If you need to combine multiple photographs or scanned documents into a single file to send via email, converting them into a PDF is the universally accepted solution. While there are countless online converters and third-party apps claiming to do this, macOS has a powerful built-in tool that handles this instantly: Preview.
In this guide, we will show you how to convert one or more image files (like JPEG, PNG, or HEIC) into a single, multi-page PDF document on your Mac without downloading any extra software.
Step 1: Open the Images in Preview
Preview is the default image viewer on macOS, making this process incredibly straightforward.
- Locate the images you want to convert in Finder.
- If you are converting multiple images, hold down the Command key and click each image to select them all.
- Right-click on any of the selected images, hover over Open With, and select Preview.
All your selected images will open in a single Preview window, with a sidebar on the left showing thumbnails of each image.
Step 2: Arrange the Pages
Before you convert the files, you need to ensure they are in the correct order. The order they appear in the left-hand sidebar will dictate the page order of your final PDF.
- Look at the thumbnails in the sidebar.
- Click and drag any thumbnail up or down to rearrange its position.
- If an image is sideways, click it to select it, then click the Rotate icon in the top toolbar (it looks like a square with a curved arrow) to ensure it is facing the right way up.
Step 3: Export as a PDF
Once your images are perfectly arranged, it is time to generate the PDF file.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on any thumbnail, then press Command + A on your keyboard to select all the thumbnails. (They will highlight in blue). Important: If you skip this step, only the currently selected image will be converted.
- With all thumbnails selected, look at the very top menu bar of your Mac screen and click File.
- From the dropdown menu, select Print… (Do not select “Export as PDF,” as this will often create individual PDFs rather than combining them).
The Print Dialog Trick
You aren’t actually going to print the document on paper; you are going to use macOS’s built-in print engine to generate the PDF.
- In the Print dialog box that appears, you will see a small dropdown menu labelled PDF in the bottom-left corner.
- Click the PDF dropdown.
- Select Save as PDF.
- A new “Save” window will pop up. Type a name for your new document, choose where you want to save it (like your Desktop), and click Save.
You can now close Preview. Your new, multi-page PDF document is perfectly formatted and ready to be emailed or shared.
