◆ Acrobat · combine

Single Continuous Exhibit Packet

Trial starts [day=Monday] and [attorney=Lin] asked me to combine [count=17] exhibits and [chains=2] correspondence cha…

1ready prompt
1real task
3roles

When to use it

real situations

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one
CDecide — “help me choose”Trial starts [day=Monday] and [attorney=Lin] asked me to combine [count=17] exhibits and…+
Trial starts [day=Monday] and [attorney=Lin] asked me to combine [count=17] exhibits and [chains=2] correspondence chains into one continuous, paginated packet for counsel to bring. Some items are scanned, some are email exports. I can't tell which exhibits need Bates numbers or if any metadata must be preserved. Advise the priority order for assembling, whether to preserve searchable OCR or to create flattened images for chain-of-custody, and give me a checklist of five non-negotiable steps before I hand it to [attorney=Lin].
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. 1

    Open Adobe Acrobat.

  2. 2

    Go to File > Combine Files.

  3. 3

    Click Add Files and select the PDF files you want to merge.

  4. 4

    Arrange the files in your desired order by dragging and dropping them within the list.

  5. 5

    Click Combine to merge the selected files into a single PDF document.

  6. 6

    Save the new combined PDF to your preferred location.

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.
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.
APIA way for different software to talk to each other automatically.ExampleAn online store uses an API to automatically send shipping details to a delivery service.

The real tasks

the one, listed here
Trial is three days away and the attorney wants a single, continuous exhibit and correspondence packet.

Who does this

3 roles
Office AdministratorLegal AssistantAcademic Coordinator

FAQ

about this task
  • When combining files, make sure 'Preserve Bookmarks' is checked.
  • This will create a bookmark for each original file, making your new PDF simple to browse.
  • You can then click on these bookmarks to quickly jump to different sections.

This problem can happen if the original files have hidden issues or old structures. Acrobat might struggle to read them correctly, leading to a repeated first file or the process stopping. To fix this, try saving each original document again using 'Save As' to refresh its internal structure. Adding files one by one can also help Acrobat process them better.

In Adobe Acrobat, 'combining files' and 'merging files' mean the same thing. Both terms refer to putting several separate documents into one single PDF file. The goal is always to create one continuous document from many sources.

No, if your original documents already have their own page numbers, the combined PDF will show these numbers restarting with each new document. To get continuous page numbers across the entire combined PDF, you will need to add new page numbers to the final merged document after it is created. This feature is available in Acrobat's editing tools.

Yes, you can combine PDFs using the Adobe PDF Services API. This allows developers to automate the process through code. You can send a request to the API with your files, and it will return a single combined PDF. The API supports combining up to 20 files and even lets you specify page ranges from each source document.

Sources

where this comes from
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