Project Overview
A free tool that combines multiple PDF files into a single document, with drag-and-drop reordering before merging.
The Challenge
Problem Statement
People frequently need to combine several PDFs — scanned pages, signed forms, reports — into one file, but most free tools online are ad-heavy, slow, or upload files to unclear third-party storage.
Our Solution
Built on Ghostscript, invoked directly from PHP through proc_open with argument-array syntax (never shell string interpolation) for security, producing a true lossless PDF merge that preserves selectable text and vector quality rather than rasterizing pages into images.
Results & Outcomes
✓
Fully self-service, no-signup tool live at goshenwebx.io/merge-pdf. Supports up to 20 files per merge, drag-to-reorder before combining, and automatically deletes every uploaded and generated file immediately after download.
Tech Stack
Ghostscript
proc_open
UX