BASALT · JOURNAL
Inserting pages into an existing PDF
Inserting is a merge with a position, and macOS handles it without extra software.
In Preview
Open both documents and show thumbnails in each. Drag pages from one sidebar into the other, dropping them where you want them. The blue insertion line shows the position.
To add a blank page, select the page you want it to follow and choose Edit, Insert, Blank Page.
Save when you are done, and check the order before closing, since dropping between the wrong thumbnails is easy.
From the command line
qpdf assembles a document from ranges of several inputs, which is how you insert precisely:
qpdf main.pdf --pages main.pdf 1-5 insert.pdf 1 main.pdf 6-z -- output.pdfThat places all of insert.pdf after page 5 of the original. z means the last page.
The syntax describes the output as a sequence, which is more verbose than a drag and drop and considerably more precise.
Keeping bookmarks sensible
Inserting pages does not update bookmarks that point past the insertion, so a document with a table of contents may end up with entries pointing at the wrong pages.
Check the bookmarks after inserting into any document that has them. Rebuilding them is usually quicker than repairing them.
Page size mismatches
Pages inserted from another document keep their own dimensions, so a letter page dropped into an A4 document stays letter sized. On screen this is barely noticeable and in print it is obvious.
If the result will be printed, normalise the page size before assembling rather than after.
Before sending the result
A merged or inserted document inherits everything from every source: metadata, attachments and any inadequate redaction. Combining files is not a sanitising step, and a page that was unsafe to send on its own is equally unsafe inside a larger document.
Frequently asked questions
How do I insert pages into a PDF on Mac?
Open both documents in Preview, show thumbnails in each, and drag pages from one sidebar into the other at the position you want. For a blank page, use Edit then Insert then Blank Page.
How do I insert pages at an exact position from the command line?
qpdf main.pdf --pages main.pdf 1-5 insert.pdf 1-z main.pdf 6-z -- output.pdf describes the output as a sequence of ranges, placing the inserted document after page 5.
Do bookmarks survive inserting pages?
Bookmarks pointing past the insertion are not updated, so a table of contents can end up pointing at the wrong pages. Check them afterwards and rebuild if needed.
Why do inserted pages have a different size?
Pages keep the dimensions they had in their source document, so a letter page inserted into an A4 document stays letter sized. Normalise page size before assembling if the result will be printed.
Doing it in Basalt
Basalt is a native macOS PDF toolkit: eighteen tools in one window covering merge, split, page organisation, compression, OCR, passwords, Bates numbering, forms, signing, watermarks and comparison. Every file is processed on your Mac, and the engine that opens documents holds no network entitlement at all, which macOS enforces at the code-signature level. Redaction destroys content rather than covering it, and an independent verifier proves the material is gone before a file is written. A one time $29 licence covers up to three Macs, free for the first 24 hours. Get it at basaltformac.com, or brew install --cask chipmunk1101/tap/basalt.
Redaction that proves itself
Basalt destroys the content you mark, then re-opens the file it wrote and proves the content is gone before it saves anything. Your documents never leave your Mac.