How to Merge PDF Files Into One (Free, No Software)

Job applications, visa files and university portals often want "one PDF containing all documents". Here's how to combine several PDFs into a single file, in the right order, without installing anything.

How to merge PDFs

1. Open the merge PDF tool.
2. Drop in all the files you want to combine. You can add more at any time.
3. Drag the files into the order you want, for example CV, cover letter, degree, transcript.
4. Click merge and download the combined PDF.

The files are combined in your browser, so personal documents such as passports and transcripts never leave your device.

Getting the pages in the right order

Merging puts whole files one after another. If you need to reorder individual pages, for example to move a signature page to the end, or delete a blank page from a scan, open the merged file in the organize PDF tool. You can drag page thumbnails around, rotate sideways pages and remove ones you don't need.

Adding photos and scans

If some documents are photos (JPG or PNG), convert them to PDF first with the JPG to PDF converter, then merge them with the rest. Converting several photos at once creates one PDF with a page per image.

Watch the file size

Merging doesn't shrink anything: five 2 MB PDFs make a 10 MB file. If the portal has a size limit, run the merged file through the PDF compressor. Scanned pages usually shrink a lot.

Common problems

A file won't add. It may be password-protected. Open it with the password and save or print it to a new PDF without protection first.

Pages come out sideways. The page was scanned sideways. Rotate it in the organize tool; the rotation is saved in the file.

Different page sizes. Merging keeps each page's original size, so an A4 page next to a Letter-size page is normal. Most portals accept mixed sizes.

Fillable forms lose their fields. When forms with the same field names are merged, fields can clash. Fill in and flatten forms before merging, or keep them as separate files.

Need the opposite?

To take a big PDF apart, use split PDF to extract page ranges or separate every page into its own file.

A tidy application pack

• Put documents in the order the form lists them.
• Name the file clearly, such as Ali-Khan-application-documents.pdf.
• Check every page is upright and readable before you upload.
• Keep a copy of the separate originals in case you need to resend one document.