# Merge, split, or reorganize a PDF

These three tools are easy to confuse because all of them start with a PDF and end with a PDF. They do different jobs. Pick from the job, not from the icon.

## Merge when you are joining files

Merge needs at least two PDFs. They are joined in the order you add them. There is no drag-to-reorder step on that page. If the order is wrong, remove them and add them again in the right order, or reorganize a single file first.

The download is merged.pdf. Pages are copied, so real text stays selectable. That is the opposite of Compress PDF, which paints pages and destroys the text layer.

Do not expect bookmarks, attachments, or the document-level form catalog to be rebuilt. Page content is what is copied. A password-protected file fails to open. Nothing on this page removes a password.

## Split when you want a range or every page

Split works on one PDF. From and To are inclusive. If you type them backwards, they are swapped. The download for a range is one file named pages-N-M.pdf.

Split All saves every page as its own file, page-1.pdf, page-2.pdf, and so on. The browser may ask permission or block a burst of downloads. If a page is missing, check the download permission before assuming the tool skipped it.

There is no button that means delete the middle page and keep the rest as one file. That job is [Organize PDF](https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/organize-pdf.html). Split All plus a manual re-merge is the long way around.

## Organize when the pages are already in one file

Organize lets you drag pages into a new order, rotate by 90 degrees, or delete pages, then download. The preview rotation is added to any rotation already stored in the file. Text stays text. It is not an editor for the words or the images on the page.

The limit is 60 pages. Password-protected PDFs are refused. Use [Organize PDF](https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/organize-pdf.html) before [Merge PDF](https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/merge-pdf.html) if one of the source files has a cover page in the wrong place. Use [Split PDF](https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/split-pdf.html) if you only need pages 4 through 6 as their own PDF.

## What none of them will do

None of them recompresses photos. None of them OCRs a scan. None of them typesets a Word file. If the goal is a smaller scan, use Compress PDF and accept the loss of selectable text. If the goal is the words, use PDF to Word on the file before any compression.

A practical sequence for a messy packet: Organize the scan so the pages are in order and the upside-down page is rotated, Split off the pages you do not need, then Merge that result with the digital cover letter. Do the Merge last. If you compress at any point before PDF to Word, the words are already gone.

Split All on a 40-page file means 40 separate downloads named page-1.pdf through page-40.pdf. Browsers often block that burst after the first few. A range extraction is one file, pages-N-M.pdf, and is the better choice when you want to keep a run of pages together. From and To are inclusive, and a reversed pair is swapped for you.

## Questions

### Can I reorder files inside Merge?

No. Add them in the order you want, or fix a single file with Organize first.

### How do I delete one page and keep the rest?

Use Organize. Split All only breaks the file into one PDF per page.

### Will the text still be selectable?

Yes, on these three tools. They copy pages. Compress PDF is the one that turns pages into pictures.

Tool: https://pctoolsonline.com/tools/merge-pdf.html