Heratio Help Center article. Category: Viewers & Media.

PDF Merge Tool

User Guide

Combine multiple images (TIFF, JPEG, PNG) into a single PDF document for archival records.


When to Use

Use the PDF Merge tool when you need to:

  • Combine scanned pages into a single document
  • Create a PDF from multiple photographs
  • Merge TIFF preservation scans into one file
  • Attach a multi-page PDF to an archival record

How to Access

From the menu:

  • Go to GLAM/DAM → Tools → TIFF to PDF Merge

From a record:

  • View an archival description
  • Click More → Merge Images to PDF

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Upload Your Files

  • Drag and drop files onto the upload area, or
  • Click Browse to select files from your computer

Supported formats: TIFF, TIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF

You can upload up to 100 files at once


Step 2: Arrange Page Order

Once uploaded, you'll see thumbnails of each image.

  • Drag and drop thumbnails to rearrange the page order
  • The left-to-right order becomes the page order in the final PDF
  • Click the × on a thumbnail to remove it

Step 3: Choose Settings

Setting Options Recommended
PDF Standard PDF, PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-3b PDF/A-2b for archives
Quality 1-100 85 (good balance)
Resolution 150-600 DPI 300 DPI for documents

PDF/A formats are designed for long-term archival preservation


To attach the PDF to an archival description:

  1. Click Select Record
  2. Search for the record by title or reference code
  3. Click on the record to select it

The PDF will be uploaded as a digital object when processing completes.


Step 5: Create the PDF

  1. Enter a name for your PDF (e.g., "Meeting Minutes 1985")
  2. Click Create PDF
  3. You'll see a confirmation message

Step 6: Monitor Progress

The merge runs in the background. Check progress:

  • Watch the progress bar on screen, or
  • Go to Admin → Jobs to see all running jobs
Status Meaning
🟡 Pending Waiting to start
🔵 Processing Currently merging
🟢 Completed Ready to download
🔴 Failed Error occurred

Step 7: Download Your PDF

When complete:

  • Click Download PDF from the success message, or
  • Find the PDF attached to your selected record, or
  • Go to Admin → Jobs → click on your job → Download

Tips

  • Use high-resolution scans (300+ DPI) for text documents
  • TIFF format preserves the best quality
  • Give your PDF a descriptive name with dates or reference numbers
  • For 50+ images, the process may take several minutes - you can close the browser and check back later

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
Upload fails Check file size (max 500MB per file)
Wrong page order Re-upload and arrange before creating
Job stuck on "Processing" Wait 15 minutes, then contact admin
PDF looks blurry Use higher quality setting (90+)

Need Help?

Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.


Part of the Heratio AHG Framework

PDF Merge Tool

User Guide

Combine multiple images (TIFF, JPEG, PNG) into a single PDF document for archival records.


When to Use

Use the PDF Merge tool when you need to:

  • Combine scanned pages into a single document
  • Create a PDF from multiple photographs
  • Merge TIFF preservation scans into one file
  • Attach a multi-page PDF to an archival record

How to Access

From the menu:

  • Go to GLAM/DAM → Tools → TIFF to PDF Merge

From a record:

  • View an archival description
  • Click More → Merge Images to PDF

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Upload Your Files

  • Drag and drop files onto the upload area, or
  • Click Browse to select files from your computer

Supported formats: TIFF, TIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF

You can upload up to 100 files at once


Step 2: Arrange Page Order

Once uploaded, you'll see thumbnails of each image.

  • Drag and drop thumbnails to rearrange the page order
  • The left-to-right order becomes the page order in the final PDF
  • Click the × on a thumbnail to remove it

Step 3: Choose Settings

Setting Options Recommended
PDF Standard PDF, PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-3b PDF/A-2b for archives
Quality 1-100 85 (good balance)
Resolution 150-600 DPI 300 DPI for documents

PDF/A formats are designed for long-term archival preservation


To attach the PDF to an archival description:

  1. Click Select Record
  2. Search for the record by title or reference code
  3. Click on the record to select it

The PDF will be uploaded as a digital object when processing completes.


Step 5: Create the PDF

  1. Enter a name for your PDF (e.g., "Meeting Minutes 1985")
  2. Click Create PDF
  3. You'll see a confirmation message

Step 6: Monitor Progress

The merge runs in the background. Check progress:

  • Watch the progress bar on screen, or
  • Go to Admin → Jobs to see all running jobs
Status Meaning
🟡 Pending Waiting to start
🔵 Processing Currently merging
🟢 Completed Ready to download
🔴 Failed Error occurred

Step 7: Download Your PDF

When complete:

  • Click Download PDF from the success message, or
  • Find the PDF attached to your selected record, or
  • Go to Admin → Jobs → click on your job → Download

Tips

  • Use high-resolution scans (300+ DPI) for text documents
  • TIFF format preserves the best quality
  • Give your PDF a descriptive name with dates or reference numbers
  • For 50+ images, the process may take several minutes - you can close the browser and check back later

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
Upload fails Check file size (max 500MB per file)
Wrong page order Re-upload and arrange before creating
Job stuck on "Processing" Wait 15 minutes, then contact admin
PDF looks blurry Use higher quality setting (90+)

Need Help?

Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.


Part of the Heratio AHG Framework

PDF Merge Tool

User Guide

Combine multiple images (TIFF, JPEG, PNG) into a single PDF document for archival records.


