Merging PDF files and reordering pages

Contract annexes, scanned invoices or reports that arrive one by one often need to be gathered into a single file. Paginel does this in the browser; the files are not uploaded to any server.

Combining files

1. Open Paginel. Choose the Combine tool on the home page or the File › Combine files… command. The same command is also in the Tools menu.
2. Select the PDFs to combine with Add files. A document that is already open is added to the list with Add an open document….
3. Set the order with the Move up and Move down buttons; a file added by mistake is taken out with Remove.
4. Enter a name in the New file name field and press the button that shows the number of files (e.g. Combine 3 files).

The result opens in a new tab. The original files are not changed; the combined document stays only in this tab until it is saved.

Arranging pages

The page order of a combined document often needs another pass. When Pages is chosen among the work modes, all pages are shown as thumbnails:

• Pages are reordered by dragging. Shift selects a range, Ctrl/⌘ selects several pages.
• Rotate left and Rotate right straighten scanned pages that lie on their side.
• Delete removes unwanted pages, Duplicate creates a copy of the selected page.
• Blank page and Insert from file put new pages in between. If another PDF is dropped onto this view, its pages are added to the document.
• Extract saves the selected pages to a separate file.

The insert, extract, rotate and delete commands are also in the Document menu. Not all pages of a document can be deleted; at least one page must remain.

Saving

When you are done, use Save (Ctrl/⌘ S) or Save as… (Ctrl/⌘ ⇧ S). In Chrome, Edge and Opera, the file is written directly to the chosen location; in Safari and Firefox, the saved file is provided as a download.

The reverse: splitting a document

To break a large document into parts, use Document › Split document…. A document can be split every N pages, by ranges, or so that each page becomes a separate file; the results are saved to a folder or to a ZIP file.

Paginel opens right away in the browser.