Is there a simple way to save multiple files, opened concurrently in Preview, as one document? The situation is that I opened all my on-line, pdf, monthly cell phone invoice files for 2012 at once, and want to save them in one file as "Cell invoices 2012."
Even though Preview shows them as one file with 12 booklets in the Sidebar, I can't see a way to save them as one big file.
Thanks!
Preview-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
I agree with laurogers, on 10.9.5, it is not possible to simply drop the files onto the ones you want to combine like you used to be able to. It doesn't seem to matter where you try to drop it (on, above, below), it doesn't work. If you hold the shift key all it does is make a duplicate, and no other key has any effect. It would be handy if someone knew the answer to this one.
Cheers
Try dragging the pages from the sidebar of one document, into the sidebar of another. They should copy to that document.
So I have to create a 'master' document? I thought there might be something simpler.
I'm not sure what you mean by "create a 'master' document". You can use one of the existing documents as the master, and add the others to it. By dragging thumbnails in the sidebar, as Karen said. To add a new document to the end of the "master", drop the thumbnails from the added document on top of the last-page thumbnail of the master.
Jeffrey and Karen ... I've used Preview for years but recently upgraded to OS Snow Leopard (I am reluctant to change software!). I used to freely drag and drop pages from the sidebar one pdf file open in Preview to the sidebar of another - as you recommend - without problem. Now if I do that, the caption in the bar at the top of the document says "2 documents, 5 (or whatever) open pages", and I can't save the whole thing as one document - Preview wants to save the tranferred pages as their own document. What has changed? What am I not understanding here?
The difference is that in Snow leopard (and beyond), Preview can open multiple multi-page documents in one window. If you drop pages in the space below another document's thumbnails, it will simply combine the documents into one window. To combine them into one document, be sure to drop the thumbnails onto the target document. The easiest way to be sure you have it right is to drop right on top of a thumbnail in the target. It works. I've done it many times.
Thank you!
You can do this with an applescript if you want to merge the files without opening them. See my
http://applehelpwriter.com/2013/03/23/how-to-merge-pdf-files-in-os-x/
(ToU Disclaimer: this links to my personal website).
I currently have a OS X 10.9.5. Previously in older OS versions, I have been able to make master documents like you have instructed. But, in the newest version it will not allow me to drag the thumbnails of one document into the thumbnails of another. Is there a different way to make a master document for the newer version. I cannot seem to figure it out.
In Mavericks, it works the same as always. It might be easier if you choose View > Contact Sheet instead of Thumbnails.
Be sure that the documents — especially the target document — are PDFs.
Thanks for supplying the key information about making all the docs into pdfs. I tried the drag and drop into the sidebar, but they did not remain in a combined form. I am on 10.9.5 and was using jpg files. Now I have made a single 17 pg pdf with your help. Thanks!
I've just realised that it wouldn't work as some of the pages I was trying to combine were JPG's. I had to export them as PDF's first, then re-open them, then the drop worked fine.
Save multiple files opened in Preview as one combined document
