How to Merge PDF Files on iPhone and Android

More and more paperwork starts and ends on a phone: a scanned form in the Files app, a receipt photo in your camera roll and a PDF attachment in your email. When a portal or a colleague wants a single document, you need to combine them without waiting to get to a computer.

PDF Utility's Merge PDF tool works in Safari, Chrome and other mobile browsers. There is nothing to install and no account to create, and the files are combined on your phone rather than uploaded.

Mobile browsers can open files from the same places your other apps use. It helps to know where your documents are before you begin.

• iPhone and iPad: PDFs saved from Mail, Safari or scanning apps usually live in the Files app, under On My iPhone or iCloud Drive. Photos are in your photo library.
• Android: downloads are usually in the Downloads folder of the Files by Google app or your manufacturer's file manager. Photos are in Gallery or Google Photos.
• Email attachments: save them to Files (iPhone) or Downloads (Android) first so the browser can select them.

1. Open Safari and go to PDF Utility's Merge PDF page.
2. Tap the file selector, then choose Browse to pick PDFs from Files, or Photo Library to add images.
3. Select all the files you want to combine. You can add more afterwards.
4. Drag the thumbnails into the correct order.
5. Tap Merge, then download the result. Safari saves it to the Downloads folder in Files by default.
6. Open the merged PDF from Files to check it, then share it from the Share button.

1. Open Chrome and go to PDF Utility's Merge PDF page.
2. Tap the file selector and choose your PDFs and images from Files, Downloads or Gallery.
3. Arrange the files into the order you want by dragging them.
4. Tap Merge and download the combined PDF.
5. Open it from your Downloads to check the pages, then share it with any app.

On iPhone, the Files app can combine files: select several files, tap the More button and choose Create PDF. It is handy, but you cannot preview and reorder pages first, and ordering is based on how the files are sorted. Android does not include a general PDF merge feature, so most people rely on an app or a web tool.

A browser tool gives you thumbnails, drag-and-drop ordering and support for mixing PDFs with JPG, PNG and WebP photos in one place.

• Crop document photos before merging so each page shows only the paper, not the table underneath.
• If a page is sideways, fix it afterwards with Rotate PDF, which also works on mobile.
• Merged photos can be large. Run the result through Compress PDF before emailing it.
• Rename the merged file in Files or your file manager so it is easy to find later.