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How can I merge even and odd pages of a PDF?

Guest
May 09, 2011 May 09, 2011

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I've got a document scanner that only scans one side

This is a problem when I have 2 sided documents

Let's say I have 20 pages - all double sided

I can scan all odd pages first in one go - I get one pdf generated pages 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19

Then I can scan all even pages 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

Is there any quick way I can merge both pdfs to give me 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10... 20?

Thanks a lot

Micro

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , May 12, 2011 May 12, 2011
i just think adobe are silly not to provide it as standard??

You can scan double sided pages with Adobe Acrobat.

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Community Expert ,
May 09, 2011 May 09, 2011

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I've created a (paid-for) tool that does just that. Have a look here:

http://try67.blogspot.com/2008/12/acrobat-combine-even-odd-pages.html

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Community Expert ,
May 09, 2011 May 09, 2011

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In the scan dialog of Acrobat you can specify double sided scanning.

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Guest
May 11, 2011 May 11, 2011

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>> In the scan dialog of Acrobat you can specify double sided scanning.

i normally just use software with my canon printer to scan
i think the requirement is SUCH a basic one that it SHOULD be part of acrobat by default   
and that people should have to buy separate programs or scripts
i'm not complaining about the scripts or the fact that people charge money
(i think they're providing a valuable service)
i just think adobe are silly not to provide it as standard??

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Community Expert ,
May 12, 2011 May 12, 2011

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i just think adobe are silly not to provide it as standard??

You can scan double sided pages with Adobe Acrobat.

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New Here ,
Jun 12, 2020 Jun 12, 2020

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This answer, as written, implies something that I presume the writer did not intend. A bit more detail might help, as well as an acknowledgement that this does not answer the original poster's question about how to interleave two existing PDFs:

 

Automatic document feeder (ADF) scan, short document

If your entire document fits into your document feeder, then you can scan the whole thing in two passes. Load the document in correct page order into your ADF with the face forward (either face-up or face-down depending on your scanner). In Acrobat, go to File > Create and create a new PDF from your ADF scanner. This will scan every odd-numbered page of your document. Check the page order afterward just in case the scanner shuffled a sheet or two out of order.

 

After scanning Acrobat will prompt you to complete the scan, to add pages, or to begin scanning the reverse sides. Before selecting an option on this prompt, reload the document into your ADF. Keep the pages in the correct order and load them into your ADF with the back forward (scanning the opposide side of the document). Load the whole document, even if the back page is blank, or else Acrobat will interleave the pages incorrectly. Select Scan reverse sides from the prompt window in Acrobat. You scanner will scan pages in reverse order (pg. 11, 9, 7, etc.) but will interleave these pages into your PDF correctly (from bottom to top). Acrobat will display your completed PDF.

 

Automatic document feeder (ADF) scan, long document

If your entire document does not fit into your document feeder then you have to scan it in chunks. You will scan all the front pages in multiple passes before scanning any of the back pages.

 

Load the first section of your document in correct page order into your ADF with the face forward (either face-up or face-down depending on your scanner). In Acrobat, go to File > Create and create a new PDF from your ADF scanner. This will scan every odd-numbered page of that section. Check the page order afterward just in case the scanner shuffled a sheet or two out of order. You do not need to keep track of which pages are in each section; just keep the document in order.

 

After scanning each section Acrobat will prompt you to complete the scan, to add pages, or to begin scanning the reverse sides. Before selecting an option on this prompt, load the next section of your document with the face forward. Select Scan more pages. The option will tell you what page of the document would come next. Continue scanning face-forward sections of your document unti, every sheet has gone through.

 

At this point your should have your entire document in correct order again, with the prompt window from Acrobat ready for a selection. Before making a selection, take a section of pages from the back of the document and load it into your ADF with the reverse-side forward (scanning the opposide side of the document). Load the last page of the document even if the back of that sheet is blank, or else Acrobat will interleave the pages incorrectly. Select Scan reverse sides from the prompt window in Acrobat. You scanner will scan pages in reverse order (pg. 11, 9, 7, etc.) but will interleave these pages into your PDF correctly (from bottom to top).

 

After scanning each section of reverse sides, Acrobat will prompt you t either complete the scan or continue scanning reverse sides. Before selecting an option on this prompt, load the next section of your document with the reverse-side forward. Continue loading sections from the back of the document forward, but with the pages of each section still in the correct order. (If the Scan reverse sides option says you are at the "reverse of page 42" then the last page of your section should be page 43, and so forth.) Select Scan reverse sides to continue. Acrobat will continue interleaving pages correctly.

 

Acrobat will not prompt you after the final section of reverse-page scans. It already knows how long the document is because it scanned the whole thing from font to back already, and it knows that each sheet only has two sides. It will take you directly to the PDF when the scans are complete.

