Insert PDF in LaTeX: Embed PDF Pages and Documents
Date Published
Inserting PDFs in LaTeX
Include external PDF files in your LaTeX document using the pdfpages package.
The pdfpages Package
\usepackage{pdfpages}
This powerful package lets you include entire PDFs or selected pages.
Include Entire PDF
\includepdf[pages=-]{document.pdf}
The pages=- means all pages.
Include Specific Pages
Single Page
\includepdf[pages=1]{document.pdf}
Page Range
\includepdf[pages=1-5]{document.pdf}
Selected Pages
\includepdf[pages={1,3,5,7}]{document.pdf}
Last Page
\includepdf[pages=last]{document.pdf}
Exclude Pages
\includepdf[pages=-, nup=1x1, exclude={2,4}]{document.pdf}
Common Options
No Page Numbers
\includepdf[pages=-, pagecommand={}]{doc.pdf}
Add Page Numbers
\includepdf[pages=-, pagecommand={\thispagestyle{plain}}]{doc.pdf}
Landscape Pages
\includepdf[pages=-, landscape]{doc.pdf}
Scale PDF
\includepdf[pages=1, scale=0.8]{doc.pdf}
Offset Position
\includepdf[pages=1, offset=1cm 1cm]{doc.pdf}
Multiple Pages Per Sheet
2-up (2 pages per sheet)
\includepdf[pages=-, nup=2x1]{doc.pdf}
4-up (4 pages per sheet)
\includepdf[pages=-, nup=2x2]{doc.pdf}
With Frame
\includepdf[pages=-, nup=2x2, frame]{doc.pdf}
Adding to Appendix
Common pattern for appendices:
\appendix \section{Supplementary Material} \includepdf[pages=-]{supplement.pdf}
PDF as Figure
Include a single PDF page as a figure:
\begin{figure}[h] \centering \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth, page=1]{doc.pdf} \caption{First page of external document} \end{figure}
Note: Use includegraphics (not includepdf) for figures. The page= option selects which page.
Combining Documents
Merge multiple PDFs:
\includepdf[pages=-]{doc1.pdf} \includepdf[pages=-]{doc2.pdf} \includepdf[pages=-]{doc3.pdf}
Adding Headers/Footers
\includepdf[pages=-, pagecommand={ \begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay] \node at (current page.north) [below=1cm] {Header Text}; \end{tikzpicture} }]{doc.pdf}
Requires tikz package.
Troubleshooting
PDF not found: Check path, must be relative to main .tex file
Blank pages: Try \includepdf[fitpaper=false]
Wrong orientation: Use landscape or rotateoversize=false
Margins cut off: Use noautoscale, scale=0.9
Complete Example
\documentclass{article} \usepackage{pdfpages}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction} Main content here.
\section{Attached Documents} See the following pages for the complete report.
\includepdf[pages=-, pagecommand={\thispagestyle{plain}}]{report.pdf}
\end{document}
Include PDFs with Octree
Octree handles PDFs easily:
- Simple PDF inclusion - Real-time preview - AI helps with formatting - Export combined document
Try it at https://useoctree.com