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PDFsam Basic gets its name from the words “split and merge,” and I can personally say that this software does these jobs very well. I often use PDFsam Basic to manage my PDF files because it is a free and flexible PDF editor. One great thing about PDFsam Basic is that it can combine several PDFs into a single file that works well together. But what really makes it stand out are the three different ways it gives you to split PDFs. Some of these ways are breaking based on page numbers, using bookmarks that are already in the PDF, or cutting the document into pieces of a certain size.
When you want to merge PDFs, PDFsam Basic lets you do it completely without any problems. You can also take out and add back together smaller parts as needed. For more options, PDFsam Basic has an option called “Alternate Mix,” which mixes pages from two different files while they are being merged.
PDFsam Basic also has a useful tool for rotating documents, which I find especially useful when working with PDFs that were made from scanned documents. It’s a flexible tool for managing documents because you can quickly extract single pages or groups of pages. One useful thing I’ve found for this software is that it lets me extract certain central parts of a PDF and save them as separate files. This saves time because I don’t have to split the file multiple times. Anyone who works with PDF files on a regular basis will find PDFsam Basic to be very useful.
PDFSam Basic Specifications
PDFSam Basic is a PDF manipulation tool that is both open-source and free to use. It offers a range of functions, including the ability to combine, split, mix, rotate, and extract PDF pages. It features a user-friendly interface, and it also offers a command line interface for those that need it. PDFSam Basic is a fantastic choice for people who require a fundamental PDF manipulation tool but do not want to invest in a paid commercial software because it is available for free.
Feature | Description |
---|---|
Merge | Combine multiple PDF files into a single PDF file. |
Split | Split a PDF file into multiple PDF files, either by page number or by file size. |
Mix | Combine two PDF files by alternating their pages. |
Rotate | Rotate PDF pages by 90, 180, or 270 degrees. |
Extract | Extract individual or multiple pages from a PDF file. |
Batch processing | Process multiple PDF files at once. |
Drag and drop | Drag and drop PDF files to the PDFSam Basic interface to quickly process them. |
Command line interface | Use the command line to process PDF files without having to open the PDFSam Basic GUI. |
Portable version | Use a portable version of PDFSam Basic to process PDF files without having to install it. |
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What is PDFsam Basic?

Our paid product, PDFsam Enhanced, is a robust and expert-level PDF editor that gives users the ability to review, convert, and alter PDF files. In addition to this, it can sign documents, complete forms, and safeguard them. Your PDF files won’t be accessible to anybody else on your computer.
There is no need to upload them to any other services besides this one. PDFsam Basic is a free and open-source software application designed for non-technical users. PDF files can be cut up, merged, combined, split, combined, extracted pages from, rotated, and rotated.
PDFsam Enhanced is a solution that is offered for sale to business professionals. You are able to make edits, sign documents, convert them, fill out forms, graphically merge pages, rearrange them, and do a lot of other things. You have the ability to rotate and mix your PDF files, as well as combine, divide, and extract pages from them.
PDFSam Basic review: Performance
PDFsam, particularly the Basic version, gives the impression of being a compilation of a number of smaller applications, each of which can be accessed through a straightforward user interface. The design is quite user-friendly, which makes it simple for you to navigate to different parts of the software without running into any problems, despite the fact that the tool contains a large number of capabilities.
The absence of undesirable alternatives is another wonderful aspect. PDFsam’s user interface is intuitive and straightforward, so even first-time computer users should have no trouble getting a handle on it. However, due to the fact that the majority of the capabilities are not adequately explained, it is possible that it will take some time to learn how to use all of the features of the software.
You should also keep in mind that the installer of PDFsam Basic will prompt you to install some additional tools, but you have the option to quickly opt out of doing so. This is something else that you should keep in mind.
PDFSam Basic review: Interface

The interface of PDFsam Basic is straightforward and easy to use. It consists of 7 modules, each of which is tailored to do a particular activity and is located in the main interface. You can access the tutorials for each module by clicking on the question mark that appears next to the module’s name. You have complete control over the app’s design and behavior, as well as the workspace and output options, using the Settings tab.
PDFSam Basic review: User experience
PDFsam Basic does not feel like a single cohesive programme but more like a collection of smaller tools that have been cobbled together through a common interface. This may sound like a drawback, but in practise, it ensures that different parts of the software remain well-focused, removing any opportunity for users to become sidetracked by unneeded customization options.
The user interface can be mastered in a very short amount of time, and regardless of which tool you choose to employ, it should be perfectly clear to you how to carry out the specific activity at hand. It is important to note that the installation for PDFsam Basic offers to install some other software that is related to the program, although it is simple to decline this offer.
Final Words
PDFsam Basic does not feel like a single cohesive programme but more like a collection of smaller tools that have been cobbled together through a common interface. This may sound like a drawback, but in practise, it ensures that different parts of the software remain well-focused, removing any opportunity for users to become sidetracked by unneeded customization options.
The user interface can be mastered in a very short amount of time, and regardless of which tool you choose to employ, it should be perfectly clear to you how to carry out the specific activity at hand. It is important to note that the installation for PDFsam Basic offers to install some other software that is related to the program, although it is simple to decline this offer.
PDFSam Basic review: The Good and Bad
Even though PDFsam Basic does not allow you to make direct adjustments or additions to PDF files, it does come with seven highly useful utilities that are designed to meet your essential day-to-day requirements.
The Good
- Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux
- Supports batch processing
- Supports partial processing
- Allows you to extract specific information
- Delivers high-quality results
The Bad
- Requires java to run
- No PDF editing or conversion options in basic version
Questions and Answers
Although PDFsam is generally regarded as a secure piece of software, it does not offer nearly as many security options as UPDF does. Because it has improved security components, employing UPDF allows for a more secure environment to be created for its users.
PDFsam Basic is a tool that is both free and open-source, and it makes it simple to combine, split, rotate, and extract pages from PDF files, as well as mix them. PDFsam Visual allows you to compress documents, trim images, rotate them, repair them, encrypt and decode them, erase pages, convert documents to PDF format, and extract text from pages, among other things. View, convert, generate, edit, fill forms, OCR, sign, and more are all possible with the enhanced version of PDFsam.