"What is PDF merging?"

By Leah Lothringer
PDF Store Support Team
Issue 9 for 2006

A question frequently encountered by the PDF Store Support Team relates to how a user can 'merge' their PDF document. The term 'merge' can mean a number of things when it comes to PDF technology; simply put, it can mean either to concatenate documents together or combine data with an existing document template. In this issue of PDF Perspectives, I will be focusing on concatenating documents into one file.

PDF truly comes into its own when used to amalgamate different documents of different formats into one file.

One of the new features in Adobe Acrobat Standard is the ability to assemble a variety of documents so that they can be merged into one PDF file. However, should you wish to have greater control over how your documents are merged, you should consider a plug-in designed specifically for merging. ARTS PDF Aerialist can merge an unlimited number of files, as well as merge entire folders of documents.You don't have to do the operation manually each time, because author control files handle complex merging tasks for you.

For users who don't own the full version of Acrobat, there are standalone merging products available. Bluebeam Pushbutton Plus includes Bluebeam Stapler, a universal file converter and binder. List the various files you wish to merge (of almost any format), order appropriately and Bluebeam Stapler will convert them to a single PDF document.

A basic solution for simple document merging is BCL AllPDF Converter.

In our next issue, I'll be looking at merging data with existing document templates. Until then, please feel free to browse PDF Store's range of Split & Merge products.