Overlay PDF Files

It reads every uploaded document, treats the first one as the base, and copies the page content of the others onto matching pages of that base. The text, vectors and images from each source are embedded as page objects, so nothing is rasterised. The output is a single PDF where all layers share the same pages.

Upload order decides the stacking order. The first file forms the bottom layer and each later file is drawn above the previous one. If your letterhead has a solid white background, put it first so it sits behind the text. If it is a transparent logo or frame, add it last so it appears over the content.

Compositing happens page by page, so page three of one file lands on page three of the base. Where a shorter file runs out of pages, the remaining base pages keep their original content and receive no extra layer. For a one page template that should repeat everywhere, duplicate it to match the base length first.

Page content is positioned from the page origin, so an A4 layer placed on a US Letter base will not align at the top edge and may extend past the trim. Export both documents at identical page dimensions and orientation. Mixed portrait and landscape pages in one file cause the same effect on the pages that differ.

Merging copies whole pages into a new document one after another, so a five page and a three page file produce eight pages and no content is redrawn. Overlaying copies the content stream of each page into an existing page, so the same two files produce five pages with shared content. Use merge to combine PDF documents in sequence and overlay when both sources must appear together.

A watermark generates new text or an image and paints it onto every page at a chosen angle, position and opacity, which suits short repeated marks. Layering uses a full PDF page you designed elsewhere, so it carries exact fonts, colours and print geometry. Pick the watermark tool for labels and this one for real templates.

No. The files are read and composited by your own browser, and the finished document is written to a local download. Nothing leaves the device, which is why the work continues even on a slow connection and why contracts or patient records can be layered without a transfer step.

Yes, but remember that a scan is a full page image with an opaque background. Placed on top, it hides everything under it. Put the scan first so it becomes the base and add the transparent template above it. To make the scanned text searchable afterwards, run the file through text recognition .

Yes. Because pages are composited as objects rather than converted to pictures, character data and font references survive from both sources. You can still search, copy and highlight text that came from either layer. The reading order can look mixed to a screen reader, since the layers were never written as one continuous flow.

There is no fixed cap, but every layer is held in memory while the document is built, so the practical limit depends on your device and on how heavy the pages are. Two or three normal files are handled without trouble. Very large scans in long documents are the usual reason processing slows down.

No. Once the content streams are drawn together the pages are a single composition, and there is no switch to hide one source. Keep the original documents so you can redo the stack with a different template. Nothing about the process changes the files you uploaded, since the output is written as a new document.