How do I make sure my Map Booklet has the maps in the correct order?

After you add all your map files in the 'Combine files' window, you will see small pictures of each file. Drag these small pictures (thumbnails) up or down to change their order. The files will combine from the top of the list to the bottom, so place them exactly how you want them in your booklet.

Create Map Booklet in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Create a printable map booklet PDF showing proposed parks and transit routes at neighborhood…+

Create a printable map booklet PDF showing proposed parks and transit routes at neighborhood scale, arrange pages for double-sided printing, and produce a print-ready contact sheet for the community handout table.

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

BImprove — “do it better”Before printing the map booklet for residents, make it usable at the meeting and at home —…+

Before printing the map booklet for residents, make it usable at the meeting and at home — produce a stitched PDF with clear 1:2,000 scale maps, large legend and north arrow on each spread, page breaks arranged for double-sided print, and a front-page one-line summary of proposed routes and park names.

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.

ThumbnailsSmall preview pictures of pages or files that you can drag to change their order.ExampleYou drag the thumbnails of pages 3 and 4 to swap their positions in the document.

BookmarksLinks in a PDF that let you jump to different sections, like a table of contents.ExampleThe document's bookmarks allowed us to quickly navigate between different sections of the report.

Who does this

3 roles

Office AdministratorLegal AssistantAcademic Coordinator

FAQ

about this task

After you add all your map files in the 'Combine files' window, you will see small pictures of each file.
Drag these small pictures (thumbnails) up or down to change their order.
The files will combine from the top of the list to the bottom, so place them exactly how you want them in your booklet.

Bookmarks in a combined PDF are like a digital table of contents. When you combine files, if you keep 'Preserve Bookmarks' on, Acrobat creates a bookmark for each original file. For your Map Booklet, this means you will have a list on the side of the PDF where you can click to instantly jump to specific maps. This makes your booklet very easy to navigate, especially if it has many maps.

No, if your original map files already have page numbers, they will likely restart with each new file in your combined Map Booklet. For example, if Map 1 goes from page 1-5 and Map 2 goes from page 1-7, your combined PDF will show page 1-5, then page 1-7. To have continuous page numbers throughout the entire booklet, you will need to add new, continuous page numbers to the combined PDF after you create it.

Combining files can sometimes cause issues if the original files have hidden problems or old structures. Acrobat might struggle to process them, leading to freezes or only showing the first file repeated. This is not a common problem, but it can happen. To prevent this, it's a good idea to re-save each source file using 'Save As' to refresh its internal structure. You can also try adding files one by one, or use the 'Repair Installation' option in Acrobat's Help menu.

Yes, combining files rarely makes the PDF smaller; it often makes it larger because it's putting many files together. After you have created your combined Map Booklet, you can then use Acrobat's 'Compress PDF' feature to reduce its file size. This is a separate step you do after the combining is complete. Compressing the PDF can make it easier to share, especially if your maps are high-quality images.

Create Map Booklet

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