Organize & Reorder PDF Pages

When do you need to reorder PDF pages?

When a batch of sheets comes out of the scanner in the wrong order, say the proof of address ends up before the ID copy an application asks for first. Or when you merge several documents and the cover lands in the middle, or you want the summary at the front of a report before sending it. This tool lays out the pages of your file so you can move any page, drop the ones you don't need, and save the result as a new PDF.

How the tool works

Once you pick a file, a thumbnail of every page is drawn in a grid. Above each thumbnail is a label such as "Page 2 (Orig 5)": the first number is its position in the new order, and the number in brackets is where it sat in the original file, so you don't lose track while editing. Under each thumbnail are three buttons:

• The two arrow buttons move the page one position earlier or later by swapping it with its neighbour.
• The delete button removes the page from the output file.

If you get lost, "Reset Original Order" puts every page back where it was, including deleted ones. On saving, pages are copied in the new order as they are, without being turned into images.

How to reorder pages

1. 1
   Click "Select PDF File to Organize Pages" or drag the file onto the box, and wait for the thumbnails to appear.
2. 2
   Use the arrow buttons to move pages and the delete button to drop the ones you don't want. Check the label above each thumbnail to confirm its position.
3. 3
   Click "Save & Organize PDF Now".
4. 4
   Check the result with "Preview Organized PDF", then click "Download Organized PDF". The file is named after yours, prefixed with organized_.

Practical tips

• Pages move one step at a time, so taking the last page of a long file to the front takes many clicks. In that case it can be easier to extract that page and the rest separately, then join them in the order you want with Merge PDF.
• If the problem is pages that are upside down or sideways rather than out of order, Rotate PDF is the right tool.
• To delete many pages by number without going through thumbnails, Remove Pages is quicker.

Limitations

• Thumbnails can't be dragged and dropped at the moment; pages are moved with the buttons only.
• A thumbnail is drawn for every page up front, so files with hundreds of pages take longer and use more memory, especially on a phone.
• It doesn't rotate pages or add pages from another file.
• Bookmarks (the side outline) are not carried into the new file.
• The file must keep at least one page.
• Files with a password or permission restrictions aren't accepted; the tool asks you to open them first with Unlock PDF.

Where is the processing done?

Thumbnails are drawn with PDF.js and the new order is saved with pdf-lib, both running in your browser, so none of your pages are uploaded anywhere.

Organize PDF: frequently asked questions