Merge PDF Files and Clean Up Duplicates

PDF stands for Portable Document Format, and has been one of the most popular file formats around. It proves extremely useful due to the big number of options it offers to a user with diverse requirements. It is for this goodness that PDF files are widely used nowadays and are preferred big time over other file formats.

PDF files are the most favored format for publishing eBooks. With the advancements in the world of Information Technology (IT), book reading buffs are also following the trend and have switched from the conventional hardcover/ hardback book to an electronic version that can be accessed via a computer, laptop, tablet or even a smartphone. Another area where PDF files are preferred over other file formats is when a particular organization needs to publish an informative leaflet, brochure, journal or simply a user manual for the services/ products they offer. Lastly, PDFs also prove their utility in an official environment where the user needs to share several informative pieces like a video, spreadsheet, and presentation etc into a single file for ease-of-access, before emailing them on to the right person. These are just about the most important areas where PDF files are proving their worth every single day.

Today we will be first looking at how users can merge several PDF files into one if they contain similar content. This helps get rid of the needless clutter on the hard disk caused by similar PDFs, and also leads to a more streamlined environment where data related to a particular topic can be found in a consolidated PDF file rather than lying in scattered locations. This is highly critical in a highly competitive as it increases productivity, and optimizes work output.

In the next section of this article, we will see how users can get rid of any duplicate (or identical) PDF files with the help of a software solution. These documents cause disorganization, system slowdowns as well as wastage of a precious asset. Sometimes these PDF files drop hints of the duplicity by sharing similar names, but on other occasions, seemingly unique PDF files are clones of each other in essence.

So let’s look at both of these sections in some detail.

 

Merging PDFs

Merging PDF files is a very straightforward job, even though it does seem difficult and too technical, to begin with. There are 2 broad methods to do so. The first one involves looking over the web for a tool that does the trick. All you’ve got to do is type in your query on Google and choose the best one from the search results. However, keep in mind that even though this method might work well for beginner level PDF merging jobs, it might well entail limitations of its own. The website that provides this service might have put up a size limitation for any PDF files that might be involved. Also, there might also be a limitation on the number of PDF files being involved in one go.

So if you’re looking at a PDF merging job without any ifs and buts, we’ve luckily got a far better alternative for you.

 

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

A name like Adobe needs no introduction at all. It is a well-established name and is always banked upon by users. Adobe has been around for as long as we’ve been coming across PDF files.

1. Download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
2. Now launch the program and click the Tools menu.
3. From the bouquet of options that just appeared, select Combine Files.
4. Now click Add Files and then add up the files you want to merge.
5. Now you can easily reorder files as well as pages. First double-click a file to select it and then you can expand, rearrange and even delete any pages.
6. Once you’re done, click Combine Files | Save to save all the hard work you’ve done.

That’s it. You’ve merged the respective PDF files and saved them up also.

 

Cleaning Duplicate PDFs

And now we will switch our attention towards erasing all duplicate PDFs. Once this action will be performed, you will yourself notice a huge difference in the amount of free disk space on your computer, as well as a noticeable improvement in the computer’s speed with which it executes commands.

First, if the PDFs in question comprise of images or some drawings which can easily be compared via the thumbnail view, then this is all that you need to do. Although this method is extremely limited in its scope, there is no harm in trying it out if you’re dealing with images that can be easily compared. Simply launch the PDF browser you’re using, and switch to the thumbnail view. Now you can easily spot the duplicates and delete them happily.

 

Use Clone Files Checker

If the duplicate PDFs you’re looking to scan comprise of loads of text, drawings and so on, there simply isn’t any way you can do it all manually, and you need a duplicate file cleaner to do the job. One such industry renowned software program is Cone Files Checker. This software is specifically designed to weed out duplicate files of all kinds from your computer without burdening you with learning any complex scripts. All you’ve got to do is select the target location for the scan, and sit back and relax. Clone Files Checker is available for both Windows and Mac systems.

Clone Files Checker also cleans up duplicates from your Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive account without requiring you to sync even a single bit of this data to your computer. Lastly, you can even use Clone Files Checker to removed dead tracks from the iTunes media library on your computer. More detail on these topics in the future.

1. Simply download Clone Files Checker from its official website and install it by executing the setup file you just downloaded.
2. Launch the program and use the Add button to add up as many locations which you want to scan for duplicate PDFs.
3. In the next step, select Custom | Documents. Please keep in mind that this step is entirely optional, and the accuracy of the scan results won’t change even by a fraction even if you launch an all file scan.
4. Click Start Search to launch the scan.
5. Patiently wait for the scan to conclude and it will soon show a pop-up that will detail the number of duplicate PDFs detected. Select Review & Fix.
6. Don’t just get panicked by the list of duplicate PDFs that you will see. Simply click Select Duplicates and you can choose kind of duplicates (e.g. newest, oldest, most modified, least modified and by file location) you want to retain. This makes selecting a lot easier than the trouble involved in selecting a large number of files manually.
7. The last step involves clicking the Select Action button and deciding if you want to delete the duplicate PDFs, or move them altogether to a folder.
   Note: A summarized scan report can be found in the History section for every scan which you have run.

So this is how you use Clone Files Checker to scan for any duplicate PDFs and get rid of them. Use this software to get rid of duplicates of other types as well, and if you think this software does a good job, don’t forget to recommend it to your friends. Have a good day!