14 DAY TRIAL // The popularity of the PDF files is undeniable. It allows you to insert pictures, drawings, you can scan books or other materials and save them as PDF and it can also contain customized display settings, including page display layout and zoom level.
We already know that quality comes expensive and all these features come with a price that often translates in the size of the output file and the loading time of the entire document. So if you want to merge multiple PDF files into a bigger one or split a very large one in individual pages or page ranges, there is a simple solution designed to do just that.
Simpo PDF Merge and Split is a small application that allows you to merge multiple PDF files or split them into single page files. The application is released under the Trial license which means you can try it for free for 15 days, but it will add a watermark on the output files. After this period, you will have to buy it for $19.95 in order to keep using it.
The application is structured in two main windows: one will help you merge multiple PDF files while the other allows you to split your PDFs the way you like.
The interface is really simple allowing you to easily add new PDF files to the batch, remove or clear the whole window with a push of a button (in this case Add, Remove and Clear buttons). The Up and Down buttons allow you to move the selected file up or down in the batch according to your needs.
We have two more buttons in the upper part of the Merge PDF window and that's Password and Merge Method. The first one can really come in handy when you want to merge files that are password protected. In this case, you just have to press the Password button, enter your file password and will be taken in consideration when you merge your documents, otherwise the program will just skip it by reason of password protection.
The Merge Method will help you setup the way Simpo PDF Merge and Split glues up the pages. You can choose to merge the whole document or you can manually enter the specific pages and page ranges you want to process. By right clicking any file in the main window, a popup menu will appear allowing you to perform all the above mentioned operations.
The lower part of this window enables you to choose the Output Name, Output Folder and offers you some more PDF settings. From the Advanced Settings window, you can add meta data to your newly created PDF (title, author, subject, keywords) and even encrypt and secure your document by providing an owner and user password on a 40 bit or 128 bit encryption level. You can also allow or restrict the printing, changing, copying and extracting of your PDF's content by ticking the appropriate boxes.
After all, all you have to do is push the Merge button and the application will display a result window that shows you if the process succeeded and offers the possibility to open the folder for a quick view of the newly created file.
But merging PDF files is only half of what this tool can do. The other half is quite the opposite – splitting PDF files. This process is even easier to perform than the previous one and it can be done in four easy steps. First of all, you have to browse and select the PDF file you want to split. The application will display the page count and will allow you to preview the selected file in your default PDF viewer by pressing the View PDF button.
In the second step, you will have to select the split method and Simpo PDF Merge and Split offers you three splitting possibilities. You can chop an exact number of pages out of it, extract the desired pages or page ranges, or remove the desired pages or page ranges and keep the rest. After this, you can enter the base name of your output file and select the output folder where Simpo PDF Merge and Split will save your split files.
The fourth and final step of this operation allows users to adjust their PDF settings. You can insert meta data into your newly created PDFs (title, author, subject, keywords) and also secure your documents by providing an owner and user password on a 40 bit or 128 bit encryption level.
Simpo PDF Merge and Split also provides you with the right tools to protect your PDF files. It features 40 or 128 bit encryption and allows you to disable print, copy or editing the document without your permission. Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
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