You can use Preview to easily merge two PDF files, or bring pages from one into the other. You can also create new documents from pages selected from another PDF. You can even bring images into PDFs as new pages.
Related Subjects: PDF (17 videos), Preview (45 videos)
Related Video Tutorials:
No related posts.
Comments: 17 Responses to “Merge PDF Files With Preview”
Brad Halstead
10 years ago
Nice introduction, but what happens to links inside the initial PDF that reference imported PDF's? Do they merge so that it will be one linked document or do you have to recreate the links? For instance, I have a manual consisting of 15 different PDF pages, the first being the index (Topic) page, clicking a link in that opens another document for viewing. If I use your method will the link reference the added page instead of the external page?
Not sure how this works with links. I don't come across many PDFs that have internal links. Seems like you do, so why not just try it out and see what happens? Report back...
Brad Halstead
10 years ago
Nope, it does not change the links from external to internal, in fact it won't even link to the external document either... Looks like more twiddling with PDFGenius...
Ray
10 years ago
Great! This really helps in a number of things I do regularly. I've been cutting and pasting into a Pages Document. Much better way.
I got the Video guide to Mevericks. Super!!!!!!
Randy Miller
10 years ago
OK. so I created a document that is now 7 pages, by dragging and dropping 7 individual pdf's. Can you save that file? I tried saving, and it only saved the page I was looking at. I tried exporting and only the first page exported. Can you save the new larger file?
It sounds like you didn't actually merge the pages into one document, but simply put them all in the same window. Re-watch the video carefully and I talk about avoiding this.
Red Jensen
10 years ago
I have watched the video carefully and fully understand the concept. The trouble I am having is the in Preview v7, I don't get the 'line' separating the 'files' that are open in the same window if each pdf file is only 1 page.
As a work around, I opened a multi-page file and dragged my single page files into it and then deleted all the other pages of the original multi-page file.
Can you produce a video showing this same procedure with single page files?
It works with single-page documents too. Just drag the one page from the second document onto the one page of the first document. When dragging, look for the green + symbol and you know you can drop it there to add the page to the first document.
BenG
10 years ago
Gary,
I am having the same problem as Jensen. When I open individual files and try to combine them, nothing happens. There is no separator line, no [+] sign, and it saves only one page. Can you be a little more explicit about combining single page pngs.
Hard to say what might be different about your situation. Are you opening PDF files? Images don't have "pages" but PDF files do.
Red Jensen
10 years ago
I couldn't get it to work. The line separating the documents is not present and any drag-n-drop attempt is not met the friendly green + symbol. Are you using the same version of Preview as me?
This uses the very latest version of Preview, the one that comes with Mavericks. But previous ones work the same. What type of files are you trying to merge? Keep in mind this only works with PDF files, not images and others.
Ramon
10 years ago
Gary, I am trying to add Jpegs to my PDF and have them print like a contact sheet but cannot make the file name appear under each JPEG. Can it be done inside Preview?
Not easily. You can "print" each jpg to a PDF and then merge them. That's a lot of work. Better to use something like Pages and bring them in there, add captions, export as PDF and merge into your document. Or, use whatever it is you are using to create the original PDF.
Richard Wade
10 years ago
I tried using the "Copy + New from clipboard" to reduce paper use while printing credit card bills (AmEx). It didn't work. Is the file somehow protected? If I make a copy of the file and repeat the "Copy + New from clipboard" procedure it works as advertised.
Nice introduction, but what happens to links inside the initial PDF that reference imported PDF's? Do they merge so that it will be one linked document or do you have to recreate the links? For instance, I have a manual consisting of 15 different PDF pages, the first being the index (Topic) page, clicking a link in that opens another document for viewing. If I use your method will the link reference the added page instead of the external page?
Watch your show weekly, thanks for all the tips!
Not sure how this works with links. I don't come across many PDFs that have internal links. Seems like you do, so why not just try it out and see what happens? Report back...
Nope, it does not change the links from external to internal, in fact it won't even link to the external document either... Looks like more twiddling with PDFGenius...
Great! This really helps in a number of things I do regularly. I've been cutting and pasting into a Pages Document. Much better way.
I got the Video guide to Mevericks. Super!!!!!!
OK. so I created a document that is now 7 pages, by dragging and dropping 7 individual pdf's. Can you save that file? I tried saving, and it only saved the page I was looking at. I tried exporting and only the first page exported. Can you save the new larger file?
It sounds like you didn't actually merge the pages into one document, but simply put them all in the same window. Re-watch the video carefully and I talk about avoiding this.
I have watched the video carefully and fully understand the concept. The trouble I am having is the in Preview v7, I don't get the 'line' separating the 'files' that are open in the same window if each pdf file is only 1 page.
As a work around, I opened a multi-page file and dragged my single page files into it and then deleted all the other pages of the original multi-page file.
Can you produce a video showing this same procedure with single page files?
It works with single-page documents too. Just drag the one page from the second document onto the one page of the first document. When dragging, look for the green + symbol and you know you can drop it there to add the page to the first document.
Gary,
I am having the same problem as Jensen. When I open individual files and try to combine them, nothing happens. There is no separator line, no [+] sign, and it saves only one page. Can you be a little more explicit about combining single page pngs.
Hard to say what might be different about your situation. Are you opening PDF files? Images don't have "pages" but PDF files do.
I couldn't get it to work. The line separating the documents is not present and any drag-n-drop attempt is not met the friendly green + symbol. Are you using the same version of Preview as me?
This uses the very latest version of Preview, the one that comes with Mavericks. But previous ones work the same. What type of files are you trying to merge? Keep in mind this only works with PDF files, not images and others.
Gary, I am trying to add Jpegs to my PDF and have them print like a contact sheet but cannot make the file name appear under each JPEG. Can it be done inside Preview?
Not easily. You can "print" each jpg to a PDF and then merge them. That's a lot of work. Better to use something like Pages and bring them in there, add captions, export as PDF and merge into your document. Or, use whatever it is you are using to create the original PDF.
I tried using the "Copy + New from clipboard" to reduce paper use while printing credit card bills (AmEx). It didn't work. Is the file somehow protected? If I make a copy of the file and repeat the "Copy + New from clipboard" procedure it works as advertised.
Perhaps. Hard to tell what might be going wrong without a first-hand look.
Thank you!