macOS 27 compared with macOS 26: We rewrote this guide on macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo): it now has 8 steps instead of 5. The macOS 26 page keeps the steps and screenshots as they were.
howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-combine-pdf-files-on-a-mac/ · Checked October 2026 · MacBook Neo · macOS 27.0.1
In this guide
Open the first PDF in Preview and choose View > Thumbnails. Choose Edit > Insert > Page from File…, pick the other PDF and click Open. Then choose File > Export… and save the combined file under a new name.
8 of 8 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below
- Device
- Mac
- Shown on
- macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)
- App
- Finder
- Real screenshots
- 8 of 8 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 1 official, linked below
Step by step
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Open the first PDF in Preview
Double-click the file. If it opens in another app, right-click it and choose Open With, Preview.
The window title shows the file name and the page count, here Sample text.pdf and Page 1 of 2.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Show the page thumbnails
Choose View > Thumbnails. A sidebar with small pages appears.
On our MacBook Neo, Thumbnails had a tick in the View menu, with the shortcut ⌥⌘2.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Insert the other PDF
Choose Edit > Insert > Page from File…, select the second PDF and click Open.
Apple says you can also drag a PDF from Finder into the thumbnail sidebar.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Check the added pages
The new pages appear as extra thumbnails in the sidebar.
On our MacBook Neo, adding the one-page Second sample.pdf (13 KB) changed the title bar to Page 3 of 3 — Edited.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Reorder or remove pages
Drag thumbnails up and down to change the order. Select a page and press Delete to remove it.
After we deleted page 2, the title bar read Page 2 of 2 — Edited.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Save the result
Choose File > Export…, type a new name in Export As, leave Format on PDF and click Save.
On our MacBook Neo the dialog suggested Sample text, with Format PDF and Quartz Filter None.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Or combine whole files in Finder
Select the PDFs in Finder, Control-click them and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF.
On our MacBook Neo the menu header read New Folder with Selection (2 Items) with both files selected.
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size Open the new PDF
Finder makes a new PDF. On our MacBook Neo it opened in Preview as Sample text 2.pdf and held all 3 pages.
What we saw on our device
- Show the page thumbnails: On our MacBook Neo, Thumbnails had a tick in the View menu, with the shortcut ⌥⌘2.
- Check the added pages: On our MacBook Neo, adding the one-page Second sample.pdf (13 KB) changed the title bar to Page 3 of 3 — Edited.
- Save the result: On our MacBook Neo the dialog suggested Sample text, with Format PDF and Quartz Filter None.
- Or combine whole files in Finder: On our MacBook Neo the menu header read New Folder with Selection (2 Items) with both files selected.
- Open the new PDF: On our MacBook Neo it opened in Preview as Sample text 2.pdf and held all 3 pages.
If you do not see this option
- No Thumbnails in the View menu Check that Preview is the active app: its name shows next to the Apple menu at the top left. Thumbnails sits in the second group of the View menu, below Hide Sidebar. Source: Combine PDFs in Preview on Mac
- The PDF opens in another app In Finder, right-click the file and choose Open With, then Preview.
- No Create PDF in Quick Actions Select the PDF files first. With both selected, our menu showed New Folder with Selection (2 Items) at the top and Create PDF under Quick Actions.
If this does not work
- The new page landed in the wrong place Drag its thumbnail to where you want it. On our MacBook Neo the inserted file was added after page 2, the page we were viewing.
- The title bar says Edited Preview has changed the open file. Choose File > Export… and save the combined file under a new name.
- Create PDF put the files in the wrong order Open the new file in Preview, drag the thumbnails into order, then choose File > Export….
About this guide
Preview, the app that opens PDFs on every Mac, can merge documents, reorder pages and delete pages. No extra software is needed.
Screenshots: MacBook Neo, macOS 27.0.1, dark mode.
Good to know
The quick way for whole files: select several PDFs in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions, Create PDF.
Combined file too big to email? How to make a PDF smaller on a Mac with Preview.
Need to sign it too? How to sign a PDF on a Mac.
In short: Preview > View > Thumbnails > Edit > Insert > Page from File… > Open > File > Export… > Save
Links checked in October 2026. Menus and features can change after software updates. These steps match the version named at the top.
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