Putting PDFs and photos into one file, in order

Common reasons to merge

A loan or rental application often asks for an ID copy, a pay slip and an employment letter together. An expense claim mixes PDF invoices with receipts photographed on a phone, and twelve monthly statements are easier to keep as one file.

Some recipients accept only one attachment or read the pages in sequence, so the order matters. Photos can go straight in between PDFs, and there is no need to convert them first.

If you hand in the same set of papers in the same order each time, put numbers such as 01 and 02 in front of the file names. Next time one press of ‘Sort by name’ sorts everything.

Step by step: add, arrange, merge

Drop PDFs and pictures onto the page or use ‘Choose files’. If you forgot something, ‘Add more’ brings it in at any point. The top row comes first in the result, so drag each row by its handle until the list reads the way you want.

For a quick fix, ‘Sort by name’ and ‘Reverse order’ help. Remove strays with the × at the end of a row, then press ‘Merge PDF’ and a strip of page thumbnails appears. When the sequence looks right, press ‘Download’ to save merged.pdf.

Be sure to grab the handle itself when you drag a row. On a touch screen, place your finger on the handle rather than the middle of the row. Keyboard users can tab to the handle and move the row one step at a time with the arrow keys.

• Drop in the files and photos
• Drag the handles to set the order, × to remove
• Press ‘Merge PDF’ and look at the thumbnails
• Press ‘Download’ to save merged.pdf

Choosing an order without second-guessing

First find out whether the receiving side has a required sequence. If not, a flow such as application form, ID, supporting documents and then photos is easy for a reader to follow. Each row shows a first-page thumbnail and a page count, so you can tell the files apart.

If your file names carry numbers, ‘Sort by name’ reads digits as numbers, so scan2 comes before scan10. A batch that was scanned back to front is fixed with one press of ‘Reverse order’.

It also helps to check each file’s orientation before merging. Pages scanned sideways need turning in Organize pages afterward, which is extra work.

Placing photos between PDFs

JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC pictures can be included, and each one becomes a single page that keeps its proportions. A sideways phone photo is stood upright, and no picture is larger than one A4 sheet.

Photos may be redrawn in the process and transparent areas turn white. For receipts, where the lettering matters, a bright and flat shot stays easy to read after merging.

Many photos make the merged file grow quickly. When you have lots of pictures of the same kind, such as receipts, keep only the ones you need and retake any blurry shot; it is kinder to the reader too.

When one file causes trouble

Files that cannot be read, meaning broken ones, locked ones and anything that is neither a PDF nor a picture, are flagged on their row while the rest are joined. The status line says how many were left out.

For a protected file, remove the password with Unlock PDF while you still know it and add the unlocked copy. Adding the same file twice shows ‘Already in the list’ on the row, so keep just one.

What is lost and what stays

Each page keeps its appearance, rotation and links. Information that belongs to the whole document does not travel: bookmarks are dropped, and form fields no longer stay fillable, although what was already typed remains visible on the page.

If the filled-in form content has to be sent, complete it before merging. The merged file is roughly the sum of its parts in size, so when a limit applies, follow up with Compress PDF.

If some of the files are large, shrinking them first and merging afterward is an option. It makes fitting the finished file under a limit much easier.

A checklist after merging

Run through the thumbnails from start to end, looking for missing pages, wrong order and upside-down pages. In Organize pages you can move or rotate individual sheets. Zoom into a few photos to be sure the writing is legible.

Finally rename the file to the recipient’s rule. If the pages hold a lot of personal data, hide what is not needed before you merge rather than afterward.

Before submitting, find out whether a name or a date may appear in the file name. If there is no required format, a short, recognizable name is the safe choice.

Where the work happens, and its limits

The whole job, from reading to joining, runs inside your browser, so nothing reaches a server. No limit is set on how many files or how much data you add, but a big batch is held back by your device’s memory. If a phone slows down, merge in two or three rounds or switch to a computer.

A last look at the sequence before submitting

Once the merged file is open, skim the pages as if you were compiling a table of contents. Check that the first page is the application, that the ID copy sits where it should and that the final page is the end of the supporting papers.

If you are unsure about the order, write a list on paper before merging. Comparing the list with the thumbnails makes errors stand out, and you can reuse the list the next time you do the same job.