Help please using pdftk - where is my error please?

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#1

I have scanned a 9 page document using simple-scan, one page at a time. This has created .pdf files which I can open and view using Okular.
What I now wish to do is combine these files into a single multipage pdf file. This is not possible using Okular so I am using pdftk to do this. Here is the result of my efforts so far:-

alastair@ibmserv2:~> pdftk /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_Tnf_1_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_2_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_3_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_4_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_5_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_6_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_7_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_8_of_9.pdf /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_9_of_9.pdf cat output EICR_TnF_combined.pdf
Error: Unable to find file.
Error: Failed to open input PDF file: 
   /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_Tnf_1_of_9.pdf
Errors encountered.  No output created.
Done.  Input errors, so no output created.
alastair@ibmserv2:~>

I have already tried to use the full path to the files and I can open them without difficulty. I assume I have made a silly mistake but the command looks OK to me. Where am I going wrong please?

#2

@Budgie2 Hi, I would try being in the document directory, so cd /home/alastair/scanned_docs/ and run that command with just the file names.

#3

And you do not prove that the file exists:

ls -l /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_Tnf_1_of_9.pdf
#4

Hi Malcolm,
I had tried that first from that directory but same response, hence the full path but neither works so far. Both command failures do show the correct first file of my list so I am not clear what is happening.

#5

Hi Henk,
I believe all files are in the right place but here is my first check:-

alastair@ibmserv2:~/scanned_docs> ls -l /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_1_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users 1110906 Jul 21 10:31 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_1_of_9.pdf
alastair@ibmserv2:~/scanned_docs>

Anything I am missing?

#6

@Budgie2 what about ls -l /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR* does it show them all?

#7

There are some informations available that such an error get thrown when there are file permission problems. That means, make sure that you have right owner/group permissions on these files…

#8

… manual workaround, If you cannot get the commands working,

PDF-files - mark and right-click files open with libre office draw,

Then pull the pages (little previews) from one document to the other and save it again as PDF.

#9

Yes plus the originals before I edited the names:-

alastair@ibmserv2:~/scanned_docs> ls -l /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR*
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users 1110906 Jul 21 10:31 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_1_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users 1110906 Jul 21 10:31 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_1.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  856560 Jul 21 10:33 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_2_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  856560 Jul 21 10:33 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_2.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  933753 Jul 21 10:34 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_3_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  933753 Jul 21 10:34 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_3.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users 1058969 Jul 21 10:35 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_4_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users 1058969 Jul 21 10:35 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_4.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  596511 Jul 21 10:36 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_5_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  596511 Jul 21 10:36 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_5.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  565863 Jul 21 10:37 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_6_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  565863 Jul 21 10:37 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_6.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  356440 Jul 21 10:38 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_7_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  356440 Jul 21 10:38 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_7.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  492343 Jul 21 10:39 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_8_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  492343 Jul 21 10:39 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_8.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  500563 Jul 21 10:41 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_9_of_9.pdf
-rw-r--r-- 1 alastair users  500563 Jul 21 10:41 /home/alastair/scanned_docs/EICR_TnF_9.pdf
alastair@ibmserv2:~/scanned_docs>
#10

@Budgie2 I suspect it’s a bug in that version of pdftk, works as expected here on Tumbleweed in my test…

#11

Hi,
I am as sure as I can be that permissions are OK. I installed pdftk using yast and believe it is from Packman repo so I assume all dependencies are OK.
A workaround has been suggested (for which many thanks,) so will try that for the time being but I do wish to get the command to work in due course.

#12

Hi Malcolm,
Will try using my TW laptop.

#13

Not really. But seeing is believing.

It looks as if it is there, alastair:users owns is and can read it (in fact every user can read it).

#14

Hi and many thanks for this workaround. All good as far as it goes, a neat solution I would never have found without your help. I do have one problem though; having put all the pages into the one document I could only save it as an .odg file not pdf. How can I save it as a pdf as you suggest? I need this as others may not be familiar with Libreoffice etc.

#15

Export to PDF (not save)

File menu go down the list to direct export to PDF

#16

You can also try PDF Mix Tool, you can find it in the Publishing repo: it works quite well and being a graphical program you just need to use a file picker to select the files you want to combine.

#17

Why not just use PDF Arranger.

#18

Of course! I had been looking at Save as. What is difference between Export as PDF and Export Directly as PDF?

#19

Hi Malcolm,
You are right. Works like a dream on my TW machine.

#20

One click less…

But it is really annoying, that PDF is not in the Save as menu.