In my previous Part 9 of this blog series (an introduction to combining files in Acrobat), we explored the differences between binders and portfolios. This concluding post will take you through the steps for combining files to create a binder or portfolio, as required.
How to combine files in Acrobat
Click File>Create>Combine Files into a Single PDF.
OR
Click Tools>Combine Files
.
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Use one of the three following methods to add files:
Note: When adding files, make sure that you do not add the same file twice. Acrobat will not flag duplicate files in a binder or portfolio.
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Drag and drop the required files. This option can be used to add files of any format.
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Add Files – This option can be used to add files of any format. Click the Add Files button. Browse to the required folder, select the files to be added, and click Open.
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Add Open Files – This option can be used when you are combining only PDF files. Note: The Add Open Files button will be activated (as shown in the image below) only if you have at least one file open. Notice that in the previous screenshot, this button was disabled as no files were open at the time. Click Add Open Files to display the Open PDF files dialog box, which lists all open files. Click the Add Files button to add all the listed files. If you don’t want all open files to be added, make sure to close the unwanted files prior to using this feature.
Acrobat also provides other options to add files, such as adding a folder and all its contents, a scanned image, a web page etc., as shown below.
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Once you have added the files, verify that you have the correct files. At this point, you can add more files (
) or remove them (
). You can also drag and drop to reorder files, or press <Delete> to remove any content.
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You can click the hamburger menu to view the list of files and their details, as shown below.
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You can opt to create either a portfolio PDF or a binder. Click
to open the Options dialog box. If you are creating a portfolio, select the Save as PDF Portfolio checkbox (as shown on the left). If this checkbox is not selected (as shown on the right), Acrobat will create a binder.
When creating a portfolio, you have the option to convert files of other formats to PDF by selecting the Convert all files to PDF when creating a portfolio checkbox shown below.
Other options include the ability to add bookmarks and enable accessibility and reflow.
When the Always add bookmarks to Adobe PDF checkbox is selected, if the files do not have any headings that could be converted as bookmarks, Acrobat creates a bookmark for each file with the filename as the bookmark text.
Accessibility
Accessible PDFs allow text to be accessible using methods like text recognition and alternative text for images. Accessible PDFs can include bookmarks, a table of contents, and descriptive hyperlinks for easy navigation.
Reflow
A PDF set to reflow converts the text temporarily into a single column, which is the width of the document pane. The Reflow mode is more responsive and allows your content to zoom as required for screen sizes of various mobile devices. This can make it easier to read text without having to scroll horizontally.
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Once the required options are selected, you can click OK in the Options dialog box. When you are ready, click Combine to combine the files into a single PDF. Depending on your setup, either a binder or a portfolio is created, which you can rename.
Notes to remember:
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When including files that are password-protected, remember to use the Portfolio option to be able to retain the security settings in the files.
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In a binder, you can drag and drop or delete pages easily to quickly reorganize the content. You can also link between content in different pages within a binder.
Discover more Acrobat features by checking out other blogs in this series.
Part 1 – Adobe PDF Basics
Part 2 – Extracting Pages
Part 3 – PDF Security
Part 4 – Managing Security Policies
Part 5 – Title Bar Display
Part 6 – Creating Forms
Part 7 – Sharing and Tracking Electronic Forms
Part 8 – Five Useful Features
Part 9 – Combining Files (An Introduction)
Part 10 – Steps for Combining Files
If there is an Acrobat feature that you would like to learn about, email us at tech.writing@ASCENTed.com. We hope the topics that were covered in this series improve your Adobe experience!
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