the files are combined into a single file.
4. Save Your File
Once you have all of your pages in one file, it’s time to save your new document. If you’re using Preview on Mac, go to File > Export as PDF and choose where you want to save your merged document. On Windows, click File > Save As and select where you want to save your file before clicking Save.
5 . Review Your Document
Before you declare victory and close out of your newly merged PDF, take a minute or two to review your work and make sure everything looks the way it should. Check that all of the pages from each original document are included in the new file and that they appear in the correct order. Also, take a look at any images or graphics included in your PDFs to make sure they didn’t get distorted during the merging process.
6 . Compress Your File
Depending on how many documents you merged and what type of content they contain (images or videos tend to create larger files), your new PDF might be quite large—larger than necessary, even. To reduce the size of your file without compromising quality, try compressing it with an online tool like Smallpdf. Just upload your PDF, wait for it to compress, and then download the new version—it’s that easy!
In the end
Merging PDFs doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. With these six simple tips, you can do it like a pro—no matter what tools you’re using. So what are you waiting for? Get merging!
