How to Scan Multiple Pages into One PDF

Most scanners save one file per pass unless you tell them to keep adding pages. Each system below has an option that appends pages to the same PDF before you save.

Check which kind of scanner you have

With a document feeder (a tray on top marked ADF), load all the pages, choose the feeder as the source, and one scan produces every page. On a flatbed, scan one page at a time and use the add-page option described in the steps below.

Scan on Windows

Open the Windows Scan app (free from the Microsoft Store), or the maker's app such as HP Smart, Epson ScanSmart, or Canon IJ Scan Utility. Select the scanner, set File type to PDF, and set Source to Feeder if you have one. Click Scan. On a flatbed, place the next page when the app prompts you or after clicking its add-page button (labeled Add page, Add pages, or Scan more depending on the app), and save once at the end.

Scan on a Mac

Open Image Capture (in Applications), select the scanner, and click Show Details. Set Format to PDF and tick Combine into single document. Scan each page, or the whole feeder stack; every page goes into one PDF. Preview does the same: click File, Import from Scanner, choose the scanner, and use the same detail pane.

Scan with an iPhone

Open Notes, tap the camera icon in a note, and tap Scan Documents. Hold the phone over each page; it captures automatically and keeps adding pages. Tap Save when done. The note holds one multi-page scan, and the share button sends it as a single PDF. The Files app has the same Scan Documents option under its three-dot menu.

Scan with an Android phone

Open Google Drive, tap +, then Scan. After the first page, tap the Add (+) button for each additional page, then tap Save, name the file, and it saves as one PDF in Drive.

If you already have separate PDFs. On a Mac, open the first one in Preview, click View, Thumbnails, drag the other PDF files into the thumbnail sidebar, then click File, Export as PDF. On Windows, Adobe's free online merge tool at adobe.com combines files without installing anything.

If the file is huge or the text is soft. Text scans look clean at 200 to 300 dpi; higher settings mostly balloon the file size. Choose Grayscale or Black and white for text-only pages.