Use Preview to combine PDFs on your Mac

Learn how to combine PDFs and reorder, rotate, and delete pages.

Combine two PDFs

  1. Open a PDF in Preview.

  2. Choose View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.

  3. To indicate where to insert the other document, select a page thumbnail.

  4. Choose Edit > Insert > Page from File.*

  5. From the file dialog, select the PDF that you want to add, then click Open.

  6. To save, choose File > Export as PDF.

* If this option is dimmed, make sure that the file you have open is a PDF. Some encrypted PDF documents can't be merged. To check the permissions of a PDF, choose Tools > Show Inspector, then click the lockNo alt supplied for Image.

Combine part of a PDF with another PDF

  1. Open the PDFs that you want to combine in Preview.

  2. In each document, choose View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.

  3. Press and hold the Command key ⌘, select the page thumbnails that you want to add to the other document, then release the key.

  4. Drag the selected thumbnails into the sidebar of the other PDF, then release where you want them to appear.

  5. To save, choose File > Export as PDF.

Rotate, delete, and reorder pages

  1. Open a PDF in Preview.

  2. Choose View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.

    • Rotate a page: Select a page thumbnail, then choose Tools > Rotate Left or Rotate Right.

    • Delete a page: Select a page thumbnail, then choose Edit > Delete.

    • Reorder pages: Drag a page thumbnail to a new location in the sidebar.

A Mac screen displays a PDF that is being dragged to a new location on the sidebar.

Learn more

Learn how to mark up PDFs and edit photos in Preview.

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