Since its release as an open standard in 2008, people from different backgrounds have widely used the PDF file format. Whether college students, teachers, artists, entrepreneurs, or practitioners of any other walk of life, they all have their share in making the format the most popular. It’s no wonder here, really, considering the many advantages PDF has, such as its portability, reliability, and practicality. Moreover, it is also easy to merge PDF files so users can combine multiple PDFs into one file.
The reasons to merge PDFs
Why not? People can easily do it in just a few clicks with amazing results. PDF format has everything it needs to run within itself, simplifying the process of combining PDFs since there is no worry of missing elements such as fonts, characters, and the like.
A PDF merger is also widespread in document sharing via email, messaging apps, or other means. When people send documents, it is much more convenient for the sender and the receiver to deal with one single file rather than several. It turns the sharing process into a one-click procedure while the information shared becomes neater and more accessible to archived.
Sometimes, a sender wants the shared information to be viewed in a particular order. In this case, they will like to merge PDF since it is the most practical way to ensure such order instead of other means like numbering separated files.
Why do some people refuse to combine PDFs online?
While it is possible to merge PDFs online, many people don’t favor doing so. The most common reason is that their PDFs contain personal data hence the idea of uploading them to a site offering to combine PDFs free is simply dubious. Furthermore, some websites with free merge PDF services do not provide clear privacy protection (or any at all), further pushing the consideration into a big no.
Another thing here is the size limit. Many online PDF combiner services limit the file size to 50 Mb, which is quite generous yet might not be enough for some.
How to combine PDF files without uploading any data?
While some reasons make it inconvenient to combine PDFs online, there’s simply none to do so offline. Indeed, a PDF file combiner is a must-have tool for such a purpose. However, investing in one is cheap, considering its usefulness and the privacy protection it offers compared to the free online service. Here is a simple way to merge PDF files offline that anyone can do in seconds, without uploading any data, and thus worry-free from identity theft and similar threats.
For Windows users
Windows don’t have a native tool to merge PDF, so a third-party app is required. Here’s how it’s done by using Adobe Acrobat.
1. Open Adobe Acrobat.
2. Click the “Tools” menu.
3. Select “Combine Files.”
4. Click “Add Files.”
5. Choose the files that need to merge. If it is necessary, files can be rearranged in this step.
6. Choose the desired output settings.
7. Click “Combine Files.”
8. Save the result as a new PDF file.
For Apple users:
Apple users may rejoice that their device has a built-in tool for this purpose. Hence, no third-party app is required. Here are the simple steps for Mac users to merge their PDFs in a flash:
1. Use “Preview” to open a PDF file.
2. Go to “View.”
3. Click “Thumbnails” to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.
4. Select a page thumbnail. This will indicate where the new document is going to be placed.
5. Click “Edit.”
6. Click “Insert.”
7. Click “Page from File.” The PDF document(s) might be encrypted if this option is dimmed.
This can be checked by clicking “Tools” followed by “Show Inspector.”A lock icon will be shown here, and the encryption can be turned off.
8. Choose the PDF document to merge and click “Open.”
9. Finally, click “File” and “Export as PDF” to save the new PDF file.
And that’s it! No more sending multiple attachments, sayonara to cluttered documents, adios to size limit, and bye-bye to unorganized information – all in just a few simple steps that don’t even require uploading any data.