Almost every document problem in a revision folder is an organisation problem. The material is right; it is in the wrong number of files, in the wrong order, with pages in it that nobody needs.
These six tools cover every combination of that. None of them changes what is on a page - they change which pages exist and where they sit, which is why nothing here loses quality.
Which one do you need?
You have too many files
Merge PDF joins documents end to end in the order you set. Turn on bookmarks and a merged revision pack gains a navigable outline instead of becoming one long scroll.
You have one file that should be several
Split PDF divides a document into parts that together account for every page. Extract Pages does the opposite job: it pulls out a selection and discards the rest. If you want pages 3, 7 and 12 in a new file, that is extraction, not splitting.
The file has pages that should not be there
Delete Pages removes blanks, cover sheets and duplicated inserts. It is extraction phrased the other way round, so use whichever produces the shorter list of page numbers.
The pages are all present but out of order
Organize PDF applies a page sequence you write. Rotate PDF fixes orientation and writes the correction into the file, unlike the rotate button in a reader, which forgets it the moment you close the tab.
At a glance
| Tool | Input | Output | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merge PDF | Several PDFs | One PDF | Related documents belong together |
| Split PDF | One PDF | Several PDFs | Every page should end up somewhere |
| Extract Pages | One PDF | One PDF or a ZIP | Only a selection matters |
| Delete Pages | One PDF | One PDF | Most pages stay, a few go |
| Organize PDF | One PDF | One PDF | The order is wrong |
| Rotate PDF | One PDF | One PDF | A page faces the wrong way |
Before you keep the result
- Open the result before you delete the original. Every time.
- Page numbers here count the file's pages from 1, whatever numbers are printed on them.
- A merged file is roughly the sum of its sources; compress afterwards only if size is a problem.
- None of these tools loses image or text quality, so there is no reason to avoid running one twice.
Questions and answers
Which tool do I need to pull three pages out of a paper?
Extract Pages. Splitting divides the whole document into parts; extraction takes a selection and leaves the rest behind.
Does merging or splitting reduce quality?
No. Pages are copied object for object with nothing re-rendered. The result is visually identical to its source.
Can I organise a password-protected PDF?
Yes, if you supply the password that opens it. Without it the file cannot be read at all, by any tool.