# Compile even & odd pages from separate PDF scans

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 5, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188 "2008-05-05T20:46:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188/1 "2008-05-05T20:46:51Z")

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I have taken some scans from reference books. Because my HP Scanjet SUCKS and refuses to scan both sides the way it is supposed to, I had no choice but to scan all the pages on one side, then the other.

So now I have two PDF documents (actually many more than that), one is all the right side pages, the other document is all the left side pages.

Is there a trick somewhere, even a TERM to describe what I want to do, which is, of course, compile the two documents into one document in the correct order, without devoting hours of work to the task?

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188/2 "2008-05-05T20:58:01Z")

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The full version of Adobe Acrobat has a handy feature for exactly that, but your average free PDF creator plugin probably won’t.

You might want to search for freewarewhich offers more than just the PDF print option. If there’s nothing available, I’d suggest downloading a shareware version of Adobe Acrobat, if it’s just a one-time need and not a more permanent necessity.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188/3 "2008-05-05T21:14:29Z")

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I have Acrobat! I just have no clue how to use it for advanced stuff…what’s the feature called?

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compile-even-odd-pages-from-separate-pdf-scans/448188/4 "2008-05-05T21:23:52Z")

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I can’t tell you how this feature is called or where you can find it. Some months ago, a secretary at the university chair where I was a student assistant had exactly that problem, and we figured out how to do this with a German version of Acrobat.

IIRC, there’s an option in the _File_ menu of assembling two PDF files into one new file. There should be a screen that lets you choose the two files to be put together; there you can also choose options (such as alternating pages from the two files, which seems to be exactly what you need). With a little browsing through the menus, you should find it.