What people are asking
Paralegals and corporate secretaries assembling motion+exhibits or board books that must show continuous footers.
Clerks hate packets that restart at page 1 every exhibit. Merge once, number once.
What Merge PDF files actually does
- Merge files in order (Merge PDF files).
- Then stamp Page X of Y on the combined file (Add page numbers)—linked workflow.
What it does not do
- Number each source file separately and magically continue (merge first for continuous pagination).
Steps
- Merge components in Merge PDF files.
- Open the result in Add page numbers to PDF.
- Choose Page X of Y; place the footer; download.
- Optional: Bates instead of / in addition to page numbers per local rules.
Related guides
Evidence bundle merge · Page X of Y · Bates without Adobe
Go deeper
Scenario guides hub · Open Merge PDF files · All PDF tools · Privacy
Last updated 2026-08-20 · Research-backed long-tail