Workflow Overview

UploadArrangeCreateDownloadImagesPagesPDFResultTIFF/JPG/PNGDrag&DropBackgroundSaveorupto100toreorderProcessingAttach

When to Use

USEPDFMERGEFOR:📄ScanneddocumentpagesSinglesearchablePDF📷MultiplephotographsPhotoalbumPDF🖼️TIFFpreservationscansAccesscopyPDF📑LoosepapersCombinedfilePDF

How to Access

OptionA:FromMenuOptionB:FromRecordMainMenuArchivalDescriptionGLAM/DAMClick"More"Tools"MergeImagestoPDF"TIFFtoPDFMergePDFMerge(linkedtorecord)

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Upload Files

📁Drag&DropFilesHereor[BrowseFiles]Supported:TIFF,TIF,JPEG,JPG,PNG,BMP,GIFMaximum:100files,500MBeach

Step 2: Arrange Page Order

BEFORE(uploadorder):12345p.3p.1p.5p.2p.4Drag&DroptoreorderAFTER(correctorder):12345p.1p.2p.3p.4p.5Click[×]onanythumbnailtoremoveit

Step 3: Choose Settings

PDFSETTINGSPDFStandard:○PDF○PDF/A-1b●PDF/A-2bRecommendedforarchives○PDF/A-3bQuality:[====●=====]85%Lower◄►HigherResolution:[300]DPI(150/200/300/400/600)

AttachPDFtoarchivalrecord?[SelectRecord]🔍Search:meetingminutes____________○ABC/001-BoardMeetingMinutes1985●ABC/002-AnnualGeneralMeeting1986○ABC/003-CommitteeNotes1987Selected:ABC/002-AnnualGeneralMeeting1986

Step 5: Create and Monitor

ClickCreateJobCreatedID:#1234🟡🔵🟢PendingProcessingCompleteQueuedMergingReady!📥Download📎AttachedPDFtoRecord

Job Status Guide

STATUSMEANINGACTION🟡PendingWaitinginqueuePleasewait🔵ProcessingCreatingPDFnowPleasewait🟢CompletedReadytodownloadDownload/View🔴FailedErroroccurredCheckmessageViewalljobs:AdminJobs

Tips for Best Results

✓DO✗DON'TUse300DPIscansUploadblurryimagesUseTIFFforbestqualityMixportrait/landscapeNamefileslogicallyUploadhugefiles(>500MB)CheckpageorderbeforemergeRush-verifyfirst!UsePDF/A-2bforarchivesUseplainPDFforarchive

Troubleshooting

ProblemSolutionUploadfailsCheckfilesize(<500MB)CheckfileformatWrongpageorderRemoveall,re-uploadArrangebeforeclickingCreateJobstuck"Processing"Wait15minutesCheckAdminJobsContactadministratorPDFlooksblurryUsequality90UsehigherDPI(400-600)Can'tfindmyPDFGotoAdminJobsSearchbyjobnumber

Need Help?

Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.


Part of the Heratio AHG Framework

PDF Merge Tool

User Guide

Combine multiple images (TIFF, JPEG, PNG) into a single PDF document for archival records.


Workflow Overview

UploadArrangeCreateDownloadImagesPagesPDFResultTIFF/JPG/PNGDrag&DropBackgroundSaveorupto100toreorderProcessingAttach

When to Use

USEPDFMERGEFOR:📄ScanneddocumentpagesSinglesearchablePDF📷MultiplephotographsPhotoalbumPDF🖼️TIFFpreservationscansAccesscopyPDF📑LoosepapersCombinedfilePDF

How to Access

OptionA:FromMenuOptionB:FromRecordMainMenuArchivalDescriptionGLAM/DAMClick"More"Tools"MergeImagestoPDF"TIFFtoPDFMergePDFMerge(linkedtorecord)

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Upload Files

📁Drag&DropFilesHereor[BrowseFiles]Supported:TIFF,TIF,JPEG,JPG,PNG,BMP,GIFMaximum:100files,500MBeach

Step 2: Arrange Page Order

BEFORE(uploadorder):12345p.3p.1p.5p.2p.4Drag&DroptoreorderAFTER(correctorder):12345p.1p.2p.3p.4p.5Click[×]onanythumbnailtoremoveit

Step 3: Choose Settings

PDFSETTINGSPDFStandard:○PDF○PDF/A-1b●PDF/A-2bRecommendedforarchives○PDF/A-3bQuality:[====●=====]85%Lower◄►HigherResolution:[300]DPI(150/200/300/400/600)

AttachPDFtoarchivalrecord?[SelectRecord]🔍Search:meetingminutes____________○ABC/001-BoardMeetingMinutes1985●ABC/002-AnnualGeneralMeeting1986○ABC/003-CommitteeNotes1987Selected:ABC/002-AnnualGeneralMeeting1986

Step 5: Create and Monitor

ClickCreateJobCreatedID:#1234🟡🔵🟢PendingProcessingCompleteQueuedMergingReady!📥Download📎AttachedPDFtoRecord

Job Status Guide

STATUSMEANINGACTION🟡PendingWaitinginqueuePleasewait🔵ProcessingCreatingPDFnowPleasewait🟢CompletedReadytodownloadDownload/View🔴FailedErroroccurredCheckmessageViewalljobs:AdminJobs

Tips for Best Results

✓DO✗DON'TUse300DPIscansUploadblurryimagesUseTIFFforbestqualityMixportrait/landscapeNamefileslogicallyUploadhugefiles(>500MB)CheckpageorderbeforemergeRush-verifyfirst!UsePDF/A-2bforarchivesUseplainPDFforarchive

Troubleshooting

ProblemSolutionUploadfailsCheckfilesize(<500MB)CheckfileformatWrongpageorderRemoveall,re-uploadArrangebeforeclickingCreateJobstuck"Processing"Wait15minutesCheckAdminJobsContactadministratorPDFlooksblurryUsequality90UsehigherDPI(400-600)Can'tfindmyPDFGotoAdminJobsSearchbyjobnumber

Need Help?

Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.


Part of the Heratio AHG Framework