Rearrange PDF Pages (put pages in any order)

How it works

Tap or click the box to pick the document, then choose how the pages should be ordered. To type your own order, separate page numbers with commas and shorten runs with a hyphen: if the price table of a ten-page proposal sits on page 3 and belongs up front, type 3,1,2,4-10. Shorter still, the default choice accepts just 3 — every page you leave out follows in its old order, so nothing goes missing. If you want the pages you leave out removed instead, use the second choice. Typing a number twice puts that page in twice, which helps when the cover should also close the file. A document scanned face down arrives backwards; "Reverse, last page first" flips it without typing anything. If you fed a double-sided letter through a single-sided scanner — all fronts, then the stack turned over for the backs — the file reads 1, 3, 5 and then 6, 4, 2; the two "fix a scan" choices rebuild 1, 2, 3, 4 depending on which way the backs came through. The result line lists the first numbers of the new order so you can check before opening the file. Pages are moved, not redrawn: text stays selectable and images are not compressed again. The file never leaves your browser.

This tool is also known as rearrange pdf pages, reorder pdf pages, organize pdf, change page order in pdf, reverse pdf page order, collate duplex scan pdf.

What is PDF page order?

A PDF keeps its pages in a list inside the file called the page tree, and the order of that list is the order you see. It has nothing to do with the numbers printed on the pages. Changing the order therefore does not touch any page content; this tool opens a fresh document and adds your pages to that list in the order you type. Printed numbers stay as they were, so if they need to match, stamp new ones afterwards with the page number tool.

What is Two-pass duplex scanning?

When a scanner can only read one side of the paper, the usual way to capture a double-sided document is two passes: every front first, then the whole stack turned over for the backs. Because the stack is flipped, the backs usually arrive last to first, so a ten-page letter lands in the file as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. The correct order comes from taking one front and one back in turn, which is exactly what the scan-fixing choices do.

What is Page range notation?

Page range notation is the short way to write many page numbers: commas separate single pages or runs, and a hyphen covers every page from the first number to the second. 3,1,2,4-10 means page three, then one, then two, then four through ten. In this tool the order you type is kept exactly as written, and a page may appear more than once. Inside a run the smaller number comes first; a separate choice reverses the whole file.

Fixing a scan that mixed up fronts and backs

A single-sided scanner needs two passes for a double-sided document. The first pass reads every front; then you turn the stack over and the second pass reads the backs. Turning the stack usually reverses it, so the back of the last sheet comes first. The file ends up with all odd pages, followed by the even pages in reverse.

"Fix a scan — backs scanned last to first" takes one page from the front and one from the end in turn — 1, last, 2, second to last — and rebuilds the real order. If your scanner fed the backs in their normal order without the stack being reversed, use the other scan-fixing choice, which pairs the first half of the file with the second half.

Unsure which one applies? Try one and read the order in the result line. With an odd page count the tool warns you: a side may have been skipped, or a blank back dropped by the scanner.

• Fronts: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 — backs last to first: 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
• File reads 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2: pick the first scan-fixing choice
• File reads 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10: pick the second scan-fixing choice

What happens to pages you don't type?

With the default choice, the numbers you type go to the front and every other page follows in its old order. That is deliberate: most people who reorder a PDF want to move one page, and typing every number would be a chore. To bring page 12 of a twenty-page file to the front, typing 12 is enough.

Sometimes you want to tidy up at the same time — drop an unwanted appendix and put the rest in a new order. Choose "pages I leave out are dropped"; the new file then holds only the pages you typed, in your order. The result line says how many pages remain, so a short file never surprises you.

Either way the original file is untouched; the tool downloads a new document whose name ends with a hint that it was reordered.

Frequently asked questions

How do I move one page to the front of a PDF?

Keep the default choice, type only that page's number in the new order box and press the button. That page comes first and all the others follow in their old order. Typing 7, for example, gives 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and so on.

How do I reverse the page order of a PDF?

Choose "Reverse, last page first" and press the button — no numbers needed. The last page becomes the first and the first becomes the last. This fixes the backwards order you get when a stack is scanned face down.

Can the same page appear twice?

Yes. Type a number twice and that page appears twice in the new file; 1,2,3,1 repeats the cover at the end. The copies share the same images and fonts, so the file size does not double.

Do the numbers printed on the pages change?

No. The tool changes where each page sits in the file, not what is printed on it. If the printed numbers now look wrong, run the page number tool afterwards to stamp fresh numbers in a corner of every page.

Does it work on password-protected PDFs?

No. If a file asks for a password when it opens, the tool stops and says so; it does not try to break the protection. Save an unprotected copy from a program that opens the document and use that copy.