Do you want to combine several PDFs into one, whether to declutter your computer files, to send several documents into one, or to combine files? Here is a very simple method to achieve this.
If you’ve tried to do this in the past, you probably know it wasn’t possible with Adobe Acrobat, unless you paid for a subscription. At the time, an Internet search on the subject found several hundred sites that offered either the function or an application that one had to download and learn to use to accomplish a seemingly simple task.
Adobe Acrobat has finally simplified the process of consolidating PDFs into one, along with a host of other options for editing, converting to PDF and other file formats, signing, compressing and splitting PDFs. PDF, all directly on its website. These cool features were added in early 2021 and are available with a free Adobe account, although their use is limited. One of the advantages of this process is that it is available on Windows or Mac, since it is enough to access adobe.com from Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Safari and Chrome are also supported on mobile devices.
Simple, basic
The biggest advantage is that you don’t have to download an app to perform the task and you don’t have to worry about the dangers of a data transaction with an unverified third party, if privacy is the one of your concerns. You’ll find Mac-specific instructions at the end of this article, but to combine multiple PDFs on Windows and Mac, you can go to Adobe’s site and click PDF and electronic signaturesthen select Acrobat Online Tools > View All Online Tools.
Adobe will let you combine and download PDFs once without an account, but subsequent downloads will require you to sign in. So you can create a free account or login in the next step. The list of tools available on your account includes Merge PDFs. Click on it to start the merge.
You should see an option to drag and drop your files or browse them. Select the files you want to combine. You don’t have to select them in order, you can rearrange the files in the next step. Arrange the files in the order you want them to appear, then click Merge. Your file has been combined and can be downloaded.
Another way to do it on Mac
When you sign in with an Adobe ID, you also get access to two free premium transactions every 30 days, so you’re unfortunately limited to being able to combine PDFs only twice a month.
For Mac users, you can combine two or more PDFs into one via the preview when you open the file. Here’s how to do it on a Mac: open the PDF on your Mac and go to Displaythen in Thumbnails. The document pages should appear as thumbnails in the left sidebar. Click on Editingthen on Insert > File Page. Find the document you want to add to the current document, then click To open.
You can rearrange the order of your pages, repeat the process to add more, or delete pages (Cmd + Del). Once you are done, just go to File > Export to PDF and you will get the combined file as the result.
Source: ZDNet.com