How to Combine Images into One PDF File in Windows
PDFs were designed to be a universal, easy-to-read document format, and they serve that purpose well. If you have a collection of images–say, documents you scanned into your computer as JPEGs–you can combine them into a PDF document for easy sharing.
Windows 10 now includes an option to print to a PDF file natively in File Explorer. You can simply select a bunch of image files and print them to a PDF file directly within File Explorer. If you’re using Windows 10, start with the first section below.
If you use Windows 7 or 8, the procedure is the same as in Windows 10, but you have to install a third-party tool to be able to accomplish the same task. We discuss this tool in the third section below.
How to Print to a PDF File in Windows 10
To combine a group of images into a PDF file in Windows 10, first you need to make sure your files are listed in File Explorer in the order you want them to appear in the PDF file. You might have to rename them so they get sorted the way you want.\
Once you have your images in the right order, select them all and right-click on them. Select “Print” from the popup menu.
The Print Pictures dialog box displays. Select “Microsoft Print to PDF” from the “Printer” drop-down list. If you don’t see that option in the list, see the next section for information on activating it. Then, continue with the process from here.
Use the right and left arrow button below the image to scroll through the images that will be added to the PDF file. Click the “Options” link in the lower-right corner of the dialog box to access additional options for the PDF file.
NOTE: The images may look cut off, but don’t worry. We’ll show you how to fix that a bit later in this article.
On the Print Settings dialog box, you can choose to sharpen the images for printing, if you know the PDF file will be printed. If you also know you will be printing the PDF file on your own printer most of the time, leave the “Only show options that are compatible with my printer” option selected to get the best results.
You can access properties for your printer from here by clicking the “Printer Properties” link.
On the Microsoft Print to PDF Document Properties dialog box, you can select whether you want to the document to be “Landscape” or “Portrait” from the “Orientation” drop-down list. Click “OK” to accept the change or click “Cancel” if you don’t want to save the change or you didn’t change the orientation.
NOTE: If you’re using Windows 7, the Printer Properties link opens the doPDF Properties dialog box displays, allowing you to change the page Orientation (as well as other settings). Again, click “OK” to accept your changes or click “Cancel” if you don’t want to save the changes you made or you didn’t make any changes.
You are returned to the Print Pictures dialog box. If you noticed earlier that the sides of your images seem to be cut off, click the “Fit picture to frame” check box so there is no check mark in the box. You should see the entire image now. Enabling or disabling the Fit picture to frame option affects all the images you’re adding to the PDF file.
Click “Print” to create your PDF file.
The Save Print Output As dialog box displays. Navigate to the location where you want to save the PDF file. The same directory where the images are stored is selected as the default location, but you can change that. Enter a file name for the PDF file in the “File name” edit box and click “Save”.
You’re done! The PDF file is created in the selected folder and you can open it in the default PDF viewer in Windows, or in any other PDF reader you have installed.
