# PDF tools

> Combine PDFs, split a PDF by page range, turn images into multi-page PDFs, and reorder or delete pages. All local, with page sizes and optional passwords.

Source: https://picmal.app/docs/pdf-tools

Picmal's sidebar has a **PDF** section with four tools: **Combine PDFs** merges documents into one, **Split PDF** breaks one document into several, **Images to PDF** turns a set of images into a multi-page PDF, and **Organize Pages** reorders and deletes pages inside a single PDF. All four run entirely on your Mac.

## Combine PDFs

1. Select **Combine PDFs** in the sidebar
2. Drop two or more PDFs into the window
3. Drag rows to set the page order, the list order is the document order
4. Click **Combine**

![Combine PDFs in Picmal: two chapters of NASA's Earth at Night queued, and a page from the single PDF it combined them into](/images/docs/combine_pdf.png)

The merged file is saved next to the first PDF as `<name> (combined).pdf`. If that name is taken, Picmal counts up instead of overwriting, `<name> (combined) 2.pdf`, and so on.

- Drag rows to reorder; the number on each row is its position in the merged document.
- Select rows and press Delete to remove them, or right-click for **Remove** / **Show in Finder**.
- Locked PDFs show an orange lock badge and block the merge. Unlock them in Preview first, then re-add.
- If your Convert or Compress list has only PDFs when you switch to Combine PDFs, they carry over automatically.

## Split PDF

1. Select **Split PDF** in the sidebar
2. Drop a PDF into the window
3. Type the page ranges you want in the options popover
4. Click **Split**

![Split PDF in Picmal: a 60-page PDF set to split every page, and the first of the one-page PDFs it saved](/images/docs/split_pdf.png)

Each comma-separated range becomes its own PDF, saved next to the original as `<name>-1.pdf`, `<name>-2.pdf`, and so on. If a name is taken, Picmal counts up instead of overwriting.

### Page ranges

Ranges are written 1-based, separated by commas. So `1-3, 5, 8-` makes three files: pages 1–3, page 5, and page 8 to the end.

| Token   | Meaning                  |
| ------- | ------------------------ |
| `5`     | Just page 5              |
| `1-3`   | Pages 1 through 3        |
| `8-`    | Page 8 to the last page  |
| `-3`    | The first page through 3 |

Leave the field blank to **split every page into its own PDF**, handy for bursting a scanned batch back into separate documents.

- Drop several PDFs at once and each is split by the same ranges.
- Locked PDFs show an orange lock badge and block the split. Unlock them in Preview first, then re-add.

## Images to PDF

1. Select **Images to PDF** in the sidebar
2. Drop your images in, each image becomes one page
3. Drag rows to set the page order
4. Pick a page size, and adjust quality or add a password in the options popover
5. Click **Create PDF**

![Images to PDF in Picmal: eight landscape photos queued with page size and quality in the bottom bar, and the PDF it created](/images/docs/images_to_pdf.png)

The PDF is saved next to the first image as `<name>.pdf`, uniquified the same way.

Accepted inputs are the formats macOS decodes natively: JPEG, PNG, HEIC/HEIF, TIFF, GIF, BMP, WebP, AVIF, JPEG 2000, and JPEG XL. Sideways photos from iPhones render upright. EXIF orientation is applied automatically.

### Page sizes

| Option       | Behavior                                                              |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Fit to Image | Each page exactly wraps its image, no borders, no scaling. Default. |
| A4           | Standard A4, auto-rotated to match each image's orientation.          |
| US Letter    | Standard Letter, auto-rotated the same way.                           |
| Custom…      | Your own size in millimeters (10–2000 mm per side).                  |

The row thumbnails preview the layout: change the page size and they reshape instantly to show how each image sits on its page.

### Quality

Images are embedded as JPEG at the quality you choose (40–100%, default 85%). Lower quality makes a smaller file. The setting is remembered between sessions.

### Password protection

Type a password in the options popover and the PDF requires it to open. The password is kept for the current session only. Picmal never stores it on disk.

## Organize Pages

1. Select **Organize Pages** in the sidebar
2. Drop a PDF into the window
3. Drag the page thumbnails into the order you want, and delete any you don't need
4. Click **Save**

![Organize Pages in Picmal: a 60-page PDF listed as page thumbnails, ready to reorder or delete, and the PDF it saved](/images/docs/organize_pages.png)

Each page shows up as a thumbnail in a list. Drag to reorder, select pages and press Delete (or right-click) to remove them, and click any thumbnail to preview it full-size. The saved PDF keeps only the pages you left, in the order you set.

Unlike the other three tools, Organize Pages is available in the app only for now. There's no Finder, Shortcuts, or command-line equivalent yet.

## Cropping a PDF

Trimming margins off a document isn't one of these four tools either. Use [Crop](/docs/crop). Type the millimeters to take off each edge and Picmal writes a cropped copy next to the original. The text stays selectable and the links keep working; only the page size changes.

## Making a PDF smaller

Shrinking a PDF isn't one of these four tools. Drop the file into **Compress** instead. Picmal re-encodes only the images inside the document, so text stays selectable and vector graphics stay sharp. Scans get their images downsampled as well, which is what makes a 25 MB scan come out around 2 MB; that route rebuilds the document, so if yours has links or bookmarks Picmal warns you on the row. See [How PDF compression works](/docs/image-compression#how-pdf-compression-works), the [compress PDF page](/compress/pdf) and [four free ways to compress a PDF on Mac](/blog/compress-pdf-mac). The [compression presets](/docs/compressing-files) cover the quality levels.

## Use them from Finder, Shortcuts, and the terminal

- In Finder, right-click a PDF selection and choose **Picmal — Combine PDFs**, or an image selection and choose **Picmal — Images to PDF**. Both run with your saved settings, in selection order, even with Picmal closed. See [Integrations](/docs/integrations#finder-services-right-click-menu).
- In Shortcuts, the **Combine PDFs**, **Split PDF**, and **Images to PDF** actions take files in and return the finished PDF. See [Integrations](/docs/integrations#shortcuts-app).
- From the terminal, use `picmal-cli combine-pdfs`, `picmal-cli split-pdf`, and `picmal-cli images-to-pdf`. See [Command line](/docs/cli#split-pdf).