Combining Files into a Single PDF Using Artboards

Combining files into a single PDF using Adobe Illustrator primarily involves arranging your content on separate artboards within an Illustrator document and then saving that document as a multi-page PDF. Illustrator isn't designed for directly merging existing multi-page PDF files in the way dedicated PDF editors like Adobe Acrobat are.

Here's how to combine content from multiple sources (like other Illustrator files or imported content) into one PDF using Illustrator:

Adobe Illustrator uses artboards to represent the pages of a multi-page PDF. To combine content into a single PDF, you'll first consolidate all the content into one Illustrator file, placing different sections or pages on different artboards.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Prepare Your Content: Ensure the content you want to combine is accessible in separate files (e.g., other Illustrator files, images, or even pages from a PDF that you can open or place).
2. Create a New Illustrator Document:
   • Go to File > New.
   • Set up your document size, units, etc.
   • Crucially, specify the number of Artboards you need. This should be the total number of pages you want in your final combined PDF. You can add more artboards later if needed using the Artboard tool (Shift + O).
3. Get Content into Your New Document:
   • Option 1: Copy and Paste: Open your source files (like the multiple files selected using the Shift key and dragged/dropped into Illustrator as shown in the reference video clip). Select the artwork or content you want from a source file, copy it (Edit > Copy or Ctrl+C/Cmd+C), switch to your new multi-artboard document, and paste it (Edit > Paste or Ctrl+V/Cmd+V) onto the appropriate artboard. Repeat for all necessary content from all source files.
   • Option 2: Place Files: Go to File > Place.... Select the file you want to import. You can place Illustrator files, PDFs (Illustrator typically imports the first page by default unless specific import options are chosen), images, etc. After selecting a file, click the artboard where you want to place the content. Adjust size and position as needed. Repeat the "Place" command for each piece of content you need to add to subsequent artboards.
4. Arrange Content on Artboards: Use the Selection Tool (V) to position and arrange the imported or pasted content precisely on each artboard. Each artboard represents a page in your final PDF.
5. Save as Multi-Page PDF:
   • Go to File > Save As....
   • Choose a location to save your file.
   • In the Save as type (Windows) or Format (macOS) dropdown, select Adobe PDF (*.PDF).
   • Click Save.
6. Configure PDF Options:
   • The Save Adobe PDF dialog box will open.
   • Under Options, find the Range setting for Artboards. Make sure All is selected, or specify a range of artboards if you only want to include certain pages.
   • Crucially, ensure the checkbox for "Save Multiple Artboards to Separate PDF Files" is unchecked. Leaving this unchecked tells Illustrator to save all selected artboards into one PDF file, with each artboard becoming a separate page.
   • Choose other PDF settings (like Preset, Compression, Marks and Bleeds, etc.) as required.
   • Click Save PDF.

Your multi-page PDF containing content from the combined sources is now saved.

Summary Table

Step	Action	Illustrator Function/Tool
1. Start	Create a new document with sufficient artboards.	File > New, Artboard Tool
2. Import Content	Copy/Paste or Place content from source files onto artboards.	Edit > Copy/Paste, File > Place
3. Arrange	Position content on each artboard (each is a PDF page).	Selection Tool (V)
4. Save as PDF	Initiate saving as PDF.	File > Save As...
5. Configure PDF	Ensure "All" artboards are included and "Save Multiple Artboards to Separate PDF Files" is unchecked.	Save Adobe PDF dialog
6. Finalize	Click Save PDF.	Save Adobe PDF dialog

This process effectively allows you to use Illustrator as a layout tool to arrange content from various sources onto virtual pages (artboards) before exporting them as a single, cohesive PDF document.