 

Automatic document feeder (ADF) scan, exceptionally long document

It might be wise in some cases to break your document into large sections, scan each section front-to-back, and then merge the resulting files with one another in correct order. It may even be wise to store long documents in sections a separate files. This reduces the impact of a minor error during scanning.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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I would downvote this if possible.   This is not an acceptable answer.  Becasue Adobe software is so bad, the latest version of Acrobat produces the error message "Color mode not supported" when scanning from a 1-year old HP LaserJet.  

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Community Expert ,
Apr 27, 2023 Apr 27, 2023

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I have two Laserjets, none produces that error message. Plese state your configuration and tell us, what you are trying to do!

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Explorer ,
Jul 11, 2011 Jul 11, 2011

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Exit Acrobat, and put the following in a file in your Javascripts path somewhere, e.g. C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\Javascripts\CollatePages.js

// Complements: Planet PDF (http://www.planetpdf.com/)

// Modified by Jeff Baitis for Acrobat 9 compatibility

// Improved Collate function with status bar.


// Add a menu item to reverse all pages in the active document

app.addMenuItem({  cName: "Reverse", cParent: "Document", cExec: "trustedReversePages();",  cEnable: "event.rc = (event.target != null);", nPos: 0 });

app.addMenuItem({  cName: "Collate", cParent: "Document", cExec: "trustedCollatePages();",  cEnable: "event.rc = (event.target != null);", nPos: 0 });


trustedReversePages = app.trustedFunction(function()

{

  app.beginPriv(); // Explicitly raise privileges

  var t = app.thermometer;

  t.duration = this.numPages;

  t.begin();

  for (i = this.numPages - 1; i >= 0; i--)

  {

    t.value = (i-this.numPages)*-1;

    this.movePage(i);

    t.text = 'Moving page ' + (i + 1);

  }

  t.end();

  app.endPriv();

})


// Collating pages

/*

  Title: Collate Document

  Purpose: User is prompted to select document to insert/collate.

  Author: Sean Stewart, ARTS PDF, www.artspdf.com

*/


trustedCollatePages = app.trustedFunction(function()

{

  app.beginPriv(); // Explicitly raise privileges

  // create an array to use as the rect parameter in the browse for field


  var arRect = new Array();

  arRect[0] = 0;

  arRect[1] = 0;

  arRect[2] = 0;

  arRect[3] = 0;


  // create a non-visible form field to use as a browse for field


  var f = this.addField("txtFilename", "text", this.numPages - 1, arRect);


  f.delay = true;

  f.fileSelect = true;

  f.delay = false;


  // user prompted to select file to collate the open document with


  app.alert("Select the PDF file to merge with")


  // open the browse for dialog


  f.browseForFileToSubmit();

  var evenDocPath = f.value;


  var q = this.numPages;


  var t = app.thermometer;

  t.duration = q;

  t.begin();


  // insert pages from selected document into open document


  for (var i = 0; i < q; i++) {

      var j = i*2;

      this.insertPages(j, evenDocPath, i);

      t.value = i;

      t.text = 'Inserting page ' + (i+1);

  }

  t.end();


  // remove unused field


  this.removeField("txtFilename");

  app.endPriv();

})

For those looking to apply this script in Adobe Acrobat X. Replace two instances of "Document" with "Edit". They are in the top lines that start with app.addMenuItem.

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New Here ,
Aug 30, 2011 Aug 30, 2011

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I have a similar problem, except I cannot scan my doc.  I had to create it for book printing in MSWord with image/watermark.  I am under deadline and working on less than ideal software. What I have is -- Odd and even pages = different image background w/text flowing over them.

It looks like my options are either pay $50 for the script --and although I agree with previous post that someone should be paid for their script, 50 bucks is a bit much, don't you think? My opinions aside, I can't afford it.

or Learn scripting. The instructions above kindly provided are gibberish to me. The software files on this pc are locked anyway.

or break up one of them and insert the 20 pages, one at a time.

Are these really all the options?

M.Maher

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LEGEND ,
Aug 30, 2011 Aug 30, 2011

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Collating PDFs using JavaScript by Sean Stewart.

You will still need to run the script through the Acrobat JS console.

This assumes you  have a full version of Acrobat and not just Reader.

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Explorer ,
Sep 29, 2011 Sep 29, 2011

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Here is the latest version of this script, compabible with Acrobat X. The functions have been moved into the "Edit" menu because there is no tools menu in Acrobat X. It still maintains compatibility with Acrobat 9. Unfortunately, you'll have to manually copy and paste this into a file because Adobe has disabled the file attachment feature on Jive Forums .

// Complements: Planet PDF (http://www.planetpdf.com/)

// Modified by Jeff Baitis for Acrobat 9 and Acrobat X compatibility

// Improved Collate function with status bar.

