A multi-page document rarely gets scanned as one clean file. Phone scanning apps often save each page as a separate image, and some scanners produce one PDF per page rather than one PDF for the whole document. Either way, you end up with a pile of files that need to become a single PDF, in the right order.
Which MakeitPDF tool you need depends on what your scans came out as — images, or already-separate PDFs.
Key takeaways
- Scanned as photos/images? Use Image to PDF.
- Scanned as separate PDF files? Use Merge PDF.
- Drag thumbnails to fix the page order before combining, either way.
- Add OCR while combining if you'll need to search or copy the text later.
Table of contents
If your scans are images (JPG/PNG)
This is the most common case for phone-scanned documents. Scanning apps typically save each captured page as its own JPG or PNG.
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Open Image to PDF and upload all your scanned page images at once.
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Drag the thumbnails into the correct page order.
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Make sure "Merge all images into one PDF file" is ticked.
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Click Convert and download your single, combined PDF.
If your scans are already separate PDFs
Dedicated scanners and some scanning software save each page directly as its own single-page PDF instead of an image.
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Open Merge PDF and upload all the single-page files.
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Drag the thumbnails into order, and rotate any page that scanned sideways or upside down.
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Click Merge PDF Files and download the combined document.
Making the combined PDF searchable
A scanned page — whether it started as an image or a PDF — is just a picture of text as far as a computer is concerned. If you'll need to search the document or copy text out of it later, tick the "Make text searchable (OCR)" option in Image to PDF while combining, or run the finished PDF through the OCR PDF tool afterward.
Frequently asked questions
Can I mix images and PDFs from different scans in one file?
Combine same-type files first (all images via Image to PDF, all PDFs via Merge PDF), then use Merge PDF a second time to join the two resulting PDFs together if needed.
A page scanned upside down or sideways — can I fix that?
Yes — both tools let you rotate individual pages before combining. If you've already combined the file, use Rotate PDF to fix specific pages afterward.
How many pages can I combine at once?
There's no fixed page-count limit for typical documents. Very large batches may take a little longer to process, but the combining step itself works the same regardless of page count.
One page came out blurry or unreadable — what should I do?
Re-scan or re-photograph just that page and swap it in before combining — there's no fix for a scan that was blurry to begin with, so it's worth checking each page's clarity before you combine them.
