How to Combine Documents into One PDF for an Online Application

Many application forms have a single upload box that says "all documents in one PDF". Your documents, though, are a mix of scanned PDFs, phone photos and files downloaded from different websites. This guide shows how to put them into one tidy PDF, in the order the form expects, without going over the size limit.

The quick way: five steps

1. Make sure every document is a PDF. Turn phone photos into PDFs with JPG to PDF, one PDF per document.
2. Open Merge PDF and add all the files, from 2 up to 50 at a time. Each file shows its size and page count.
3. Put them in order: drag a file by its handle, or use the arrow buttons. Pages are merged from the top of the list to the bottom.
4. In File name, replace merged with a name that makes sense, such as your name and the word "documents".
5. Press Merge PDFs and download the file.

The files are merged by your browser and are not uploaded, so you can safely use it for ID proofs and bank papers.

Plan the order before you merge

Recruitment and admission notices often list the documents they want. Follow that list exactly, because the person checking your file will read it in that order. Write it down with the page count of each document before you start.

Here is a typical set for a job application:

The merged file should have 7 pages. Before you merge, the Merge settings panel shows the number of files, the total pages and the total size, so you can compare those numbers with your list straight away.

Starting each file name with a number, such as 01-class10.pdf and 02-class12.pdf, makes it easy to see in the list whether anything is out of place.

Turn photos into PDF pages first

Merge PDF combines PDF files only, so convert photos first. In JPG to PDF, make one PDF per document rather than one for all your photos. That way each document is a separate item in the merge list, and you can still move it around.

Two settings help the final file look consistent:

• Choose A4 as the page size, so the photo pages match the A4 scans in your set. A file in which every page is the same size is easier to read and print. Merge PDF keeps each page's own size, so a photo saved at its own shape would stay that shape.
• Use the rotate button for any sideways photo. A page that is sideways in its own file stays sideways after merging.

Within each file, pages keep their original order. If the back of your ID card comes before the front, fix that file before merging, not after.

Keep the merged file under the size limit

Merging copies every page as it is, without converting anything to images. Text stays sharp and searchable, and the merged file is usually about as large as all the files added together. So if your five files add up to 3.4 MB and the portal allows 2 MB, merging will not solve that. The Total size in the settings panel tells you this before you press the button.

Size limits differ from form to form, from a few hundred KB to a few MB, so check the notice.

The right fix is to compress the large scanned files one by one, before merging, using Compress PDF. Do not compress the merged file. Compress PDF rebuilds every page as an image, which is fine for a scan but not for a PDF you downloaded from a portal: its text would stop being searchable, and the rebuilt copy is often no smaller anyway.

Files that will not merge, and what to do

Password-protected PDFs. Some bank statements and other documents sent by email open only with a password. A file like that must be unlocked first. If you know the password, Unlock PDF saves a copy that opens without it, and you add that copy.

PDFs with owner restrictions. Some files open normally but restrict editing or printing. Merge PDF does not remove such restrictions, so it refuses these files and tells you why. For your own documents, Unlock PDF can remove the restrictions after you confirm that you may.

Damaged files. If a file opens in your PDF reader but not here, save a new copy from the reader and add that instead.

Digitally signed documents. A file downloaded with a digital signature can be merged, but the signature is not valid in the merged copy, because a signature covers only the file that was signed. If the authority needs to verify that signature, check whether the form lets you upload it separately.

Filled-in forms. Fillable form fields may stop being editable after merging. Text you already typed into them usually stays visible, so fill in and save the form before you merge it.

Check the file before you upload it

Open the merged PDF and scroll through it once:

• The page count matches your list.
• The documents are in the order the notice asks for.
• Every page is the right way up and readable at normal zoom.
• The file size is under the limit, with a little margin.

Bookmarks from the original files are not copied, which matters little for a set of scanned documents.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add another document after merging?

Yes. Add the merged PDF and the new file to Merge PDF together, put them in order and merge again. Pages are copied as they are, so merging twice does not reduce their quality.

Will the text in my downloaded certificates still be searchable?

Yes. Pages are copied without being turned into images, so text that could be selected in the original can still be selected in the merged file. Scanned pages were pictures to begin with, and stay pictures.

Wrapping up

Make every document a PDF, list them in the order the notice gives, compress large scans on their own, then combine everything with Merge PDF. Check the page count, order and size before you upload. More tools for PDFs are in the PDF tools section.