// Add a menu item to reverse all pages in the active document

app.addMenuItem({  cName: "Reverse", cParent: "Edit", cExec: "trustedReversePages();",  cEnable: "event.rc = (event.target != null);", nPos: 0 });

// Add a menu item to collate with another document on the filesystem

app.addMenuItem({  cName: "Collate", cParent: "Edit", cExec: "trustedCollatePages();",  cEnable: "event.rc = (event.target != null);", nPos: 0 });

trustedReversePages = app.trustedFunction(function()

{

  app.beginPriv(); // Explicitly raise privileges

  var t = app.thermometer;

  t.duration = this.numPages;

  t.begin();

  for (i = this.numPages - 1; i >= 0; i--)

  {

    t.value = (i-this.numPages)*-1;

    this.movePage(i);

    t.text = 'Moving page ' + (i + 1);

  }

  t.end();

  app.endPriv();

})

// Collating pages

/*

  Title: Collate Document

  Purpose: User is prompted to select document to insert/collate.

  Author: Sean Stewart, ARTS PDF, www.artspdf.com

*/

trustedCollatePages = app.trustedFunction(function()

{

  app.beginPriv(); // Explicitly raise privileges

  // create an array to use as the rect parameter in the browse for field

  var arRect = new Array();

  arRect[0] = 0;

  arRect[1] = 0;

  arRect[2] = 0;

  arRect[3] = 0;

  // create a non-visible form field to use as a browse for field

  var f = this.addField("txtFilename", "text", this.numPages - 1, arRect);

  f.delay = true;

  f.fileSelect = true;

  f.delay = false;

  // user prompted to select file to collate the open document with

  app.alert("Select the PDF file to merge with")

  // open the browse for dialog

  f.browseForFileToSubmit();

  var evenDocPath = f.value;

  var q = this.numPages;

  var t = app.thermometer;

  t.duration = q;

  t.begin();

  // insert pages from selected document into open document

  for (var i = 0; i < q; i++) {

      var j = i*2;

      this.insertPages(j, evenDocPath, i);

      t.value = i;

      t.text = 'Inserting page ' + (i+1);

  }

  t.end();

  // remove unused field

  this.removeField("txtFilename");

  app.endPriv();

})

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Guest
Nov 16, 2011 Nov 16, 2011

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Thank you so much.  I love this solution on my PC.  Does it also work with Adobe on the Mac?  If so, how?

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New Here ,
Sep 22, 2020 Sep 22, 2020

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Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!

I spent almost full day trying to solve this with increasingly kludgy work arounds. Your script is absolute genius.

If you have one of those "buy me a cup of coffee" things or something similar, post it. I definitely owe you a cup of joe and then some.

 

Again. Thank you.

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New Here ,
Dec 18, 2023 Dec 18, 2023

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I love this solution . . . except that I can't get it to work!  I am throwing an errror:

 

Acrobat JavaScript Debugger Functions Version 10.0
Acrobat EScript Built-in Functions Version 10.0
Acrobat SOAP 10.0
Exception in line 109 of function anonymous, script Folder-Level:App:CollatePages.js
Exception in line 1 of function top_level, script Menu:Exec

TypeError: Invalid argument type.
Doc.insertPages:109:Menu Collate:Exec
===> Parameter nStart.

 

Can anyone interpret that for me?

 

Micah

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Community Expert ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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What does you not understand?

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New Here ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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Bernd:

I do not know how to read a JavaScript Debugger, so I do not know what it means or why I am getting the error message.

Micah

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New Here ,
Mar 27, 2024 Mar 27, 2024

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LATEST

I know this is late, but I will answer it.

 

This is happening because you have an uneven amount of pages in one of two documents you are trying to collate.   

example:   You have a document that is 28 pages front and back.    You scan them simplex and each is saved as two separate files (1) Side-A and (2) Side-B.    Both files should have 14 pages in total, and when the script runs it pairs the same number of pages together even and odd and you get a beautiful 28-page document.   However, what if your Side-A has 28  pages and your Side-B has 14, the script hangs after page 14 looking for more pages to pair, and the error occurs.

 

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New Here ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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I have a document scanner that scans only one side, causing an issue when dealing with double-sided documents. For instance, if I have 20 double-sided pages, I can scan the odd pages (1, 3, 5, ..., 19) and then the even pages (2, 4, 6, ..., 20). Is there a fast method to merge these two PDFs into a single document with sequential page numbers (1, 2, 3, ..., 20)? Appreciate your assistance!

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New Here ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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Certainly! You can use a PDF merging tool to combine the two PDFs. There are online tools or software like Adobe Acrobat that allow you to merge PDFs easily. Just upload both files and create a single PDF with sequential pages. Hope that helps!

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New Here ,
Jan 11, 2024 Jan 11, 2024

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But how do I do it with seqential pages?

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