[RobOnTheCape]

Hello all,

I just got a MacAir, and I'm trying to find a pdf creator which can merge files. Paid and free would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

[Big Mac]

My personal choice: PDFPen. it's one app there's is apparently no equivalent to on Windows, which is why for serious PDF work I require a Mac OS X environment.

[RobOnTheCape]

Thanks so much - I'll try it.

[RobOnTheCape]

It looks like overkill really as I create my docs, and never have to alter them. No sense in paying for something I'll only use 5% of. Nice program though.

[Waragainstsleep]

You can create PDFs from anywhere by hitting print -> Save as PDF.
You can merge PDFs using Preview or Automator:

How To Combine PDF Files in Mac OSX Using Automator To Make A Service | Tips To Learn How To Go Paperless | DocumentSnap Paperless Blog

[Big Mac]

if you just need to reorder pages you can use CombinePDFs (free). I thought you needed more editing abilities. You can also use Services to a degree (but output may not match what you want unless you're lucky or good with Automator). I've found Preview least capable when it comes to PDF editing. I've tried it to reorder pages, and it looks fine in Preview but others apps don't view it properly.

[RobOnTheCape]

Not really - just take two or three Word docs, merge and send. Thanks again.

[RobOnTheCape]

Thanks!

[Spheric Harlot]

Print as PDF from any app able to open and print whatever document, merge and reorder in Preview.

Free and already installed.

[OreoCookie]

You don't need any app, just Preview and the Print dialog will get the job done:
(1) Create pdfs of your documents using the Print dialog (there is a save as pdf button in the lower-left).
(2) Open one of the pdfs (preferably the one you want to appear on the first few pages of the combined pdf document).
(3) Select View > Thumbnails from the menu (or click in the appropriate item in the menu bar).
(4) Open the other two apps and also select thumbnail view. Then select the pages from Document 2 and drag & drop them after the last page of the first document. Don't worry if you miss the target, you can reorder the pages at will.
(5) Repeat step 4 with any of the other document(s) you may have.
(6) Either select save a version (which »overwrites« document 1) or use the Print dialog to save another pdf.

[chabig]

I agree. Use Preview.

[andi*pandi]

Hmm, didn't know preview could do that, I've always used Acrobat to merge PDFs. Nifty!

[Thorzdad]

Me neither. That's pretty handy.
I just did a quick experiment by opening an existing PDF and simply re-saving it in Preview. The file size jumped from 877K in the original to 1.2MB in the Preview copy. This might be because Preview saves as a PDF1.4 file (the original was a PDF1.5 file) Preview DID seem to save it in the original color space (it was a CMYK file for print). I was surprised to see Preview preserved the embedded CMYK color profile information. Not sure why that surprised me.

[Cold Warrior]

Preview has done this since 10.6 I think. It's a very handy feature, I use it all the time, especially if I fill out some forms or write a letter, then I can take scans, diagrams, or whatever and just drop them in as additional pages and enclosures. It's great.