Create a PDF from Multiple Images with Quick Actions on the Mac

0:00
In this video, we’re going to look at how we can create a PDF document using quick actions on the Mac. Basically, we can select multiple images or multiple PDFs and combine those into a single PDF, just by using quick actions. This was introduced with Mac OS, Monterey. Let’s see how we do this. Let’s go over to my Mac.

0:24
So I’m looking at my Mac here. And if we look at the desktop, what you’re going to see is I have a number of images here. I also have a PDF, as well as a screenshot, and I have an audio file. Now what I would like to do is combine these images. So let’s first look at how we can combine these images into a single PDF. Basically, all I have to do is just select what I want to combine. So I just select these four images here. And then if you hold down the Ctrl key and click, you get the little contextual menu, and you’re going to see quick actions. Under the quick actions, what we have is Create PDF. When I select this, what this is going to do, what the Mac is going to do is create a PDF out of those four images. So let’s go ahead and do that.

1:20
And now it is combining those. And what we have here is a single PDF. Let’s open this up, double click on it, it opens up in preview. And we can see we have all four of those images,

1:34
we can combine different types of documents. Let’s say I wanted to combine this image here with this PDF. All I have to do is just select it. And then when I Ctrl click, we go over to quick actions, what I’m able to do is create a PDF. So it’s going to combine that PDF along with that image. So now when I open this up, we can see we have my PDF, and there is my image.

2:04
Now what happens when you try to combine a file that you can create a PDF with as an example, I have this mp3, I can create a PDF with an mp3. Well, when you do that, let’s go ahead and select a couple of items here. When I try to make a quick action out of this, I’m going to hold down the CTRL key and I click, I go down to quick actions, you’re going to see I cannot create a PDF. So the Mac is smart enough to realize that we can’t create a PDF with that type of document. So you will not be able to do this with all documents. What you can use this for is combining different PDFs, as well as different images and screenshots into a single PDF again, all you have to do is just select all of them Ctrl click and then under quick actions you’re going to see Create PDF. So that’s how we can create a PDF document out of multiple images or multiple PDFs using quick actions on the Mac. And again, this was introduced with Mac OS Monterey. So if you’re using an older version of MacOS, you may not be able to use this feature