Merge PDFs in the right order

Combine several PDFs — and images — into one file, drag them into the order you need, and don't let one bad file ruin the whole merge.

Why you’d do this

A single PDF is easier to send, print or upload than five separate ones — a cover letter plus a CV plus certificates, a contract plus its signed appendices, a set of scanned receipts for an expense report. The pieces usually exist as separate files because they came from different places (one you typed, one you scanned, one someone emailed you), and putting them together by hand — printing, stapling, rescanning — is the kind of chore a browser tool should just remove.

The two things that actually matter when you merge documents are getting the page order right and not losing a file’s worth of work because one PDF in the batch turns out to be broken.

How, with the named tool

Merge PDF combines any number of PDFs into one, in whatever order you choose; Images to PDF turns photos or scans into a PDF page so they can be added to that same merge.

Choose your PDFs. Drop them or tap to pick — each row shows that file’s page count and size, and Add more PDFs appends further files to the list.
Set the order. Drag rows into place, or focus a row and press Space then the arrow keys, or use its Move up / Move down buttons. This is the order the pages come out in.
Limit pages per file, if you need to. Type a range like 1-3, 7 in the Pages box next to any file to take only those pages from it; leave it empty to take the whole file.
Merge and save. Tap Merge PDFs, watch the percentage, then save the combined file with Save / Share.

If part of what you’re merging is a photo rather than a PDF — a scanned signature page, a photographed certificate — run it through Images to PDF first: choose the images, put them in order, pick a page size, then Make PDF. That output is a normal PDF file, so you can add it to Merge PDF’s file list like any other.

What to watch for

The order you drag into is the order you get — there’s no separate “reorder pages” step afterward. Get the file order right before you tap Merge; each file contributes its pages as a block, in the sequence its row sits in, and (if you set one) only the range you typed for it.

A corrupt file doesn’t cost you the files that came before it. Merge PDF only commits a file’s pages into the batch once it’s successfully parsed — so if the third PDF in your list turns out to be corrupt or unreadable, the first two aren’t wasted, and you’re not left redoing a merge from scratch over one bad file.

Password-protected PDFs are skipped, not merged in. A file Merge PDF can’t read because it’s encrypted is left out, and the tool shows you a count of how many were skipped — so a shorter-than-expected result is worth checking against that count rather than assuming the merge went wrong.

Pages from different sources rarely all share one page size. A PDF you typed is usually A4 or Letter; a scanned photo turned into a PDF via Images to PDF is whatever size you picked there — Fit to image, A4 or Letter. Merge PDF doesn’t resize pages to match each other, so mixing sources can produce a document where some pages are visibly a different size or orientation than others. If that matters for how the file prints, pick the same page size in Images to PDF for every image you’re adding to one merge.

FAQ

Can I merge photos and PDFs into one file?

Not directly in Merge PDF — it only takes PDF files. Run your photos through Images to PDF first (choose a page size, put them in order, tap Make PDF), then add that resulting PDF to Merge PDF’s file list alongside your other documents.

What happens if one of my PDFs is corrupted?

Merge PDF only adds a file’s pages to the batch after it parses that file successfully, so a corrupt or unreadable file doesn’t spoil the rest — it’s effectively skipped, and the merge continues with everything that did parse. Password-protected files are skipped the same way, with a count shown so you know how many didn’t make it in.

Why do some pages in my merged PDF look a different size than others?

Because the source files had different page sizes to begin with, and merging doesn’t resize pages to match — it keeps each page exactly as its source file had it. If you’re combining a typed PDF with images converted via Images to PDF, pick the same page size (A4 or Letter) there for a consistent result across the whole document.