Guide

How to Merge PDFs in the Browser

Merge PDF copies every page from the files you select into one download named merged.pdf. The order is the order those files are selected. The tool does not shrink the result. If the combined file is too big to email, compress or extract pages afterward.

Quick answer

Select the PDFs in the order the reader should see them, download merged.pdf, and only then compress it if the size is the problem. Merge and compress are different jobs.

Order is the selection order

Pages are copied in the order the browser hands the files to the page. The first file becomes the first pages, then the next file, and so on. There is no separate list where you drag pages around after the fact.

If the file picker sorts names alphabetically, the order you thought you clicked may not be the order inside the PDF. Rename the files so the names sort the way you want, or merge a few files at a time so the sequence is obvious, then merge those results.

Merging is not compressing

Each page is copied as it already is. Text stays text. Photos stay at the size they already had. Two 8 MB PDFs become a file around 16 MB, not a smaller one.

Use Compress PDF on merged.pdf when photos made it too large and you want to keep the full page count. Use Extract PDF Pages when the recipient only asked for some of the pages. Splitting the merged file into a ZIP does not make the set smaller.

What the merge will refuse

Encrypted PDFs cannot be opened here. Remove the password in the program that created the file, then merge the unlocked copies.

A damaged file stops the whole merge. The page shows an error instead of a partial document. Your originals are not changed, because the download is a new file.

Recommended tool

The quickest way to do this task on this site is to use Merge PDF.

Open Merge PDF

Steps

  1. 1.Open Merge PDF.
  2. 2.Select two or more PDFs in the order the pages should appear.
  3. 3.Wait while the browser copies the pages into one file. Nothing is uploaded to Confiles.
  4. 4.Download merged.pdf. If it is too large to send, compress it or extract the pages you were asked for.

FAQ

Will the merged PDF be smaller?

No. Merge copies pages. It does not recompress images. Open Compress PDF afterward if the combined file is too big.

Can I rearrange pages after I select the files?

Not on this page. The order is the selection order. Select again, or rename the files so the picker order matches the order you want.

Are the PDFs uploaded?

No. The merge runs in your browser. Confiles does not receive or store the files.

Related tools

More guides

Compare formats