PDF files have been designed to be a universal format with which to share documents, with an easy reading, which are as printed and which do not change according to the program used. A PDF can also come in handy to create a collection of images and combine a series of photographs in a single file, easy to share via email or even ready to print on paper.
You can easily combine and insert images and photos into a PDF, using a function already included in any version of Windows and easily enhanced by some external programs that we can install to speed up the creation of the PDF.
In this guide we will then show you how to combine images into a PDF file using the tools provided by the operating system and some strictly free programs. At the end of the guide we will also find a chapter dedicated to websites that allow you to combine images in a PDF file, very useful on PCs locked by the administrator or with different operating systems (MacOS or Linux).
How to combine images into a PDF file
To do this, simply use some tools already integrated in Windows 10; for old Windows systems we will have to support a PDF virtual printing tool in order to take full advantage of the procedures described. For those who want to create the PDF immediately we can use one of the free programs or websites recommended in the respective chapters.Combine PDF images from Windows
If we use Windows as the operating system, we can combine images into a PDF file by positioning the images to be converted in one folder, ordering the image files by name or by date (as needed) and pressing the CTRL + A key to select all the file (alternatively we can also press on the Home or Edit menu at the top and press on Select all ). Once selected, we press the right mouse button on the selection and use the item Print or Print images .A new window will open, where we will see the previews of all the images and where we can choose how to display them on the final prints; in order to combine the images in PDF, make sure that Microsoft Print to PDF is selected in the Printer field, then press the Print button at the bottom.
A new window will now open where we will have to choose the name and path where to save the PDF file. Confirmed the last options, automatic conversion will start and the PDF file will be created in the selected folder; at the end we can open the file with Adobe Acrobat or with any other PDF viewer installed (also with Chrome and Firefox). On Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 the steps to be performed are the same, but to combine images in a PDF file we will first have to install a virtual PDF printer such as doPDF or one of the free programs available in our guide to the Best virtual printers to create pdf from documents and web pages, free for Windows .
Combine PDF images from Mac
If we use an iMac or a MacBook, we can combine images into a PDF file using the tools made available by the operating system, without installing any type of program. To do this, go to the Finder and to the folder containing all the images to be converted into PDF, sort them by name or by date (from the button in the top Change grouping ), press on Command + A or on the Edit menu -> Select all, then press with right click and select the Create PDF item.
A PDF will be created immediately containing all the images selected in the same folder in which they were present. To have more control over the printing of images in PDF, we select all the images again, right-click on them and press Open . In the Preview app we can sort the images according to our needs; at the end, select them all from the Edit menu -> Select all, press the File menu and select Export as PDF .
A small window will open at the top where you can choose the name of the PDF file, any tag and location of the file; to start converting images to PDF, simply press the Save button.
Combine PDF images with free programs
If the methods integrated within the operating systems do not convince you, we can use one of the free programs listed below to be able to combine images into a PDF file.The first program we recommend you to use is LibreOffice, available for free for Windows, Mac and GNU / Linux. Once the office suite is installed, we open the LibreOffice Draw program, create a number of pages corresponding to the number of images to be used in the document (right click on the Pages area -> New page ), drag an image onto each page ( just put the file explorer folder next to the program) and, when the document is finished, press the Export directly to PDF button at the top.
A window will open in which we will be asked for the name and the path in which to save the new PDF; click on Save to start the conversion and save the document.
Alternatively we can use a free program like PDF24 Creator, available for free for Windows.
Once the program is open, select PDF Creator, drag the images to be printed in the area at the top, decide the order of the pages simply by moving the various images as we wish and finally press the Save button at the top to start the conversion and creation of the PDF with images.
Other similar programs can be viewed in our guide on how to create PDF: All the ways from PC and mobile .
Combine PDF images online
If we do not want or cannot install new programs on our company PC, just rely on the websites to combine PDF images for free and without limits.One of the best sites to combine PDF images online is PDF Tools, the site that takes up most of the functions of the PDF24 Creator program seen previously.
From the tool to create a PDF image book, simply drag the images to be added into the browser window, order them according to our needs and then start creating the PDF, which we can download to our computer or send directly via email.
Another very useful site for combining PDF images online is Smallpdf, one of the pioneers of online services for PDF documents.
Exactly as seen on PDF Tools, just drag the image files into the interface, sort them to make them coherent then start the conversion; at the end a new PDF file with all our images will be automatically downloaded.
Other sites similar to those listed above can be viewed in our article on How to create PDF files online for free .
Conclusions
To combine a group of images into a PDF file is feasible by simply using the tools made available by the operating system (Windows or Mac) and starting the virtual printing process in PDF. If we need more control over the creation of the PDF document, we can use valid free programs to create every single page of the PDF and print it easily. For the laziest or for those who have a locked computer at the corporate level, we can also use online sites to combine images into a PDF file.If the PDF is too large a file, you can compress the PDF to decrease the file size .
If instead we wanted to do the reverse operation (extract images from a PDF), in another article we saw how to save and extract images from a pdf document .
