Organize PDF Pages
Drag PDF page thumbnails into a new order, delete, duplicate or rotate pages, reverse the order or fix a one-sided duplex scan, then save the new PDF.
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About this toolWhat is Organize PDF Pages?
Organize PDF Pages shows every page as a thumbnail you can rearrange. Drag pages into a new order on a desktop, or use the arrow buttons on a phone or tablet. Each page also has buttons to rotate, duplicate or delete it.
Two one-click fixes cover common scanning problems. Reverse order flips a document that came out of the scanner backwards. Interleave duplex scan fixes the result of scanning a double-sided stack on a one-sided feeder: you scan all the fronts, turn the stack over and scan the backs, which then come out in reverse, and the tool weaves them back into reading order.
Each thumbnail shows which page of the original it is, so you can always see what moved. The document is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
- Drag and drop, plus arrow buttons for touch screens
- Delete, duplicate and rotate single pages
- Reverse order and duplex interleave in one click
- Thumbnail labels show each page's original position
- Lossless: pages are copied, not re-rendered
- Runs entirely in your browser: the PDF is read, edited and saved on your device and is never uploaded to a server.
How to use Organize PDF Pages
- Drop a PDF onto the page or try the six-page sample.
- Drag thumbnails to reorder them, or use the left and right arrow buttons under each page.
- Use the rotate, duplicate and delete buttons on individual pages as needed.
- Use Reverse order or Interleave duplex scan for whole-document fixes, and Reset to start again.
- Click Save and download the reorganised PDF.
Worked examples
One-sided scan of a double-sided letter
Input
Scan order: front 1, front 2, front 3, back 3, back 2, back 1 (6 pages)
Output
Reading order: p1, p6, p2, p5, p3, p4 of the scan
Interleave duplex scan takes the fronts in order and the backs from the end, which is what turning the stack over produces.
Move a summary to the front
Input
Drag page 9 onto page 1
Output
Summary first, the rest shifted down by one
Dropping a page on another inserts it at that position.
Remove scanner blank pages
Input
Delete pages 4 and 8, which are blank backs
Output
A shorter PDF without the blanks
Deleted pages are simply left out of the new page tree.
Background and insight
The order of pages in a PDF is set by its page tree, a structure separate from the pages themselves (ISO 32000-1, section 7.7.3). Rearranging means building a new page tree that lists the same page objects in a different order. Deleting a page leaves it out; duplicating lists a copy twice. The page content is copied, not re-rendered, so quality is unchanged and a duplicated page adds very little to the file size.
The duplex interleave assumes the usual one-sided routine. With 2k pages scanned as fronts 1, 3, 5 and so on, followed by backs in reverse (2k, 2k-2, ... 2), the scan order is front 1, front 2, ... front k, then back k, ... back 1. Reading order takes the first front, then the last scanned page, then the second front, then the second-to-last, giving 1, 2k, 2, 2k-1 in scan positions. With an odd count, the extra front goes at the end.
Because the new file is assembled from copied pages, document-level items are not carried over: bookmarks, page labels, links that jump between pages and the interactive form dictionary. Web links and comments, which sit on the pages, are kept.
Common use cases
Scanning at home or work
Fix reversed, interleaved or blank pages straight after scanning.
Assembling a submission
Put a signed signature page, appendix or cover sheet in the right place.
Handouts and booklets
Duplicate a form page or reorder slides before printing.
Cleaning up merged files
After using Merge PDF, drop pages you did not need and fix the order.
Tips and limitations
- On touch screens dragging can be fiddly; the arrow buttons move a page one step at a time.
- Bookmarks and form fields are not copied into the new file. Do any form filling and flattening first.
- The small "orig. p" label shows which original page each thumbnail is, which helps when pages look alike.
- To split the result into several files, run it through Split PDF afterwards.
- Thumbnails are rendered for up to 400 pages; very long documents may be easier to handle in parts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change the order of pages in a PDF?
Drag the page thumbnails into the order you want, or move a page with its arrow buttons, then click Save to download the reordered PDF.
How do I fix a double-sided document scanned on a one-sided scanner?
Scan all the fronts, flip the stack and scan the backs, then click Interleave duplex scan. It puts front 1, back 1, front 2, back 2 and so on in order.
Can I delete several pages at once?
Delete them one by one with the bin button, or use Split PDF in Extract mode to keep only a list of pages such as 1-3, 6-10.
Does duplicating a page make the file much bigger?
Hardly. The copy refers to the same fonts and images as the original page, so it mostly adds the page description.
What happens to bookmarks when I reorder pages?
They are not carried into the new file, because the document is rebuilt from copied pages. Page content, comments and web links are kept.
Is there an in-depth guide to Organize PDF Pages?
Yes. “How to Reorder, Delete and Duplicate PDF Pages” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
People also search for
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- remove blank pages from a scanned pdf
- reorder pdf pages on a phone
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