HT202945: OS X: Combining PDF documents using Preview

Learn about OS X: Combining PDF documents using Preview
Liz M
Level 1 (27 points)
Mac OS X

Q: To combine PDF's now, you have to use Print & Save to PDF

I just upgraded to El Capitan and found that this article is now out of date (though it may not have stopped working with El Capitan).

 

To combine PDFs, drag the thumbnails as described in this article but you'll find that the result is a window with multiple documents in it instead of a single combined document.  To get a single PDF, select Print off the File menu and then choose Save to PDF off the PDF menu at the bottom right.

 

h/t  http://osxdaily.com/2014/06/27/how-to-join-multiple-pdf-files-into-a-single-pdf- document-in-mac-os-x/

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Oct 25, 2015 9:14 AM

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Liz M

Q: To combine PDF's now, you have to use Print & Save to PDF

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  • by Esquared,

    Esquared Esquared Oct 25, 2015 9:38 AM in response to Liz M
    Level 6 (8,405 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 25, 2015 9:38 AM in response to Liz M

    In my experience merging pdf's still works, but you have to drag new pages more or less to the top of the miniature list. If you aim to low, it indeed results in a collection of separate pdf's.

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 25, 2015 12:07 PM in response to Esquared
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 25, 2015 12:07 PM in response to Esquared

    I just tried that.  I opened a document with one page and showed thumbnails; opened a second multipage document and showed thumbnails, too.  I then drag one of the pages from the multipage document over to the top of the other, making it the first page of a two page document, except the window then showed that it contained two documents.  So, at least in that case, it didn't work.

     

    In my original case, I had two one-page documents and was trying to create a two page document from them.  I tried various methods -- saving, exporting, dragging thumbnails vs dragging documents; opening both docs at the same time (because in the past it would open with both in a single window).  No matter what I did, I either only had one document with one page or two pages in a two document window -- until I found the suggestion to print from the two document window.

  • by Sparkleberry,

    Sparkleberry Sparkleberry Oct 25, 2015 12:22 PM in response to Liz M
    Level 4 (3,110 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 25, 2015 12:22 PM in response to Liz M

    Try opening one PDF in preview and show the thumbnails

    Then from the Finder, drag the second PDF on top of the thumbnail.

     

    whether one page in preview with another pdf dragged from the finder onto the thumbnail it combined them.

    or ten pages in preview, with a 20 page pdf dragged on top of any one of the thumbnails.  It combined them.

     

    I also tried it with PDF open in Preview, seems to work just as above.  It depends, like Esquared wrote, where you drop them in the thumbnail

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 25, 2015 12:40 PM in response to Sparkleberry
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 25, 2015 12:40 PM in response to Sparkleberry

    Sparkleberry wrote:

     

    Try opening one PDF in preview and show the thumbnails

    Then from the Finder, drag the second PDF on top of the thumbnail.

    Just tried that but it still says 2 documents at the top and I was careful to drag from the finder above the thumbnail in the document open in Preview.

     

    Are you using El Capitan?

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Oct 25, 2015 1:01 PM in response to Liz M
    Level 10 (140,898 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 25, 2015 1:01 PM in response to Liz M

    Just so we're all on the same page are you dragging the thumbnail from the other pdf file to just above this line in the first pdf file?

    Preview001 copy.jpg

    OTsig.png

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 25, 2015 6:43 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 25, 2015 6:43 PM in response to Old Toad

    I had two one page pdfs and was trying to combine those into one.  In a one page PDF, I don't see that line in Preview.  However, I was most recently opening the pdf that was page 2 of the document I was trying to create and dragging page 1 to above page 2 and that didn't work.

     

    Ok, I also have a multipage PDF and I just tried dragging one of the above pages into it and that worked right.  So, this only works if adding to a multipage document?  I'm beginning to think this is a bug instead of a mis-feature.

  • by Old Toad,Helpful

    Old Toad Old Toad Oct 26, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Liz M
    Level 10 (140,898 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 26, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Liz M

    You're right.  It appears if you have a multipage PDF file you can add pages from other PDF files. But, if you start with a one page PDF file you apparently can't add additional pages.  Report the inconsistency (nice for bug) to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 26, 2015 9:04 AM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 26, 2015 9:04 AM in response to Old Toad

    Will do!  Thanks for your help.

  • by Sparkleberry,

    Sparkleberry Sparkleberry Oct 27, 2015 1:25 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 4 (3,110 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 27, 2015 1:25 PM in response to Old Toad

    Old Toad wrote:

     

    You're right.  It appears if you have a multipage PDF file you can add pages from other PDF files. But, if you start with a one page PDF file you apparently can't add additional pages.  Report the inconsistency (nice for bug) to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

     

    Are you sure?  I just tried that. 

