Interleave PDF Pages

Interleave the pages of two PDFs, for example scanned front and back sides.

Files are processed on this device and never uploaded.

For a scanned document, choose the fronts first, then the backs.

Guide

About Alternate & mix

Most home and office scanners without a duplex feeder make the same mess: one PDF with all the front sides, another with all the back sides, often in reverse order. Alternate & mix interleaves the two files page by page so the document reads in the right order again.

It is also handy for combining a translation with its original, or slides with their speaker notes, one page from each in turn.

It is the quickest way to merge odd and even pages, combine front and back scans, or interleave two PDFs page by page.

How to use it

  1. Choose the first PDF (A), then press Add the second PDF (B).
  2. Set how many pages to take from each at a time with Pages from A at a time and Pages from B at a time. One and one gives A1, B1, A2, B2.
  3. If the back sides were scanned from the last page, tick Take B's pages in reverse order.
  4. Press Mix and download the result, named after the first file with -mixed added.

Good to know

  • If one file has more pages than the other, the extra pages are added at the end.
  • Only the first file keeps working form fields and bookmarks.

Questions and answers

How do I combine separately scanned front and back pages?

Put the fronts in as A and the backs as B, take one page from each at a time, and tick the reverse option for B if the backs came out last page first.

Can I take two pages from one file for every page of the other?

Yes. Set Pages from A at a time to 2 and Pages from B at a time to 1, or any other combination.

What happens if the files have different page counts?

Pages are interleaved until the shorter file runs out, then the rest of the longer file follows.

Does the result keep the original quality?

Yes. Pages are copied without being re-rendered.