How to Split & Merge PDF Files

Split or combine electronic documents with PDF software.

One of the most useful aspects of PDF documents is that it is easy to split up and combine them when you need to. Perhaps you have finished writing a book and would like to merge the chapters into a single file. Or perhaps you would like to distribute an excerpt of a large document over the Internet. Regardless of why you want to split or merge existing PDF files, both tasks are easy to do when you have the right tools

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard or other PDF application

Instructions

Split PDF Files

1. Start Adobe Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Professional. Click the 'File" menu and then click "Open," or click the yellow folder icon on the toolbar. Browse to the PDF file you want to split. Double-click the file to open it.

2. Click the "Document" menu and then choose "Split Document" to open a new dialog box. Decide how you would like to split the file--by number of pages, file size or bookmarks. Choose pages to assign an equal number of pages to each output file after splitting. Choose file size to divide the original by size, such as one megabyte per file. Select bookmarks to split the document by its top-level bookmarks, say "Lesson 1," Lesson 2" and so on.

3. Click the "Output Options" button to open a new dialog box. Modify the default save settings if you wish. Choose a different folder to save the split files in, or use the same folder as the original. Enter a label for each part of the split file (such as "Chapter" followed by a number). Tick the box next to "Do not overwrite existing files" to make sure the new files do not replace old ones. Click "OK" twice to split the PDF.

Merge PDF Files

1. Start Adobe Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Professional. Click the "File" menu, choose "Create PDF" and select "Merge Files into a Single PDF." Or click the "Combine" task button and choose the same option. The "Combine Files" dialog box will appear.

2. Click "Add Files," and then choose either "Add Files" or "Add Folders." Choose the former to merge selected PDF documents. Choose the latter to merge all files in recognized formats in the same folder. A new dialog box will open.

3. Navigate to and click the PDF files or folder you want to add. Click the "Add" button to add the files to the merge list. You will be returned to the previous dialog box.

4. Click the "Options" button to customize the merging. Tick the corresponding boxes to make the document accessible to the impaired, keep merging in spite of errors, and use bookmarks. When you are satisfied with your settings, click "Combine Files," type in a name for the merged file, and click "OK."

Tips & Warnings

• Other PDF applications can also split and merge PDF documents. Some, such as Nitro PDF, are shareware. Others, such as PDFill PDF Tools and pdfEdit995, can be used free of charge.

• Directions apply to Acrobat 9 Standard and may differ from other versions of the program.

References

• "How to Do Everything: Adobe Acrobat 9"; Doug Sahlin; 2009

Resources

• pdfEdit995: Home Page
• PDFill: Free PDF Tools
• Nitro PDF Software: PDF Professional - Assemble, Split and Combine PDF Files