How do I make sure my combined PDF is easy to navigate?

When combining files, make sure 'Preserve Bookmarks' is turned on. This feature automatically creates bookmarks for each original file you added. These bookmarks act like a table of contents, allowing you to quickly jump to different sections of your new PDF packet.

If my combined PDF only shows the first file repeated, what should I do?

This is a known issue where Combine Files might not work correctly. First, try saving each of your original source files again using 'Save As' to refresh their structure. If that doesn't work, try adding your files to the combine tool one by one. As a last resort, go to 'Help' in Acrobat and select 'Repair Installation'.

What is the difference between combining files and compressing a PDF?

Feature Purpose Effect on Size. Combine Files Puts multiple documents (PDFs, Word, Excel, etc.) into one single PDF. Rarely makes the file smaller; often makes it larger. Compress PDF Reduces the file size of a PDF by lowering image quality or removing extra data. Always aims to make the file smaller.

Prepare Meeting Packet in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Combine the agenda, slides from Mark, and the budget spreadsheet into one packet PDF for the…+

Combine the agenda, slides from Mark, and the budget spreadsheet into one packet PDF for the [meeting=Tuesday meeting] and share the PDF link with all attendees by end of day [deadline=Monday].

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”Prepare the meeting packet for [meeting=Tuesday] by combining agenda, [slides=Mark's slides],…+

Prepare the meeting packet for [meeting=Tuesday] by combining agenda, [slides=Mark's slides], and the [spreadsheet=budget spreadsheet] into one PDF with a cover page and bookmarks for each document, check that the budget table is readable, and send the link to attendees with a note highlighting the premeeting prep items.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open Adobe Acrobat.
2
Go to File > Combine Files.
3
Click Add Files and select the PDF files you want to merge.
4
Arrange the files in your desired order by dragging and dropping them within the list.
5
Click Combine to merge the selected files into a single PDF document.
6
Save the new combined PDF to your preferred location.

In the appWith the API

You can preview and reorder files before combining to ensure the final PDF is in the correct sequence.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

Combine FilesAn Acrobat feature that puts multiple documents or images into a single PDF.ExampleYou use this Acrobat feature to gather several reports and images into one PDF.

ThumbnailA small picture that shows what a page or file looks like.ExampleClicking on the thumbnail of page 5 quickly displays the full content of that page.

BookmarkA link in a PDF that helps you jump to a specific part of the document.ExampleClicking the 'Exhibit A' bookmark takes you directly to the relevant court document.

Who does this

3 roles

Office AdministratorLegal AssistantAcademic Coordinator

FAQ

about this task

When combining files, make sure 'Preserve Bookmarks' is turned on.
This feature automatically creates bookmarks for each original file you added.
These bookmarks act like a table of contents, allowing you to quickly jump to different sections of your new PDF packet.

The 'Combine PDF' operation in the Adobe PDF Services API is a way for computer programs to automatically merge multiple PDF files into one. It allows you to combine up to 20 files and even specify which pages from each file to include.

This is a known issue where Combine Files might not work correctly.
First, try saving each of your original source files again using 'Save As' to refresh their structure.
If that doesn't work, try adding your files to the combine tool one by one.
As a last resort, go to 'Help' in Acrobat and select 'Repair Installation'.

The order of files matters because Acrobat merges them from top to bottom based on how you arrange them. If you want your meeting packet to flow logically, you need to drag the file thumbnails into the correct sequence before clicking 'Combine'.

Feature	Purpose	Effect on Size
Combine Files	Puts multiple documents (PDFs, Word, Excel, etc.) into one single PDF.	Rarely makes the file smaller; often makes it larger.
Compress PDF	Reduces the file size of a PDF by lowering image quality or removing extra data.	Always aims to make the file smaller.

Prepare Meeting Packet

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

Video

Other guides

When it fails