How to merge PDF files in Linux

Do you have a PDF file you wish to combine with another one? Have you tried other merging tools on Linux only to find them too confusing? Don’t worry; PDF Mix Tool is here! It’s a surprisingly easy tool that lets anyone combine multiple PDF files. Here’s how to use it.

Installing PDF Mix Tool on Linux

Before we can demonstrate how you can merge PDF files on your Linux PC, we must go over how to install the PDF Mix Tool, as it is required to make these types of modifications.

The PDF Mix Tool has pretty good support for the Linux platform, and users can get the app in a multitude of ways, such as Flatpak, Snap packages, the Arch Linux “Community” repo, and the source code. To start the installation on your Linux PC, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the command-line installation instructions outlined below that correspond with the Linux distribution you currently use.

Flatpak

Flatpak is one of the suggested ways of installing PDF Mix Tool. The reason? Flatpak supports a wide variety of Linux operating systems — even lesser-known ones. Furthermore, updating programs on Flatpak works just like any Linux OS, so the user does not need to fuss around. If you’re looking to get PDF Mix Tool working via Flatpak, do the following.

First, ensure that you are using a Linux operating system that has the Flatpak runtime installed and ready to go. If you do not have Flatpak set up, follow our guide here to learn how to set up the runtime. Then, when the runtime is up and running, enter the two commands below to get the app working.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

flatpak install flathub eu.scarpetta.PDFMixTool

Snap package

If you’re not a fan of Flatpaks, the second-best way to get the PDF Mix Tool working on most Linux distributions is via the Snap store. Why? Aside from Flatpak, Snaps are an excellent answer to distribution compatibility. Snaps work on 75% of Linux operating systems, with more on the way. Better still, Snap integrates with Gnome Software and KDE Discover, making installing software from the Snap store easier than ever.

To get the PDF Mix Tool working via the Snap store, do the following. First, ensure you are running a Linux OS that has the Snapd runtime installed and ready to go. Alternatively, follow our guide to learn how to install and enable Snapd. When that’s taken care of, use the snap install command below to get PDF Mix Tool.

sudo snap install pdfmixtool

Arch Linux

Arch Linux users have it good, as the PDF Mix Tool app is in the “Community” software repository. To install the app on your system, ensure that “Community” is enabled in your Pacman.conf file. Then, enter the command below into a terminal.

sudo pacman -S pdfmixtool

Source Code

Want to install the PDF Mix Tool from the source code on your Linux PC? Head over to this page here to grab the latest source code. Then, follow these instructions on the app’s download page to learn how to compile it from scratch.

Merging PDF files

To merge a PDF file with the PDF Mix Tool, start by launching the app. To launch the app, press the Win key on the keyboard and search for “PDF Mix Tool.” Alternatively, check the “Office” section of the app menu on your desktop environment.

When the PDF Mix Tool app is open and running, follow the step-by-step instructions outlined below.

Step 1: In the PDF Mix Tool, locate the “Add PDF file” button and click on it with the mouse. This action will bring up an open-file dialog window. Add your PDF files to the app by selecting it in the window.

Note: if all PDF files are in the same folder, hold down Ctrl while you click to select multiple files at once.

You may need to click “Add PDF file” multiple times to add in all the PDF files you wish to merge.

Step 2: Using the “Move up” and “Move down” buttons in the PDF Mix Tool re-orient the order of the PDF files in the list. The new merged PDF will be created based on the file order.

Step 3: Right-click on any of the PDF files in the list, then select the “Edit” option. From here, you may edit the rotation of each PDF, its PDF outline entry, as well as multi-page settings.

Step 4: Find the “Generate PDF” button at the bottom of the PDF Mix Tool app and select it to generate a newly merged PDF file.

Step 5: Upon selecting the “Generate PDF” file, a save-file dialog window will open up on the desktop. Use this window to choose where you’d like to save the merged file, and click the “Save” button to finish generating it.