Do you often have PDF files scattered across several different files and want to merge these pages or the entire PDF file into a single PDF? Actually, it’s not that hard. Next, we will introduce you to how to merge PDF files on macOS using different applications.
How to merge PDF files using Preview
Unless you have another PDF reader installed, the preview might be your default PDF reader. But it’s not just a PDF reader: you can also use it to merge your PDF files. You can use this built-in tool to merge individual pages as well as entire PDF files with each other.
Merge two PDF files
If you want to merge two complete PDF files with each other, all you need to do is select the PDF you want to add to the current PDF：
1. Open the first PDF you want to merge with a preview.
2. Click View and select Thumbnails so that the PDF thumbnails are on the left.
3. Click on the page you want to add after the other PDF on the left. To merge the entire PDF, simply select each page.
4. Open the edit menu at the top and click Insert > page from the file.
5. Select another PDF that you want to merge with the current PDF.
6. Your PDFs should now be merged. Click “Export to PDF” in the “File” menu to save your newly merged PDF.
Merge a page from one PDF with another
If you only want to add a few specific pages from one PDF to another, you can drag pages from one PDF to another. Here’s how:
1. Open both of your PDFs with Preview and make sure the thumbnail view is enabled.
2. Select all the pages you want to add to another PDF. Hold down the Cmd key to select multiple pages.
3. Drag all selected pages from your first PDF to the thumbnail section of the second PDF. You can rearrange the page order if you want to adjust some pages between them.
4. Save your combined PDF by clicking on file > Export as PDF.
How to use PDF Expert to merge PDF files
PDF Expert ($7.99/month) is a paid solution for working with PDF files on your Mac. The app actually offers a lot of PDF editing features, so combining PDFs isn’t all you get at this price.
If you choose to use this application instead of Preview, here are some ways you can use it to merge PDFs:
Merge two PDF files
With just one click, you can combine two PDFs as follows:
1. Open your PDF with a PDF Expert.
2. Click the “Page thumbnail” icon in the upper left corner.
3. Select Attach Files in the top toolbar.
4. Select the PDF you want to merge.
Merge more than two PDF files
To merge more than two PDFs, put all the PDFs in one folder and follow these steps:
1. Open the PDF Expert, click File > Merge Files.
2. Select all the PDFs you want to merge and click “Merge”.
3. Click on the “File” menu and select “Save As” to save your merged PDF file.
Merge a page from one PDF with another
You can drag and drop pages in your PDF file and merge them in PDF Expert. Here’s how:
1. Open your PDF with a PDF Expert.
2. Click the view settings icon at the top and select Vertical under Split View.
3. Click “Select File” on the right pane to open another PDF file of yours.
4. Click the page thumbnail icon at the top.
5. Now you can drag pages from one PDF to another.
How to merge PDF files online using Smallpdf
Smallpdf is an online solution for editing and merging PDFs. If you don’t want to install an app just to merge PDFs once, this is a good choice. Some features of this tool are free, while others require a subscription, but it offers a seven-day free trial.
Here’s how to merge PDFs using Smalllpdf:
1. Open the Smalllpdf website, click “Select File”, and add your main PDF.
2. When your PDF has been uploaded, depending on what you want to do, click Merge Files or Merge Page. Then, tap Select Option.
3. Click “Add More” to add the secondary PDF you want to merge with the main file.
4. Click Merge PDF and the website will merge your two files.
5. When your final PDF is ready, click Download to save the file to your computer.
Easily integrate your PDFs
Opening different PDFs to access the pages you need is time-consuming. If you do this frequently, you can combine all your pages into a single PDF using the methods in the list above. This way, you only need to open a PDF to access all the content.
