How to merge PDF files on a Mac
macOS has PDF merging built in, but it is a little hidden. Here are three free ways to do it, from the quickest to the most flexible.
Method 1: Finder Quick Actions (fastest)
Finder combines the files in the order they are sorted in the window. Sort by name and number your files if you need a specific order.
- In Finder, select all the PDFs you want to combine (hold Command and click each one).
- Right-click (or Control-click) the selection.
- Choose Quick Actions → Create PDF.
- A new PDF with all the pages appears in the same folder.
Method 2: Preview (best for choosing pages)
- Open the first PDF in Preview.
- Choose View → Thumbnails to show the page sidebar.
- Drag the second PDF from Finder into the sidebar, dropping it where the pages should go.
- Drag thumbnails to reorder pages, or select one and press Delete to remove it.
- Choose File → Export as PDF to save the combined document as a new file.
Method 3: PDFCop in any browser
Open pdfcop.com/merge-pdf in Safari, Chrome or Edge, drop in your files, drag them into order and click Merge PDF. Everything runs on your Mac, so it works even with confidential documents, and you can carry straight on to compress, add page numbers or sign the result.
Questions
Why did Preview change my original file?
Preview edits the open document directly. Use File → Export as PDF (or duplicate the file first) so your original stays untouched.
Can I merge PDFs and images together?
Yes. Finder’s Create PDF accepts images too. In PDFCop, convert the images with JPG to PDF first, then merge.