Create PDF building instructions from JPGs?

[Aanchir]

Hi, everyone. I've got a bit of a question. I've recently downloaded a lot of old building instructions (mostly online-exclusive combo models and alternate models) from archive.org, but they're all in JPG format (with a separate JPG file for each step).

What would be the easiest way to make these into PDFs, with each step on a separate page? I've tried Googling or checking Adobe's website for tips, but the only things I'm finding are tips on how to create a PDF from a Word document, which isn't really what I'm looking for. Has anybody attempted to do this before, and if so what's the easiest way to go about it?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[Superkalle]

I've done this before and it's quite easy to do in Adobe. Just use the JPG's as source. (File > Create PDF > From File > select JPG). Each JPG will be one page.

A tip is also to use the OCR functionality (if there is any printed text in instructions), then you can search for text also.

[Aanchir]

I've done this before and it's quite easy to do in Adobe. Just use the JPG's as source. (File > Create PDF > From File > select JPG). Each JPG will be one page.

A tip is also to use the OCR functionality (if there is any printed text in instructions), then you can search for text also.

Just checked, and apparently Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9.3.0 (the one I have) only lets you create PDFs using Acrobat.com (which is apparently a new thing). Just got an account on Acrobat.com, and it tells me afterward that with a free membership I can only create five PDFs (more than that requires a paid premium membership. I am disappoint.

[DLuders]

Just checked, and apparently Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9.3.0 (the one I have) only lets you create PDFs using Acrobat.com (which is apparently a new thing). Just got an account on Acrobat.com, and it tells me afterward that with a free membership I can only create five PDFs (more than that requires a paid premium membership. I am disappoint.

Yes, I encountered the same message just now with Acrobat.com. I have liked using http://splitmerge.us/ . Be advised that with the "free download" there is a limit to the number of files that can be converted before you must purchase the software.

[Mr. Lego-builder]

I personally have never tried this software before, but it seems to be free for unlimited use.

Screenshot

Download Page

Review

[Aanchir]

I personally have never tried this software before, but it seems to be free for unlimited use.

Screenshot

Download Page

Review

Thanks! I used it, and it worked perfectly for what I needed!

Unfortunately, now that I have the PDFs, I've learned that Brickshelf no longer supports the upload of PDFs. So it was pretty much a waste. But still, it's nice to have, and will make it more convenient if I ever want to build any of these models. Thanks so much for your help!

[dr_spock]

You can load the jpegs into a word processor like Word. Add text around them, order them, etc. Install a PDF printer driver like Ghostscript, then print out your document to a PDF.

Edited July 18, 2010 by dr_spock

[AndyC]

You can load the jpegs into a word processor like Word. Add text around them, order them, etc. Install a PDF printer driver like Ghostscript, then print out your document to a PDF.

If you have Office 2007 or above you can also just use the Save As PDF option, which produces better PDFs than going through a PDF printer option.

[Aanchir]

Thanks for all the responses, folks. Although really Mr. lego bildur's post had what I needed.

What I need now are suggestions about where I can upload PDFs once I have them. One of the main reasons I wanted to get these PDFs was so that I could link to BIONICLE alternate/combo model building instructions on the BIONICLEsector01 Wiki. And even the non-BIONICLE instructions I've found would be nice to be able to share someplace.

Any thoughts?

[DLuders]

There's a website named MOCshow which can host PDF Files: http://mocshow.com. It seems to be quite active and vibrant.

[mikelilin]

You can try this free online ocr, it can recognize text from jpeg image, and save the text to a searchable pdf document online. don't need install any other software.