Move new folder into existing folder

I have created a folder to hold scanned copies of my daughters check stubs. I cannot figure out how to add a scanned copy to the existing folder. Every time I try to do it I get a message asking if I want to replace the exiting folder which when I say yes I lose all the copies that was in the folder. So what I have done is scan all the check stubs I have and they are in a folder. Tonight she brought me another one which I saved in documents in a new folder. How do I add it to the existing folder? Hope all this makes sense.

I presume you are doing this in some scanner software? Or are you using Finder? If the former, what software? In Finder, if you drag and drop one folder on top of the other and they have different names, the moved one will show up in the stationary one as a subfolder. If they have the same name, I *think* a dialog box opens to ask if you want to replace or merge, but I've not done that to test.

I scan the check stubs using the HP scanner and when I am done there is a box that says send. When I click on that box it ask if I want to send the scanned item to a folder or the printer, when I click folder thats when I get message about replacing the existing folder with the new scanned item, and if I says yes thats when I lose all the items in the folder. I have been able to drag the new one on top of the old one and could see they were "together". I just thought I would be able to add the items in the folder as I scan them. The check stub I scanned tonight I have in documents under a different name.

What software are you using to manage the HP scanner? What scanner is it? When I scan with my HP All In One, I open System Preferences, Printers and Scanners, then select Scan and the scan interface opens to let me select flatbed or feed, kind of scan (color, B&W, etc.) and the resolution. One of the options in that dialog is where I want to the scan to go and what name to give it, plus the format of the scan. Once all is set, I click "Scan" and it scans, then stores the file where I told it to with the name I gave it. If a file already exists with that name, it appends a number after it to differentiate it from the existing file. Is that what you are doing?

It is a HP Officejet 5740, I am not sure which software. I just tried it using your method and it worked, so now I have a folder named Melissa's Check Stubs (the original) and one named Melissa's Check Stubs 1. The way I was doing it before was go to my Launchpad and click on the HP Scan symbol there, I didn't know about the system preferences. Your way works so much better. So now I guess my questions can I combine Check Stub 1 into the original folder?

I'm slightly confused. My HP is the Office Pro 8600, but I think the software works the same. When I scan, I don't get folders, I get files, usually jpeg files. Are you saying that Check Stop and Check Stop 1 are both folders? If so, and if you want to move what's in one to the other you can open one, select all files, then copy, move to the other folder, open it and then paste the files. If there are duplicates, Finder will ask what you want to do.

But I stumped about WHY you get folders instead of files. The is NOT how it works for me.

LOL, whenever I come here for help the person that is trying to help all say the same thing about being confused, must be my communication skills. When I was using the Launch I was getting folders, when I tried it your way I got files. The original "folder" is in Finder, under documents, named Melissa"s Check Stubs.pdf and has 13 check stubs in it. The "file" that I created using your way is named the same but with a number 1 in the name and has 1 check stub in it. Somehow your way made a file and my way made a folder.

A .pdf is not a folder, it's an image file. That's why trying to merge was going south, you were overwriting one with the other. Now it all makes sense. I don't think you can add the image to the pdf unless you have software from Adobe (or some third party) to edit pdf files. What you have is a multi-page file in what is known as Portable Document Format (PDF) that is technically readable on most, if not all, operating systems using Adobe Reader, or on the Mac, Preview. I just took a quick look at Preview and didn't see any way to add a new page to an existing multi-page pdf file.

I guess what happened is that whatever you used to create the pdf was set to output PDF and when you scanned, it added each image to the file as an additional page. Once closed, however, it didn't add your second set of scans to that page, but created a new set with the same name and the 1 added to differentiate.

Does that help?

Yes, that does help. I went back and read your post No. 6 where you said when you scan, using your method, you get jpeg files. When I tried your way I saw that it was a jpeg file and I change that to a pdf, not knowing what I was doing of course. And I have also noticed whenever I open the original PDF it is in preview. I understand now, I need to scan the way you do. So in order to do this right I need to rescan all the check stubs and create a jpeg file and add them one at a time? Then weekly when she brings me her latest check stub I can scan it and send it to the jpeg file? Have all of them in one file?

No, what I would do is scan each stub as a separate image, then save or put all the images in a folder. Give each image a separate name, maybe with the number of the check, or the date of the stub or anything that will be unique. That way when you need to find one, you can see from the file name which one you want/need. So, assuming you use the way I said, you'd set it up with a name, say Dec_1_2016, then scan into a folder named "Check Stubs" and when you get done, there should be file named Dec_1_2016.jpg in that folder. Now when another stub arrives, say next week, you set the name to Dec_8_2016 and point to that same folder and scan. Now the folder will have two files, Dec_1_2016.jpg and Dec_8_2016.jpg. You don't have to use dates, that was just an example. Just give each image a separate name. Now, if you happen to use the same name, then the folder will still have the files, but now they would be named Dec_1_2016.jpg and Dec_1_2016 1.jpg. A third image would be Dec_1_2016 3.jpg and so on.

You could also take a slightly easier approach and name the image "CheckStub" and the second one will automatically be "CheckStub 1" and then "CheckStub 2" etc, but I don't personally like depending on the system to make that count for me. It's up to you.

OK great, I think I got it. Thank You very much for your help. I will get started tomorrow. Thanks again.

The bit that got me confused was "Send" as I'm used to seeing "Save." Once a location has been set for the scanner to save to such as the Desktop (usually the default for me) I then drag an drop the scan into whichever folder I want it in.

Rod, that was what triggered me to understand that he was using something other than the drivers in System Preferences. I suspect that he could have set that software to something other than PDF, too. But the "save" feature of the way i described it is just more intuitive, to me.