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To merge PDFs, add the files to a PDF editor, arrange the pages in the order you want, and save the combined document. To split a PDF, choose where it should be divided—by page, page count, file size, or bookmarks, depending on the tool—and save the resulting files. On a Mac, Preview can merge full documents or selected pages; Acrobat offers desktop and web options for merging and splitting.
Choose a method that fits your task
| Option | Best for | Page control | Where results are saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobat desktop | Merging files or splitting by a rule | Preview and rearrange pages when merging; split by page count, file size, or top-level bookmarks | Choose an output folder for split files; save the merged document |
| Preview on Mac | Merging complete PDFs or selected pages | Drag thumbnails to insert and reorder pages | Edits are saved automatically in Preview |
| Acrobat on the web | Splitting a PDF by selected page boundaries | Select the boundaries between pages | Split files are saved to Adobe cloud storage |
The documented workflows do not establish comparative pricing, processing speed, file-retention terms, or a privacy ranking. For an online workflow, consider that the PDF is uploaded and the resulting split files are stored in Adobe cloud storage.
How to merge PDFs in Acrobat desktop
- Open Acrobat and choose Combine Files.
- Add the PDFs and any other supported file types you want included.
- Review the thumbnail preview. Drag items to change their order, and remove pages or files you do not want.
- Select Combine, then save the resulting PDF.
Check the preview before combining: the order shown there determines the reading order in the finished document. Adobe’s instructions are at Adobe Acrobat: Merge files into one PDF.
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How to merge PDFs or selected pages in Preview on Mac
- Open the PDFs in Preview.
- Choose View > Thumbnails to show page thumbnails in the sidebar.
- Drag a PDF’s thumbnail—or selected page thumbnails—into the destination PDF’s sidebar.
- Drag thumbnails within the sidebar to arrange the pages, then review the result.
Preview can combine entire PDFs or just selected pages. Apple warns that “Changes you make to a Preview document are saved automatically.” If you need to preserve the original PDFs unchanged, duplicate them before editing. See Apple Support: Combine PDFs in Preview on Mac.
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How to split a PDF in Acrobat desktop
Acrobat desktop supports splitting by page count, file size, or top-level bookmarks. The choice depends on how you want to divide the document: use a page-count rule for evenly sized sections, a file-size rule when output size matters, or bookmarks when the document is organized into top-level sections.
- Open the PDF in Acrobat and use its split-document workflow.
- Select the split rule: number of pages, file size, or top-level bookmarks.
- Choose the output folder and file labels, then run the split.
- Open the resulting files and check that the intended pages or sections went into each one.
Adobe documents the available rules and output settings in its Acrobat split-PDF tutorial.
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How to split a PDF in Acrobat on the web
- Upload the PDF to Acrobat on the web.
- Select the page boundaries where the document should be divided.
- Continue to create the split files.
- Save the results from Adobe cloud storage.
This workflow is useful when you want to choose specific division points rather than apply a repeated page-count rule. Adobe’s instructions are at Adobe Acrobat online: Split a PDF.
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Choose split boundaries for a specific result
- To extract a middle section: Identify the pages that should begin and end the section, then use a tool that lets you specify page boundaries or page ranges. Acrobat’s web instructions describe selecting boundaries; Adobe’s PDF Services API also documents splitting by page ranges.
- To make similarly sized page groups: Use the desktop page-count option and check the output files.
- To separate a document by its main sections: Use top-level bookmarks in Acrobat desktop, if the PDF has the bookmarks you need.
- To meet a file-size limit: Use Acrobat desktop’s file-size split rule, then confirm the generated files meet your intended limit.
Adobe’s developer documentation describes split criteria including number of files, pages per file, and page ranges: PDF Services API: Split PDF.
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Check the finished files
- For a merged PDF, verify page order and confirm no unwanted pages were included.
- For a split PDF, open each output and check its first and last pages, especially when extracting a middle section.
- When using Preview, work on duplicates if the original PDFs must remain unchanged, because Preview saves edits automatically.
- When using Acrobat on the web, remember that the documented workflow uploads the PDF and saves the split results to Adobe cloud storage.
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