You have 47 PDF exhibits named A.pdf through Z.pdf and AA.pdf through UU.pdf. The court wants them in one binder in that order. Dragging them one by one to get the alphabetic sequence right would take ten minutes you don't have.
Flint sorts by filename automatically when you drop a folder in. Done.
How filename sorting works
When you drag multiple files onto merge PDF, Flint reads them in the order your file system presents them — which is alphabetical by default on Mac, Windows, and Linux. So 47 files named A through UU come in sorted A, AA, AAA, B, BB. Cards appear in that order in the thumbnail strip.
Watch out for numeric sorting quirks
Pure alphabetic sort treats '10' as coming before '2'. If your files are 'Exhibit-1.pdf', 'Exhibit-2.pdf', 'Exhibit-10.pdf', they'll merge as 1, 10, 2 — not what you want. Fix it by renaming with zero-padding: 'Exhibit-01.pdf', 'Exhibit-02.pdf', 'Exhibit-10.pdf'. Now alphabetic and numeric sort agree.
Mix letter and number conventions
Combining a numbered set with a lettered set? Rename so they sort coherently. 'Exhibit-01-A.pdf', 'Exhibit-01-B.pdf', 'Exhibit-02-A.pdf' will sort exactly how you'd expect. Five minutes of renaming saves you from manual dragging in merge PDF.
When manual override beats sorting
Some legal filings want chronological order, not alphabetic. Some technical reports want logical-section order. After dropping in alphabetically, you can drag any card to its correct position. Flint isn't dogmatic — it just gives you a sensible starting point.
FAQ
Does sort order include subfolders?
Flint reads the dropped files flat. If you select multiple folders' contents, they merge as one alphabetical list.
What about case sensitivity?
Most file systems sort case-insensitively. Flint follows the OS — 'apple.pdf' and 'Banana.pdf' end up adjacent regardless of case.
Can I sort in reverse alphabetical order?
Drop them in, then use the 'reverse' control on the thumbnail strip. Or rename with a prefix that inverts the order.
Will the merged file include filenames as bookmarks?
Optionally yes — Flint can add a bookmark named after each source file at the top of its page range.
Drop a folder, get an alphabetically-merged PDF. Merge in order.