How to Merge PDF Files With Adobe Reader? 7 Easy Steps

How to Merge PDF Files With Adobe Reader? PDF file stands for “portable document format” which is known for its versatility and convenience. Essentially, this format is commonly used for documents like eBooks, user manuals, application forms, etc.

PDFs are widely used as the official document format to get things done owing to its universal users and approach along with its cross-device compatibility.

But in the case of when you need to edit, combine, or convert them to other format, there are several tools for the task.

If you have many PDF files that you need to put together into one complete collective document, the best way to go about is to combine and merge multiple PDF files.

Today we are going to be discussing specifically on how to merge PDF files with Adobe Reader for free.

Acrobat also allows you to upload, preview, and arrange (edit) the documents and pages before saving the file.

Open Acrobat DC Application

First of all, download and install the Acrobat Pro DC premium software which you need to pay. Luckily, you can make use of its free trial option.

This gives you seven days for you to check out and determine if you want to pay for it and extend your trial into a subscription.

Once installed, head over to your Adobe Acrobat and open the application. Next, locate and open the Tools tab and select the “Combine files” option.

You will find the Combine Files interface displayed at the top with the toolbar.

Add files

Click on “Add Files” or drag and drop the PDF files to that you wanted to merge together “test1.pdf” and “test2.pdf.” 

Rather than manually adding individual files, you can also add a folder of files, a web page, pages from a scanner, an email, or files that are already combined previously.

Note: This method isn’t limited to just PDF but works for all sorts of files.

Edit (Arrange and Delete Content)

You can perform the following actions:

Preview pages

To preview, hover over the page in the thumbnail view, and then click the Zoom icon.

Rearrange pages

Move the pages around through drag and drop into the desired position. Change their order by dragging them and as you drag, a blue bar moves between the documents to indicate the current position.

Sort files

To sort your PDF files, go to the List view and click the column name that will give a rundown of sorting options. Select your desired sorting option and click again to sort in the order.

Expand pages or Collapse Document

This isn’t really necessary unless you have to deal with lots of documents. You have the option to either expand the page’s thumbnail or collapse the pages.

To expand a page

Hover over the file and then click on the Expand pages thumbnail.

To collapse a page

Hover over the first page and then select on the Collapse Document thumbnail.

Delete pages

You can also delete a page by hovering over the page you wanted to delete and click on the Delete thumbnail.

Set File Size

Click on the Options, and select any one of the file size options for the converted file or you can set it to default.

Default File Size

The PDF file size remains the same as of the original file size and quality.

Smaller File Size

It reduces the large image files to screen resolution and compresses the images by using low-quality JPEG best suited for onscreen display and email attachments.

Larger File Size

The larger file size is best suited for printing and it also retains the original file size and quality.

Combine Files

Once done with all the sorting, rearranging and editing, click on “Combine Files”.

A status dialog box will pop-up showing the file merging progress. If it is a heavy file, it can take a while but for a lighter case, it starts and close off automatically).

Save Files

Once the merging process is completed, all that needs to be done is download and save on your device.

To do so, click File on the top left corner < Save As < Add a name and select the location for your new file. That’s it.

Alternatives to Adobe to Merge PDF Files

If the idea of paying for Adobe’s software doesn’t interest you, there are many alternatives out there that will do the job.

Wondershare PDFelement

Apart from merging files, Wondershare PDFelement also can convert or scan a PDF to wide range of file formats.

If you work regularly with PDF files, Wondershare PDFelement can definitely help and increase your productivity. 

• You can also further add other files such as image files, even including Bitmap, PNG and JPG, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
• Once you have added all the required files, you can further edit the PDF files (modify the text, images, add watermarks, hyperlinks, annotation, make other changes on the pages).
• Click on the Save option and store the file on your device.

Online

Well, first of all, there are multiple online sites that allow you to merge PDF files online.

For this case, we are gonna be looking at PDFJoiner.com which allows you to combine multiple (even up to 20) PDF and image files into a single PDF file.

Head over to https://pdfjoiner.com/

Click on the Upload files or drag and drop onto the page. It allows merging up to 20 PDF files at once.

Wait for the files to be uploaded. It can take from a few seconds to a minute depending on the file size and how many you’re uploading.

Once uploaded, simply click on the Join files button.

The one limitation is that unlike Adobe or PDFelement, it doesn’t have editing options.

Here are some of the popular sites to merge PDF files online:

1. SmallPDF – Smallpdf’s merge tool allows you to combine multiple files and preview your new PDF document as you create it.
2. ilovepdf – Combine PDFs in the order you want with the easiest PDF merger available.
3. CombinePDF
4. SodaPDF– Choose files to Merge < Once files have been uploaded to our system, Adjust the order of files < save them to your PC or email directly on your inbox.

Soda PDF also has a desktop app which allows you to edit, compress, merge, split, secure PDF files offline.

Apps to Merge PDF files on mobile

You can combine and merge multiple files even on the go with your smartphone.

There are many apps available for both Android and iOS devices. So, here are a few common apps to merge PDF files on Android/iOS:

• PDF Merger Lite (iOS)
• PDF Converter (iOS/iPadOS)
• PDF Utils (Android)
• PDF Merge (Android)

Now that you know how to merge PDF files with Adobe Reader, we hope it helps you.

Adobe PDF Reader is a powerful and comprehensive program not just for merging but also covers all aspects from editing, creating, and converting. I highly recommend it but if this method doesn’t fit you, there are multiple alternatives regardless.

Which one was your favorite, leave us a comment below!