Eddie Strauss

Q: How do I combine PDFs into one document?

I want to scan CD booklets for online digital storage. I have Pages and Preview, of course. I do not have Acrobat Professional.

 

I have a large scanner and can make individual TIFs or PDFs of each spread. What would be the best way to combine these into one file?

Unibody 17 matte, Mac Pro Quad core, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jun 27, 2011 6:33 AM

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Q: How do I combine PDFs into one document?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 27, 2011 6:43 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 10 (207,958 points)
    Applications
    Jun 27, 2011 6:43 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    You can combine PDFs in Preview by drag-and-drop into the sidebar. See the built-in help.

  • by Eddie Strauss,

    Eddie Strauss Eddie Strauss Jun 27, 2011 6:46 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 3 (991 points)
    Jun 27, 2011 6:46 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Yes. But will that save to a new file that contains all of them from then on?

  • by Eddie Strauss,

    Eddie Strauss Eddie Strauss Jun 27, 2011 6:56 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 3 (991 points)
    Jun 27, 2011 6:56 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    I found on this board that there is an Automator action called Combine PDF pages. I found that but haven't a clue how to make it work or what a "passed PDF" is.

  • by captfred,

    captfred captfred Jun 27, 2011 7:09 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 7 (26,329 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 27, 2011 7:09 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    Just do as Linc suggested and then use the menubar  Preview > File > Save as..  > give it a new name.  It will contain the combined document.

     

    Regards,

    Captfred

  • by Eddie Strauss,

    Eddie Strauss Eddie Strauss Jun 27, 2011 7:26 AM in response to captfred
    Level 3 (991 points)
    Jun 27, 2011 7:26 AM in response to captfred

    I keep trying that. Did so before I came here.

     

    I get 3 separate PDF scans onto the sidebar. The I Save as.. give a new name and the file created is whichever single PDF on the right was highlighted and showing. If I select all and all three are highlighted on the right, there is an animation to change the name of the top one and only the top one is saved in the new file.

     

    What must I be doing wrong?

  • by captfred,

    captfred captfred Jun 27, 2011 7:36 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 7 (26,329 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 27, 2011 7:36 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    humm..  I see what you mean.  If you edit > select all and then File >save as..  it seems to work though.

     

    Not very intuitive, seems like it would just save them all.

     

    Captfred

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 27, 2011 7:37 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 10 (207,958 points)
    Applications
    Jun 27, 2011 7:37 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    You have to drag the additional pages right under the existing page after which you want to insert them, so that the whole set of existing pages highlights.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Jun 27, 2011 7:39 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 7 (29,173 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 27, 2011 7:39 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    You have to drag the new files onto the top icon itself. If you drag them below, you are just opening multiple documents. You should see some change in the animation of the top icon once it becomes a multi-page PDF.

  • by etresoft,Solvedanswer

    etresoft etresoft Jun 27, 2011 7:47 AM in response to Eddie Strauss
    Level 7 (29,173 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 27, 2011 7:47 AM in response to Eddie Strauss

    OK. Some confusing, conflicting advice. Here are some screenshots:

     

    I've got a single file open:

    Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 9.41.29 AM.png

    Let's add some pages:

    combine.png

    Notice how the thumbnail changes:

    Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 9.43.14 AM.png

    It is now a book. I can click the control to open the pages:

    Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 9.43.23 AM.png

  • by Eddie Strauss,

    Eddie Strauss Eddie Strauss Jun 27, 2011 7:52 AM in response to etresoft
    Level 3 (991 points)
    Jun 27, 2011 7:52 AM in response to etresoft

    YES.

     

    You must actually push the new PDF on top of the original one. Then a multi-arrow appears. Then too, the File menu contains a *Save All* which hadn't appeared before. Wow.

  • by Ruben Tomasov,

    Ruben Tomasov Ruben Tomasov Jun 27, 2011 9:02 AM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 27, 2011 9:02 AM in response to etresoft

    etresoft,


    Please don't read this as an actual reply to your post because it is not.


    But, since the thread is dealing with CUPS-PDF and I have been desperately seeking CUPS-PDF for a long time ever since I've got my brand new iMac only 5 days ago (5 days on a new iMac [which is not only new but is intel-based, and which I was forced to buy because my older PPC iMac G5 died of preternatural or some other causes] is an extremely long time on account of Snow Leopard, about which I am like a babe trying to start speaking for the first time) I found it more expedient to "reply" in order to get some help with CUPS-PDF from someone who knows.

     

    I've downloaded CUPS-PDF from "https://bitbucket.org/codepoet/cups-pdf-for-mac-os-x/wiki/Home" and installed it following the instructions included therein.

    The only instruction I could not follow is to pick "Generic postscript color printer"; I could pick  "Generic postscript printer" though.

     

    CUPS-PDF shows in the printer list.

    CUPS-PDF apparently prints as indicated by the progress bar.

     

    But, the print doesn't show anywhere on my computer:

    The output is not in /Users/Shared/CUPS-PDF in a folder with my user account's name.

    I did make an alias to this folder on my desktop but it only contains two folders: "my user name" and "SPOOL"

    The first folder had a "clone" of the download source page (which I deleted.)

    SPOOL has nothing in it.

     

    I've never had a problem using CUPS-PDF while on OS X 10.4.11, something I'll never be able to revert to.

     

    I'll be eternally grateful to you if you could help me with this issue but, on condition that you use a language as plain as English since my expertise with OS X, which was never as considerable as to be able to use terminal to any advantage, nor understanding terms such as sudos and the like, is now even diminished on account of the new OS I am forced to use from now on.

     

    Thank you so much for your help and excuse me for using this approach to ask for help.

     

    Best regards,

    Ruben