Put my PDFs into one file

When you need this

Almost every portal that says "upload your documents" means one file. A job application wants the certificate, the transcript and the Ghana Card together. A visa form wants the bank statements as a single attachment. A school wants the birth certificate and the immunisation card in one go. You have them as separate PDFs, and the upload box only accepts one.

How to use it

1. Add every PDF you want in the finished file. You can pick several at once.
2. Put them in the order you want them read. The order on this page is the order of the pages in the file you get.
3. Save the joined file, then check the page count before you upload it.

What it does and does not do

• The text stays text. The finished PDF can still be searched and copied from, and it is not turned into pictures of pages.
• Pages keep their own size. If you join an A4 letter to a page that was made from a photograph, each keeps its shape rather than being stretched to match.
• It will not open a locked PDF. A document that asks for a password has to be opened first with take the password off my PDF.
• The real limit is your phone's memory, not a rule here. Joining ten small documents is nothing; joining several long scanned ones on an old phone can stall. If it does, join them in two rounds.

If something goes wrong

• The joined file is too big for the portal. Run it through make my PDF smaller. Scanned pages are almost always what makes a PDF heavy.
• You only wanted some of the pages. Use split, delete or reorder PDF pages first, then join what is left.
• One of the files will not load. It is usually locked, or it is not really a PDF — a file renamed from .docx to .pdf is still a Word file. Check by opening it on its own first.
• Some pages are sideways. Fix them with turn my PDF pages the right way up before or after joining.