Stacking or combining PDF files

I will be moving to a Mac in the next month or so and have a question about combining 2 or more PDF files into 1 PDF. On my pc, I use paperport software that lets me drag one PDF onto another and they then combine into one file. Is there anything on the Mac that will accomplish this? I know adobe acrobat will combine, but I need a drag and drop solution.

Thanks!!

Mike

Preview, which is free with OS X, works very well for this.

It sure does. A biddy showed me how it;s down. You can read about it at ATPM 14.09 - How To: Making Preview Useful Again. Should save you some trial and error.

Slydude said:

It sure does. A biddy showed me how . . . ..

Click to expand...

Most females I know would clobber a guy for a statement like that. Hopefully she's not within swinging range.

Better fix that double quick. He would likely be a bit ticked.

Need help merging multiple PDFs...(unable to get Preview to work for this)

RavingMac said:

Preview, which is free with OS X, works very well for this.

Click to expand...

We are dealing with LosAngelesDeptWater/Power (LA DWP) to put solar panels on our roof, and their application system requires us to submit everything online in PDF format.

I've successfully turned ALL of the required documents into PDFs, but am running into issues when we are required to turn multiple page submissions into one document- e.g., we have 30 plus receipts that have been turned into PDF's individually, but they are required to be submitted as one single PDF file.

I found this website to explain how to merge pdfs, using Preview:

ATPM 14.09 - How To: Making Preview Useful Again

and these were the 4 basic steps they suggested following:

" 1) Open the first PDF and make sure the sidebar is showing.
2) Drag other PDFs that you want to combine into the sidebar.
3) Once all the files are in the sidebar drag the thumbnails into
any order you like. Clicking on a thumbnail shows that file’s
contents in the main window just in case you need a peek.
4) Once all of the files are in order, choose Save As and save the file. "

All was fine until I reached #4-
there is absolutely no option for "Save As".

I tried the other "save" options in case the reviewer had written the options incorrectly, but nothing worked.




SO I did a little more research and found an app that I could use to drag/drop/merge the PDFs I needed. It came with a free trial offer, and I used it multiple times. It worked flawlessly every time.

so- today when I needed it again, I noticed that it was missing from my computer. No idea where it went, and worse yet, no idea what it was called, so no google searches are pulling it up.

so....
I tried to do the Preview route again, and it still just isn't working. I've followed the directions explicitly, and I've found other websites that list these same exact steps- so am I just an imbecile that I can't make it work on my computer?

I am at my wits end- there's just no logical explanation at all.

None.

I can't get these PDFs to merge and I have spent hours today- wasted my whole day- just trying to make something -ANYTHING work. I'm hesitant to buy some other PDF-merge-app, because I don't know which sources to trust- am not familiar enough with the different review websites, or the companies they write about- to know if my transactions are safe, or if the products have been reviewed for money. The for-pay apps seem to range between $10-$30 which seems utterly ridiculous if the LA DWP is the ONLY place I will likely EVER have to deal with PDF's in my entire life... (when I do a search for "merge PDFs" on the app store, the only apps that appear are for iPod and iPhone- but I need something that will work on my 2011 MacBook Pro, OS 10.10.2 Yosemite)


So to summarize:
1) What might I be doing wrong to prevent Preview from working correctly?
2) Are there free apps that you would recommend to accomplish this task instead? (are you allowed to recommend products on this forum?)
3) In general- would you suggest some legacy Mac/Mac Product Review sites that are trustworthy for any future needs?
4) does anyone have any idea what the app I used before might have been? I swear it had the word "sky" in it somewhere, and the logo was simple, clean- maybe blue, maybe some green in it? something about it reminded me of the Skype logo.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this, and comment. I look forward to hearing the forum's thoughts.

Regards,
L

When I wrote that article the procedure worked as described. Sometime in the almost seven years that have passed the way to combine PDFs in Preview has changed. In current versions of Preview you can't always activate the Sidebar to follow my procedure.

I just tried the following procedure with the version of Preview in Yosemite and it works. Try this and let me know what happens:
1. Open the first PDF using Preview
2. From the View menu in Preview choose Contact Sheet.
3. A window appears showing thumbnails of each page in the current document. Drag another PDF into that window and thumbnails for those pages appear.
4. Choose Print from the file menu. Select the PDF dropdown in the lower left and choose Save As PDF.

I think you could follow steps 1 - 3 and use the Export to PDF command instead of the print dialog but I haven't tested that yet. In step 3 I think you can drag several files into the contact sheet window at the same time.

Slydude said:

I think you could follow steps 1 - 3 and use the Export to PDF command instead of the print dialog but I haven't tested that yet. In step 3 I think you can drag several files into the contact sheet window at the same time.

Click to expand...

When I use the Export to PDF, it always opens the Printer Window and starts to print the document as a PDF. don't know why, but it never Exports to a Save As

If you have a business, I suggest buying PDF Pen 7 from Smile Software. I have used the Pro version in the past, as I was gifted the App. it works flawlessly, and saved me a lot of grief, when I had to get legal documents together. It will allow you to Edit, Make PDF's, and allow you too make 1 PDF out of 2-3-4. Yes it does cost, but with what you need to go through sometimes with OS X, this saves you time, which in a business is $$.
You can also buy from their online store here http://smilesoftware.com/PDFpen/index.html which gives you the Pro version thats not available in the Mac App Store.

I still use PDF Pen for iOS all the time . .

Thanks for the info about the Export command. I am working on a project for work and hadn't tested that possibility yet.

I'll second the use of PDF Pen if someone needs PDF capabilities that preview can't provide. I got the version I have as part of an app bundle. Preview handles most of the things I do with PDF files but when I need something more PDF Pen is the app I turn to.

+1 for PDFpen. The great majority of users will find the standard version does everything they ever wanted. The more expensive PDFpenPro has one or two additional features which I find indispensable. Great app.

PS I have no connection with this or any other organisation or developer. It's my personal view.

Ian

By the way: regarding merging PDFs using Preview. In the final stage, hold down the Option key when clicking on File and the "Save As" facility appears. I just tested this out, merging 4 different PDFs into one and "saving as" as described above. I'm running Mavericks, but this Option Click thing has been around a fair while and I think it still pertains in Yosemite.

Ian