Combining two jpgs

Using Pages '09 v4.3, you can combine two images, select both, group them, copy to clipboard, and select New from Clipboard in Preview. They are now in PDF format in Preview, where you can save, or export to other formats, or copy/paste back into Pages as a PDF.

I reference the older Pages, because in Pages v5.6.2, your trip from Pages through the clipboard to Preview produces a 72 dpi PNG graphics file — not PDF, and not the JPG of the two combined images.

If you don't have Pages '09 v4.3, you should combine your images in a dedicated graphics program (e.g. GIMP (free), Photoshop, Affinity Designer, etc.).

You cannot combine images in Preview, as you can PDF. The image combination appears to work until you save and review that content, to find that it didn't work afterall.

If you open the two JPEG files in Preview you CAN drag the thumbnail from one onto the thumbnail area of the other... what is different is the result remains as 2 JPEGs. To obtain a SINGLE file you will need to File > Print and select the PDF dropdown then Save to PDF

Not sure what you are describing because you can't simply drag a thumbnail onto another thumbnail in Preview.

This is an example of what I described of copy/pasting:

The Thermometer icon on the shirt was a second .png file which even retained its transparency when pasted onto the shirt .jpeg and which I then rescaled and positioned. On saving this is one jpeg although Preview has the smarts to keep the two as separate layers when reopened

This is an example of just two halves of album covers merged side by side using copy/paste rescale and positioning:

Again a single .jpeg when saved.

Peter

On rereading the original post (more than once) I think you may have it right. 🙂

La_Gypsette threw me off with "trying to combine two JPGs like two PDFs into one".

Yes you are correct, all the bitmap jpegs need to be converted to bitmap pdfs so you can have multiple pdf pages.

Peter

You can do this in Preview.

Open both images in Preview > command I (get Info) > note the dimensions and work out what the finished dimensions add up to

Open a blank window and select a sample white area by dragging over after holding down command shift 4

That saves a file to your desktop, which you can open in Preview to create a background on which to assemble the other 2 files.

Resize the white sample to the final size you want under the Tools menu.

Then Copy/Paste/Drag into place the other 2 images into that blank resized file. Save to whatever format you want.

Peter

I was assuming the original question related to adding pages to PDF files using Preview. This - as I am sure most readers know - is achieved by opening 2 files in individual windows within Preview and dragging the Thumbnail (View > Thumbnails) from one file into the thumbnail view area of the other file.

As I said you CAN do this with JPEG images however the result in not a single file (they remain as jpegs) however the 'result' CAN be obtained as a single file by using File > Print and eventually Save to PDF.

Sorry my original message was not sufficiently clear. Hopefully La_Gypsette will let us know EXACTLY what was required/expected as we are interpreting the original question in different ways.

Another example of what is possible in Preview:

The Apple staffer is a png file with transparent background the graphic background is a .jpeg.

I copy/pasted the staffer into a copy of the jpeg (so I could resave it) then saved the combination as a .jpeg. In this case it is fully merged, no layers.

Peter