combine multiple pdfs to single pdf

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#1

Is there a procedure to open multiple PDF documents into LibreOffice, then combine or merge them into a single PDF document? I have a scanner that will do this, but it seems silly to have to print a bunch of PDFs so I can scan them, then merge them. Main issue: while one PDF will have been created in LibreOffice, most of the PDFs to be merged will be musical notation created in another program (Finale).

Thank you.

DF

(P.S. The requirement that tags be used, and the list of absolutely required tags, should be made clear before a user attempts to submit a question without proper tags. Twice.)

1 Like
How to merge 4 pdf files into one larger pdf file?
#2

I can recommend programs like pdf24 (Windows), pdfmod (Linux) or PDFsam (Windows/Linux).

For merging/splitting a better choice than LibreOffice (which could do as well but more efforts).

#3

A PDF document is a very complex item which can contain a mixture of graphics and text, all in various formats. Programs like Finale and LibO will be able to write them, probably using only a small subset of the capabilities, but reading them is another matter. Have you considered using Lilypond http://www.lilypond.org/ for engraving the music? This has a program which allows you to incorporate music into a text document (I’ve not used it myself though).

#4

There’s no specific Merge command or function, but there is a clumsy workaround. It may be more trouble than it’s worth, though.

Take whichever PDF you want to be the first to appear in your new combined PDF and make a copy of it. Give it the title of the new, combined PDF you want to create.

Open this in LibreOffice. It will open in Draw.

Go to Insert > Page (or right-click on the last page of the PDF and select New Page) and do this as many times as necessary to create the number of new pages you will need to add your other PDFs. (I don’t see any way to bulk add new pages.)

Click on the first blank page in the series. You will see that there are two columns. All the pages of your document appear in the left-hand column, the Pages pane. The one you are currently working on also appears in the right-hand column, which is called the Workspace.

If the second PDF you want to add to the first is only one page, you can drag in into the blank page in the Workspace. You will probably have to adjust the position of these additions, as they tend to paste a little bit askew.

However, if it’s a multi-page PDF, you will have to open it in another program such as Adobe Reader and copy and paste the contents of each individual page. Because when you drag and drop into Draw, only the first page gets pulled in. And there will probably be some re-formatting you need to do.

Repeat for all the other PDF’s you want to add.

Save and then File > Export as PDF.

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#13

This is very simple and easy to do now.

  1. Open the first pdf in Libre Office Draw, and make the window fill the left half of the screen
  2. Open the second pdf in a new window of Libre Office Draw, and make that window fill the right half of the screen
  3. There are two columns in each window, the left column shows the pages of each pdf. Drag the pages from the second pdf into the pages pane of the first pdf. You can order the pages however you wish.
  4. Once you are satisfied with the combined pdf, click File → Export As → Export Directly as PDF
  5. The new pdf will be quickly generated in the same directory as your existing pdf files.

Note: This works for me on Ubuntu 20.04 running LibreOffice 6.4.7.2

#14

@oklahoma_corn wrote: This is very simple and easy to do now.

Thanks for this tip!

EDIT
Have you checked LO’s behaviour if you merge PDF documents with different page sizes?.. Could be a problem (Draw does not support 2 different page sizes). - Cheers

#5

hello DF,

consider using ‘pdfcreator’ or similar, afaik there is an option to combine multiple pdf’s by printing them to the pdfcreator ‘virtual printer’, and then saving them as one file …

reg.

newbie-01

#16

pdfcreator is not a free software, nor is it opensource,
we should stick to opensource,
and software made for windows should be out of question…

software made as multiplatform is okay, though…
but pdfcreator is for windows…

#6

Thanks for all the assistance, and the alacrity as well. I rather wonder why LibreOffice can’t perform this function efficiently, as it would appear to be to be a copy-and-paste function that could be accommodated in a straightforward manner, and given the prevalence of useful documents in PDF format, it seems like there would be a call for it.

I also notice that LibreOffice does not have an option to export a PDF in black-and-white or greyscale. I can’t imagine that I am the only person who would find that useful.

Oh, well. I rather like LibreOffice-- enough that I won’t make my usual comment about free things in regard to it:
“Free-- and worth every penny.”

Thanks again.

DF

#7

Please edit you question or add a comment.

#8

Why?

TY

DF

#9

Because using answer are for answers. helps to keep the threads clear. This is not a forum.

#10

Ah. So, because I inadvertently replied with an answer instead of a comment almost a year and a half ago, you want me to “keep the threads clear” by either changing a reply that is almost a year-and-a-half old (and which didn’t raise an eyebrow until now), or add more content to the thread? Interesting.

Perhaps the design of your not-a-forum should not allow a question to be posted under a question.

Here’s a question: what is this, if it’s not a forum?

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#11

For your original question. (With the newer LO versions like 5.3 you should be able to import single PDF-pages into your document as vector image. But this is always only the first page od the PDF. So you would have to split your PDF into a lot 1-page-PDFs and then import each one by one.)
Long before this feature came to LO I had the same wish like you: To merge multiple music notation PDFs and LO-Documents. Possibly create a nice TOC of it all.
I ended up with this free project that it essentially a template and uses the free command-line program PDFtk which you have to download and install.

#12

If you are having an issue combining the PDFs then you can use PDFDad (free online tool). It will help in merging the PDFs from any device.

#15

pdfbad: no longer works

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