Common task
Merge and shrink a PDF for a board packet
Combine scanned signatures, reports, and agendas into one PDF — then make it small enough to email.
Board packets accumulate. A scanned signature page, a financial report from your accountant, the meeting agenda, and three exhibits show up as separate PDFs the day before the meeting. The PDF Merge tool combines them in the order you want; the Compress tool then knocks the combined file down to email-friendly size.
When to use this: Assembling a board packet, a grant application bundle, or any multi-document submission where the recipient wants one file, not seven.
How to do it
- In PDF Merge, drag in each PDF in the order you want them stacked. (You can also drag-reorder after they’re loaded.)
- Click Merge & download. You get one combined PDF.
- If the merged file is over ~10 MB, open the Compress a PDF tool, drop the merged file in, and pick “Medium” compression. That’s usually enough to bring a 30 MB packet down to 8 MB without scanned pages going fuzzy.
- Send the compressed PDF to your board chair.
One thing people miss
If you have a 200-page packet, don’t compress it once and call it done. Compress with Low first and see if it’s small enough; only step up to Medium or High if you have to. Each level loses a bit more text sharpness on scanned pages, and “the auditor’s notes are slightly fuzzy” is a real problem on financial submissions.