How to Merge, Split and Compress PDF Files
Most PDF jobs are small: put two files together, send only page 3, or make a scan small enough to email. You don’t need paid software for any of them. This guide walks through each task and explains why some PDFs shrink a lot and others barely change.
Merge several PDFs into one
Open Merge PDF, drop in your files, and drag them into the order you want. The pages are copied as they are — text stays selectable and links keep working — so merging never lowers quality.
Tip: name the output after its purpose (“2026-tax-documents.pdf”) rather than leaving “merged.pdf”; the person receiving it will thank you.
Reorder, rotate or delete pages
A scanned document often has a sideways page or a blank back side. Organize PDF shows a thumbnail of every page: drag to reorder, rotate the ones that are wrong, and remove the blanks, then save a new file.
Split a PDF or extract pages
To send only part of a document, use Split PDF. You can:
- Extract a range such as
3-5into a new file. - Split every page into its own PDF (downloaded together as a ZIP).
- Split into fixed chunks, for example every 10 pages, when a portal limits the page count.
Compress a PDF that is too big to email
Most email services cap attachments at 20–25 MB, and many upload forms at 2–10 MB. Whether a PDF can shrink depends on what is inside it:
- Scanned documents and photo-heavy PDFs are mostly images. Compress PDF can re-encode those images at a lower resolution and quality, often cutting the size by 50–90%.
- Text-only PDFs exported from Word or Google Docs are already small and efficient. They may shrink only slightly, and that is normal.
For scans, 150 DPI is readable on screen and for most printing; 300 DPI is only needed for fine print or archiving. Check the result before sending — small print should still be sharp when zoomed in.
Turn phone photos into a PDF
No scanner? Photograph each page in good, even light, holding the phone parallel to the paper. Then use JPG to PDF to combine the photos into one document, one image per page, in the order you choose. Crop the edges first if the table shows around the paper.
Privacy: why in-browser matters
PDFs are often bank statements, IDs, contracts and medical letters. Many online PDF sites upload your file to their servers to process it. The devpack PDF tools run entirely in your browser, so the document never leaves your computer — you can even disconnect from the internet once the page has loaded.
