Source: https://mactoolbox.app/how-to-merge-pdfs-on-mac

# How to merge PDFs on Mac

By Nikhil Barik · Published November 3, 2026

## Quick answer

In Preview, open one PDF, show thumbnails and drag the other PDF into the sidebar. For several files, or a mix of PDFs and images in a set order, drop them into Merge PDFs in Toolbox and click Merge.

## The built-in way: Preview

1. Open the first PDF in Preview.
2. Choose View > Thumbnails to show the sidebar.
3. Drag the second PDF file from Finder into the sidebar where you want its pages.
4. Drag thumbnails up or down to reorder pages.
5. Choose File > Export as PDF to save the combined file.

## The Toolbox way: Merge PDFs

Merge PDFs joins several PDFs into one document in the order you set. You can mix in images too; each image becomes a page at its original size. Turn on bookmarks to get a bookmark for each file in the merged PDF.

1. Open Merge PDFs and drop your PDFs and images.
2. Drag the list into the order you want.
3. Turn on Add a bookmark for each file if you want them.
4. Click Merge.

## Tips and troubleshooting

- Merging happens on your Mac and nothing is uploaded, so confidential files stay on your computer.
- After merging, remove unwanted pages with Delete Pages or reorder them with Organize PDF.
- If the result is too big to email, run it through Compress PDF.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I combine PDF files on a Mac?**

Drag one PDF into another's thumbnail sidebar in Preview, or drop the PDFs into Merge PDFs, drag them into order and click Merge.

**Can I merge images and PDFs together?**

Yes. In Merge PDFs, images become a page each at their original size.

**Is it safe to merge confidential PDFs?**

Merging happens on your Mac and nothing is uploaded.

**Can I put bookmarks in the merged file?**

Yes. Turn on Add a bookmark for each file before you click Merge.

## Tools mentioned

- [**Merge PDFs**: Combine several PDFs and images into one document.](https://mactoolbox.app/merge-pdf-mac)
- [**Organize PDF**: Reorder, rotate and remove pages in a PDF.](https://mactoolbox.app/reorder-pdf-pages-mac)
- [**Compress PDF**: Make PDFs smaller by recompressing their images.](https://mactoolbox.app/compress-pdf-mac)
- [**Images to PDF**: Turn photos and scans into a single PDF document.](https://mactoolbox.app/jpg-to-pdf-mac)

## Keep reading

- [Merge PDFs](https://mactoolbox.app/merge-pdf-mac)
- [Docs](https://mactoolbox.app/pdf-tools-mac)
- [All guides](https://mactoolbox.app/guides)