     

    I had a five page PDF. Then split it into 5 separate pages using Adobe Acrobat Pro. 

     

    So I had five pdf single page files on my desktop.

    Dragged pdf file 1 onto Preview, then added the other four separate pages, one at a time, dropping them on the 1 page thumbnail in Preview, and recreated the entire 5 page file.

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Oct 27, 2015 1:44 PM in response to Sparkleberry
    Level 10 (140,898 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 27, 2015 1:44 PM in response to Sparkleberry

    I'm not able to.  I can take 4 or 5 single page pdf files, open the first and drag the other 4 onto the thumbnail of the first page and when I save it's only the one page.

     

    But as I said before if I start out with a 2 or more page pdf I can add additional pages to it and save.

  • by Sparkleberry,

    Sparkleberry Sparkleberry Oct 27, 2015 1:53 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 4 (3,110 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 27, 2015 1:53 PM in response to Old Toad

    Hi, Toad,

    Just tried it again.  Took a standard multiple page pdf file, extracted 10 pages as separate one page pdf files, put the 10 files  in a folder.

    Took the first pdf page and dropped it into Preview to open it, chose View Thumbnail.

    Then selected the remaining 9 single page pdf and dropped them one at a time in the thumbnail area and recreated the total 10 page file.

     

    Also, tried selecting all 9 single page pdfs and dropped them as a group into the thumbnail area and recreated the total 10 page file.

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 27, 2015 10:26 PM in response to Sparkleberry
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 27, 2015 10:26 PM in response to Sparkleberry


    Sparkleberry wrote:

     

    Hi, Toad,

    Just tried it again.  Took a standard multiple page pdf file, extracted 10 pages as separate one page pdf files, put the 10 files  in a folder.

    Took the first pdf page and dropped it into Preview to open it, chose View Thumbnail.

    Then selected the remaining 9 single page pdf and dropped them one at a time in the thumbnail area and recreated the total 10 page file.

     

    Also, tried selecting all 9 single page pdfs and dropped them as a group into the thumbnail area and recreated the total 10 page file.

    I just tried to reproduce that.  I tried making single page PDFs a couple ways (dragging thumbnails to a folder and deleting all but one page from a multipage document), but none of the single page PDFs have that line indicated by Toad in his picture above and when I drag to combine the PDFs again, they all show up in one window but at the top of the window, it will say 3 documents of whatever and when you save, it only saves one page.

     

    I used to be able to do this in an older version of Mac OS; I'm not sure when it stopped working as I don't need to do this very often.  I'm using El Capitan now having upgraded within the last week. 

     

    Sparkleberry, what Mac OS are you using?  If El Capitan or something fairly recent, are you sure if you save the result and then re-open it, that you get a multipage PDF?  This is very strange.

  • by Sparkleberry,

    Sparkleberry Sparkleberry Oct 28, 2015 6:41 AM in response to Liz M
    Level 4 (3,110 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 28, 2015 6:41 AM in response to Liz M

    Well, it appears you and Old Toad are right.  I just tried it again and now my PDF repeatedly crashes and I cannot replicate what seemed to happen yesterday.  What were multiple page but all in a single file now export as multiple files.

     

    But... I still can make a single file:

     

    Took a new multiple page pdf file

    Used Adobe Acrobat Pro and extracted 5 pages as separate one page pdf files,

    put the 5 single pages files in a folder on the desktop

    Took the first pdf page and dropped it into Preview to open it,

    chose View Thumbnail.

    Then selected the remaining 4 single page pdfs and dropped them one at a time in the thumbnail area so now there are 5 thumbnails, making sure I saw the green + to indicate they were being added.

    Clicked on single thumbnail, then did Select All so all 5  thumbnails in Preview were highlighted and dragged that selection to the desktop.

    That created a single pdf of the 5 pages.  The Preview appends the word (dragged) onto that new file name.

     

    Edit: my OS is 10.11.1 (15B42)

  • by Liz M,

    Liz M Liz M Oct 29, 2015 8:50 AM in response to Sparkleberry
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 29, 2015 8:50 AM in response to Sparkleberry

    I tried that with my two pages but when I dragged the thumbnails to my desktop, I wound up with two separate PDFs on my desktop.  Thanks for verifying you're using El Capitan (Mac OS X 10.11).

     

    When you open one of the single page PDFs you've made, does it have the line at the bottom as Old Toad showed in the pic above?

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