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How to add an appendix to a PDF

By DeckleUpdated

To add an appendix to a PDF, open Merge PDFs, add the main document and the appendix, put the main document first in the list and choose Merge PDFs. Deckle joins the whole files in the order shown and saves one new PDF, with the appendix pages after the last page of the report. Both original files stay as they were.

Merge PDF

Main report first, appendix after it

Main report

Example source: 18 pages

Appendix

Example source: 6 pages

18 + 6 = 24 planned pages

Example calculation · PDF file positions determine the joined sequence; printed numbering and bookmarks need separate checks.

How to add an appendix to a PDF with Deckle

  1. Open Merge PDFs and choose Select files, or drop the report and the appendix onto the page. Add PDFs adds more files later.
  2. Check that both are ticked in Files to merge.
  3. Put the report first. Drag a row by its handle, or use Move earlier, Move later or Move to.
  4. Change Output PDF name to something the reader will recognise, such as annual-report-with-appendices.pdf.
  5. Choose Merge PDFs.
  6. Check the page count on the result screen. An 18-page report and a 6-page appendix should give "24 pages combined from 2 PDFs".
  7. Download the result and look at the last page of the report and the first page of the appendix.

Several appendices

Add each appendix as its own file and order the list as the reader should see it:

  1. report.pdf (18 pages)
  2. appendix-a-methodology.pdf (4 pages)
  3. appendix-b-data-tables.pdf (9 pages)
  4. appendix-c-glossary.pdf (2 pages)

The merged file has 33 pages, with Appendix A starting at PDF page 19, B at 23 and C at 32. Deckle uses the list order, not the file names, so a file called appendix-a does not move to its place on its own.

Prepare the appendix first

  • It is a set of photos or scans. Turn them into a PDF with JPG to PDF, PNG to PDF, HEIC to PDF or TIFF to PDF, then merge the result.
  • It has extra pages. Remove them with Organize PDF pages before merging.
  • Pages are sideways. Fix them with Rotate PDF first, so you do not have to find them in the combined file.
  • You need only part of a longer file. Extract those pages with Split PDF and merge the extracted file.
  • It is password protected. Merge PDFs shows "Unlock this PDF before adding it to Merge." Unlock it with Unlock PDF first.

Page numbers and references

Merging does not renumber the pages printed in the footers. If the report ends on printed page 18 and the appendix starts at its own printed page 1, both numbers stay. That is normal for appendices, but if the report says "see page 21", the reference now points to appendix page 3. Refer to appendix pages by their own label, such as "Appendix B, page 3".

If the parts have bookmarks, open the bookmarks panel in the combined file and check that each one still leads to the right page; see check bookmarks after page changes.

Different page sizes

An A4 report and a US Letter appendix merge without problems, but each page keeps its own size. Printed, the appendix pages may scale slightly. If a uniform size matters, ask for the appendix in the same size as the report. Mixed page sizes after merging explains what to expect.

Tips

  • Read the list like a contents page before you choose the button.
  • Name the appendices in order, so the list is easy to check, even though Deckle does not sort by name.
  • Clean the combined file last. Run Remove PDF metadata on the merged PDF, not just the parts.
  • Keep the parts. The originals stay as they were, so you can swap an appendix and merge again.

Other ways to add an appendix

  • Preview on a Mac. Open the report, choose View > Thumbnails, and drag the appendix file from the Finder into the sidebar after the last page. Preview saves changes automatically into the file you opened, so Apple suggests File > Duplicate first to keep the original.
  • Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat's Combine files tool joins several files into one PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put the appendix in the middle of a PDF?

Merging joins whole files. To insert pages in the middle, merge the files, then move the appendix pages into place with Organize PDF pages, or split the report at the insertion point and merge the three parts.

Will merging change the quality of the pages?

No. Pages are copied into the new file as they are.

Is the file uploaded to merge it?

No. Merge PDFs runs in your browser and does not upload the files.

Can I merge more than one appendix at once?

Yes. Add every file in one go and order the list. Only ticked files are included.

Related tools

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