How to merge two PDF files
At work you were asked to merge two PDF documents but, not being very familiar with the PC, you went into the balloon again. Please try to stay calm and not get lost in a glass of water. I guarantee you that what you have to do is an operation that is anything but complicated. And I’ll tell you more: you can complete your “business” today not only using some free PC programs, but also some online services that can be used directly from the browser.
And if we really want to “exaggerate”, you can download some free application thanks to which you can merge PDF files even when you are on the move. If you give me 5-10 minutes of your precious free time, I’ll show you how to merge two PDF files using all the tools mentioned above. You will see, doing this is easier than you can imagine, as long as you follow the advice I will give you in the next paragraphs very carefully.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s put aside the chatter right away and take action. I am sure that thanks to my “tips” you will become a “wizard” of merging PDF files and, why not, maybe you will be able to lend a hand to some colleague who, like you, is a bit hesitant about what to do. Enjoy the reading!
Index
- Programs to merge two PDF files
- Online services for merging two PDF files
- App to merge two PDF files
Programs to merge two PDF files
Are you going to merge two PDF files using some ad hoc program ? Well, in that case I am sure that the solutions listed below will be very useful, whether you are using a PC or a Mac. The PDF merging programs I am about to offer you are all free and easy to use. Seeing is believing!
PDF Merge Tool (Windows)
One of the first software solutions I recommend you try is PDF Merge Tool , a free program available only for Windows that allows you to merge PDF files quickly and easily.
To download PDF Merge Tool on your PC, first connect to the relevant download page on the SourceForge website, click on PDF_Merge_Tool_NoInstall_v1.0.0.zip and wait for the download to complete. Then open the zip package you downloaded on your PC, extract the contents and launch the PDF Merge Tool.exe executable .
PDF Merge Tool requires Microsoft’s .Net Framework 2.0 component to function. If you haven’t downloaded this add-on yet, download it now by clicking on the link I gave you just now. If you have a PC equipped with Windows 8 or later, you will be offered the installation of .Net Framework 2.0 when downloading the PDF Merge Tool: in this case, to proceed, all you have to do is click on the Download button and install this functionality .
Once the program installation is complete, you can finally merge your PDF files by simply dragging them into the PDF Merge Tool window. Then, use the Move up and Move down buttons to move the files up and down in order to sort them as you like and, as soon as you have finished working on the PDFs, click on the Merge button ! to complete their merging by selecting the destination folder in which to save the output file.
PDFill Free PDF Tools (Windows)
Another program that you should consider if you want to merge PDF documents on your Windows PC is PDFill Free PDF Tools , a solution that can be useful in multiple contexts since it allows you to act more broadly on files by allowing you to split, rotate and whatever else.
To download PDFill FREE PDF Tools on your PC, first connect to the download page on the program’s website, click on the Download Now button located under the heading Get FREE Basic Version and, on the page that opens in the browser, click on the button Download Now .
When the download is complete, open the PDFill_FREE_PDF_Editor_Basic.exe file that you just downloaded on your PC and, in the window that opens, click on the Yes and Next buttons ; then put the check mark next to I accept the terms in the License Agreement and complete the installation of PDFill Free PDF Tools by clicking on the Next button three consecutive times and then on the Install and Finish buttons .
Now, start PDFill Free PDF Tools, click on the Merge PDF Files button (top left) and, in the window that opens, drag the PDF files you want to merge. Then click the Move up and Move down buttons to sort the files as you like and finally click the Save as button to save the output document.
Preview (Mac)
Do you use a Mac ? In that case you can merge PDF documents without installing any program. On the computers of the bitten apple, in fact, it is possible to perform this operation using Preview , the PDF file reader installed by default on all versions of macOS.
To merge PDFs with Preview, first open one of the PDF documents you want to merge with the program. If you have changed some settings and MacOS Preview is not the player defaults, click with the right mouse button on the file, then select the item Open With from the contextual menu, and you then click Preview .
As soon as you have opened one of the PDF files that you want to merge with another document, click on the View menu located at the top and select the item Thumbnails from the latter. Now, drag the second PDF document you want to merge with the first one into the bar that appeared on the left side and that’s it. Easier than that ?!
Ah… I almost forgot! Also in Preview you can arrange the page thumbnails in the order you prefer (by dragging them up or down with the mouse pointer). When you are satisfied with the final result, save the output document by clicking on the Export as PDF … item located in the drop-down menu that appears after clicking on the File menu and save it in the destination folder of your choice.
If you want to merge PDFs on Mac you can also opt for other solutions, such as using Automator , another program included “standard” on every Mac. tutorial I posted on the subject.
Online services for merging two PDF files
Don’t want to “clog” your PC by installing special software for editing and merging PDF documents? Don’t worry, even in this case I have the solution for you. In this case it is some online services to merge PDF files . You can use these tools directly from the browser , without downloading add-ons, without necessarily having to register and without having to worry about the security of your files, since they are deleted from the servers of these websites after just a few hours from their upload.
iLovePDF
An excellent online service that can do for you is iLovePDF : it is a free tool that is easy to use and versatile like SmallPDF, which I told you about earlier. ILovePDF also has some limitations: it allows you to upload a maximum of 15 files whose “weight” must not exceed 80MB. It is possible to increase the number of files to work on and their weight (up to a maximum of 20 files and 100MB) by registering on the site or by subscribing to a subscription plan starting from € 3.99 per month.
To use iLovePDF, first connect to the main page of the service by clicking on the link I gave you in the previous paragraph, click on Merge PDF and, on the page that opens, drag the PDF files you want to merge. Then, reorder the files in the order you want to merge them by moving them with the mouse cursor, click on the Merge PDF button and wait for the download of the output file.
App to merge two PDF files
If the need arises to merge two PDF files on the fly, perhaps when you don’t have your trusty PC available, you can use apps to merge PDFs on smartphones and tablets. In the Android, iOS and Windows 10 Mobile stores there are several that you can use for this purpose and many of them are free, at least in their basic version. Take a look at the following alternatives – I’m sure you’ll find some that might suit you.
- PDF Utility( Android ) – this free app allows you to easily merge and split PDF files, password protect them and even convert images to PDF files. The free version of PDF Utility allows you to upload files up to a maximum of 1.5 MB; to break down this limit it is necessary to purchase its full version which costs 3.39 euros.
- PDF Merge( Android ) – this utility, characterized by a user friendly interface, allows you to select the PDF documents you want to merge, sort them to your liking and get the output document after a few taps. PDF Merge has no limit to the number of files that can be uploaded, nor to their size.
- Foxit PDF( Android / iOS / Windows 10 Mobile ) – this application is one of the most famous PDF file readers on the square (if you remember I already talked about it in the tutorial dedicated to apps for reading PDFs ). While being able to download Foxit PDF for free, to take advantage of some advanced features, such as the one that allows you to merge two or more PDFs, you need to make in-app purchases starting from € 0.80.
- PDF Export( iOS ) – this semi-free app allows you to read and edit PDFs from your iPhone and iPad. To activate the PDF Export feature that allows you to merge two or more PDF files, you need to make in-app purchases starting from € 1.09.
