Problem duplicating first PDF when combining multiple PDF files

[l_bull_wisg]

I am trying to combine 100+ PDF forms into one PDF for ease of eliminating pages, printing, etc.  Each PDF has 3 pages, and only need to print pages 1-2 of each document.  When I use the tool to "combine files into one PDF", and getting the files ready is easy (going through choosing pages 1-2 only).  When the tool works to combine them, there are no errors, but the final results duplicates the PDF 133 times (for 133 files).  I believe it has to do with some security setting but I cannot find anything in the community on how to fix the issue.  Any suggestions? 

[Bernd Alheit]

Are this documents with the same form fields?

[l_bull_wisg]

Yes, exactly the same form, duplicated multiple times.  This is an IRS fillable form, and we use a macro-enabled Excel document to populate the data.  When the PDFs come out, they are all the same and separate PDFs.  The original form is 3 pages; the 3rd page is not necessary, so we eliminate that one on each PDF.  Then combining at the end of that process, so each form has 2 pages, and the tool duplicates the 1st form 133 times.   

[Bernd Alheit]

Flatten the form fields before you combine the files. Or combine the files as a portfolio.

[melissa_0544]

THANK YOU! The portfolio function worked perfectly.  So helpful.

[Test Screen Name]

If two fields have the same name, they WILL have the same value. That’s fundamental to PDF forms. So what you see is normal, if unwelcome. 

[l_bull_wisg]

My computer won't combine them.  However, another co-worker with the same Acrobat version, can do it as the combine PDF works on her computer.  The workaround is to send these to her to combine but that's not efficient in the long run. 

[Thom Parker]

Fields with the same name share the same value. It doesn't matter who combines the forms, this is always true. 

So the form is not being duplicated when you combine the files, the field values are being duplicated.

If you're co-worker is combining the forms and the field values are not duplicated, then they are doing something to rename or remove the fields. Probably flattening the forms before combining. Or using a 3rd party tool. 

I would suggest finding out exactly what they are doing. 

[MarinIPM]

I am having this experience except I was able to combine these forms last month without any duplication.  Same computer, no updates. I need to combine many pdfs with the same field but each has a different title and different concext for use.  I have never had trouble combining them before, and suddenly they are duplicating the first page. I doubt the person above is incorrect; it sounds like there is something else going on.  There's no way there coworker is changing the fields on 100 different documents.  

[Bernd Alheit]

You can combine the files as portfolio.

[MarinIPM]

Thank you; I am going to do that now. 

[l_bull_wisg]

Hi @MarinIPM:  did you try the "portfolio" route?  And did it work?  I did this as well when I had the original problem, but this route didn't solve the issue for me.  Curious to see what happened if/when you tried this route. 

My issue is that the PDF I was working with originally is an IRS-approved PDF, downloaded from the IRS website (so we/I am not the author).  It's a 3 page PDF and we populate the PDFs by merging from a macro-enabled Excel tool, so that 3rd page of the original PDF is not needed after merging for about 2/3 of the employer's we run this tool for.   If an employer has 100 employees, for example, there is one PDF per employee, or 300 total pages, but we want to eliminate the 3rd page of every PDF, cutting down the page count from 300 to 200 pages.  Then, we can duplex when printing the entire file and it's front/back - no waste.  Otherwise, that 3rd page wreaks havoc, as you cannot duplex all of the PDFs (as this would co-mingle info from the 100 PDFs) and this forces you to print each PDF one at a time.  

While I get what the others are saying about "flattening" the PDF, what does not make sense is that why is my co-worker successful at removing that 3rd page, printing as one document, and the system DOES NOT duplicate that first PDF 100 times for them?  That tells me that this is a settings issue, and not a PDF or flattening issue. 

[Test Screen Name]

"While I get what the others are saying about "flattening" the PDF, what does not make sense is that why is my co-worker successful at removing that 3rd page, printing as one document, and the system DOES NOT duplicate that first PDF 100 times for them?  That tells me that this is a settings issue, and not a PDF or flattening issue. "  I understand why you would think that -- but you do need to accept that this (merging fields with the same name) is how PDF is supposed to work, has always worked, and has been doing for more than 20 years. There is no option to turn off what is supposed to happen. Therefore... since you have the evidence that your co-worker managed something, you have to look into what it was they actually did do. Some suggestions have been made.  One very simple test you can make is to open their combined file and click in a form field, see if you can type. If not, it shows your co-worker somehow (by design or by accident) "flattened" the file. If it seems to be a collection of separate documents in one PDF, it shows your co-worker (by design or by accident) made a portfolio. And so on.

[Bernd Alheit]

Printing to Adobe PDF will flatten the form fields.

[kayw85robert]

You haven't lost your mind. What is happening to you is happening to just ONE member of our staff, and no one else (even when they are combining the exact same files, the exact same way), and it did not start happening to that person until a few months ago. I don't have a solution for you; but, again, it's an actual issue.

[kayw85robert]

I sit corrected: It's the form fields. If you set up an action that includes a production preflight step of "flatten annotations and form fields," then the saved PDFs won't do that (as the fields are no longer fields, but text).

[Heide5EEC]

Same issue happening here.  How do we perfom this please?