How to mail merge a PDF
A PDF mail merge takes one PDF template and one spreadsheet, and gives you a separate, personalised PDF for every row — an offer letter per candidate, a certificate per attendee, an invoice per client. Here is the whole process, and the tool that does it in your browser.
Why a PDF mail merge is not a Word mail merge
Word’s mail merge was built to drive a printer: it pours a spreadsheet into one long document and expects paper at the other end. What most teams need now is the opposite — a folder of individually named PDF files, each one sendable on its own, and often built on a PDF somebody else designed and you cannot reopen in Word at all.
| Word mail merge | PDF mail merge here | |
|---|---|---|
| What comes out | A single long document, or printed letters | One separate PDF file per row |
| Source document | A .docx you have to keep in Word | A PDF — including one you were sent and cannot edit |
| Existing form fields | Not supported | Detected and filled from your columns |
| File naming | Manual, after the fact | From the data — {{name}}-invoice.pdf |
| Where the data goes | Stays on your machine | Stays on your machine — no upload, no account |
A library offer letter, previewed with a real row of data before any file is written.
How a PDF mail merge works
The process is the same whether you are filling a flat PDF or its existing form fields: choose the source, connect the changing data, check a real record, and generate the finished files.
- 01
Start from a PDF template
Open the studio and either pick a ready-made document — offer letter, contract, payslip, invoice, certificate, KYC form — or drop in a PDF of your own. An uploaded PDF is kept exactly as it is and used as the background; if it already carries AcroForm fields, those are detected on load and listed for binding.
- 02
Bring your data
Add a spreadsheet with one record per row. Its column headings become the reusable fields for the document, and you can review the imported values before anything is generated.
- 03
Match columns to the page
Anywhere you write {{column_name}} inside the text, the merge substitutes that column. Drag a field from the left onto existing words and it weaves into the sentence; drop it on blank paper and it becomes a box you can position to the point. Column matching ignores case, spaces, hyphens and underscores, so Candidate Name finds candidate_name.
- 04
Preview a real row
Step through the rows and see the merged document rather than a page of braces. Line breaking on screen is measured with the same engine that writes the PDF, so what you approve is what gets printed — including where a long name pushes a line onto a second row.
- 05
Generate and take them away
One PDF per row, named from your own data — {{candidate_name}}-offer.pdf — delivered as a zip, or as a single combined document when you would rather print once. Hundreds of files finish in a few seconds.
Starting with a workbook? Follow the complete Excel to PDF mail merge guide for XLS, XLSX and CSV preparation, column matching and individual PDF output.
What people bulk-generate most
Offer letters and contracts
One per candidate, with salary, start date and job title merged from the recruiting sheet.
Certificates
A named certificate for every attendee at the close of a course, generated in one pass.
Invoices and statements
One document per client, numbered and named from the ledger you already keep.
Compliance and KYC packs
Due-diligence forms filled per client, without any of it crossing the network.
PDF mail merge, answered
- What is a PDF mail merge?
- A PDF mail merge takes one PDF template and one spreadsheet, and produces a separate, personalised PDF for every row of that spreadsheet. Where a Word mail merge prints letters, a PDF mail merge gives you a folder of finished PDF files — one offer letter per candidate, one certificate per attendee, one invoice per client.
- How do I mail merge a PDF with Excel?
- Pick a template or upload your own PDF, then drop in your .xlsx or .csv. Column headers are matched to the placeholders in the template automatically, so a column called candidate_name fills every {{candidate_name}} on the page. Preview any row, then generate — you get one PDF per row as a zip.
- Can I mail merge into the form fields of an existing PDF?
- Yes. Upload a PDF that already has an AcroForm and its fields are detected on load; bind each one to a column and every generated copy is filled from that column. The original file is used as an untouched background, so nothing about your layout changes.
- Is my data uploaded to a server?
- No. The merge runs in your browser, using the PDF and spreadsheet you opened locally. There is no upload step and no account, because there is no server holding your documents. Close the tab and nothing remains.
- How many PDFs can I generate at once?
- One per row, and hundreds of rows finish in a few seconds. Because the work happens on your own machine, the practical limit is your computer rather than a plan tier. Take the results as a single zip, or as one combined PDF.
- Are the generated PDFs still fillable?
- By default, yes. Merged values are written into real PDF form fields, so whoever receives the file can still type over a date or a figure in any PDF reader. Turn the option off if you would rather ship flat, non-editable documents.
- Can I name each output file from my data?
- Yes. The file name is a template of its own — {{candidate_name}}-offer.pdf gives you amelia-hart-offer.pdf, and {{#}} inserts the row number. Names are cleaned up so they are safe on every operating system.
- Does it cost anything?
- You can start merging immediately with no sign-up. Nothing is uploaded to external servers, because generating documents happens right on your machine.
Run your first PDF mail merge in about two minutes.
Pick a template, drop in a spreadsheet, press generate. No account, no upload, nothing to install.
Start merging