How to merge PDFs on iPhone or iPad

You may merge PDF files on your iPhone or iPad for a variety of reasons. It is easier to share documents when they are merged.

You can use the built-in features of your iPhone or iPad to quickly combine two or multiple PDF files. Find out how to do it.

Use Files to merge PDFs on iPhone or iPad

Files on iPhone and iPad has a built-in feature to merge multiple PDF files. It is incredibly fast and simple to use. It only allows you to combine files alphabetically or numerically based on file names. If you want Files combine PDFs into a certain order, then you will need to rename them beforehand. Let’s walk through the process together.

Open the files application on your iPhone or iPad, and navigate to the PDFs. Use the rename feature to rename the files in the correct order.

Choose Select by tapping the More (three horizontal dots), located at the top right of the screen. You can select on an iPad by tapping Select . Select the files you wish to merge. Use the Move icon if the PDFs are scattered in the Files app. Otherwise, you can’t merge files.

Select Create PDF by clicking the More icon at the bottom right of the screen. The merged PDF should appear immediately in the same folder. The merged PDF is named by default after the file that was used to create it. However, you can change the name.

You’ll have to delete them manually. Select the files you want to delete and tap on the Trash button.

How to merge PDFs with an iPhone or iPad

Imagine you want to combine PDFs on a regular basis, but it’s too time-consuming to manually rename, move output files to other destinations, or remove original files. can automate this process by using Apple’s Shortcuts application.

You can create a shortcut for iPhone or iPad to merge PDFs. However, using a ready-made alternative will be faster.

You can download the shortcut by clicking on the Get Shortcut and Get Merge PDFs links. You should now be able to access the Shortcuts application, where you can add it by tapping Add Shortcut.

Tap the More (three horizontal dots), located at the top right of the screen. Then, select Select. You can select on an iPad by tapping Select . Choose the files you wish to merge.

Open the share sheet after that by tapping on the square with the arrow pointing out. Scroll down to Merge.

The names of the PDFs you’ve selected will appear in the upper part of the screen. Tap each one to select the order in which you want the PDFs to appear.

Find a location in the Files application to save the combined PDF. Tap Open. Choose if you wish to Delete or not the original files.

If you are unable to finish the process with the shortcut, check Settings> Shortcuts> Advanced to make sure that it has the necessary permissions.

You can change the default behavior if you wish. You can, for example, modify the Save PDFaction to save it in a different location every time. Open the Quickcuts application and select the More option on the Combine PDFs short-cut. Make your changes and then tap Done.

Merge PDFs with Ease on your iPhone or iPad

Third-party PDF solutions such as PDF Expert or Smallpdf offer extra options, including the ability to rearrange or delete individual pages prior to combining documents. In most cases, the Files app has all that you need.

Shortcuts is a free and versatile alternative to third-party apps. If you want to edit the PDF file before merging, there’s no need to use third-party software. Files on iPhone allows you to make a lot of edits.