PDF A
Drop the first PDF here
This is PDF A
Or drop files anywhere on this page. Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.
PDF B
Add the first PDF, then the second one here. More than two files can be mixed.
How to alternate and mix pages from PDFs
Build one document by taking pages from each PDF in turn: A, then B, then A again. This fixes scans where the front and back sides were saved as separate files.
Add two or more PDFs
Drop the first PDF into the PDF A box and the second into PDF B, or drag in several files at once. You can also click to choose files or import them from Google Drive. A password-protected file opens after you enter its password. Click + Add another PDF to mix in more files.
Set how each file is used
Each file card has Take (how many pages per turn), Reverse order, and a Pages box for using only part of the file. The up and down arrows change the file order. The live preview updates as you change settings.
Mix and download
Click Mix PDFs. If one file is longer, its remaining pages are added at the end. The results screen lets you preview and download the file, save it to Google Drive, open it in another tool, or delete the files.
Joining double-sided scans
When a stack is scanned fronts first and then turned over for the backs, the back sides come out last to first. Tick Reverse order on that file to put them back in sequence.
Check the live preview
The preview shows every page of the result in order, so a wrong setting is visible before you mix. Undo and redo step through your changes.
What happens to the pages when you mix PDFs
Pages are copied, the documents around them aren't
Mixing builds a brand new PDF and copies the selected pages into it one by one. Everything that belongs to a page comes along: its text, images and drawings, its page size and rotation, and the annotations attached to it, such as highlights, comments and web links.
What doesn't come along is anything that belongs to a whole document rather than to a page:
- Bookmarks. The result has no outline, even if your source files had one. Add one afterwards with Create bookmarks.
- Document properties. The title, author and subject of the source files aren't copied. Set them again in Edit metadata if they matter.
- Passwords. A protected input is opened with its password, and the mixed file is saved without one. Use Protect PDF if it needs a password again.
- Form fields. The new file doesn't carry over the source's form setup, so don't count on fillable fields still working. Fill them in and run Flatten PDF before you mix.
Working out where a page will land
Each file's page list is settled first. The Pages box picks pages and their order, then Reverse order flips that list. So typing 5-8 and ticking Reverse order gives 8, 7, 6, 5. A page can be listed more than once, which is handy for repeating a separator sheet.
The tool then goes round the files in card order, taking each file's Take count every round. A round is as long as all the Take values added together. Say file A has 30 pages with Take 3, and file B has 10 pages with Take 1. Every round is four pages: three from A, one from B. The result has 40 pages, and B's seventh page sits at position 28, the end of round seven.
On long jobs, this tells you which preview thumbnail to check.
Uneven files and more than two inputs
When a file runs out of pages, it's simply skipped in later rounds. The other files carry on with their own Take values.
With two files, that puts the longer file's leftover pages together at the end. With three or more, it's different. If A and B have 10 pages each and C has 3, the first three rounds go A, B, C. From page 4 on, A and B keep alternating with each other, and C is finished. Nothing is padded with blank pages, so if you need a page from C in every round, list C's pages in its Pages box enough times to cover all ten rounds.
Problems you may see in the result
- Pages are different sizes. Sources scanned on different machines often mix A4 and Letter. Even them out with Resize PDF.
- Old page numbers no longer match. Numbers printed on the source pages are part of the page content and move with it. Stamp fresh ones over the new order with Page numbers.
- Text isn't searchable. Mixing doesn't read the text on a page. If the scans had no text layer before, run the result through OCR PDF.
Features
- Combines PDFs by taking pages from each file in turn: A, B, A, B and so on.
- The PDFs are processed in your browser. They are not uploaded to a server.
- The file order sets which file's pages come first in the result.
- Useful for joining front and back scans that were saved as two files.
- Free. No software to install and no account required.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a file size limit?
There is no fixed limit, because the files are processed in your browser rather than on a server.
Does it work on phones and tablets?
Yes. It works in current browsers on phones and tablets.
Are my PDFs uploaded anywhere?
No. The pages are mixed on your device, in the browser, and the files are never sent to a server.
