Merge a Binder to PDF

You can combine and merge multiple documents into one PDF using Vault binders.

About Merge Binder to PDF

This page provides basic information on adding documents to a binder and merging the binder contents into a single PDF. Creating Binders provides more detailed information about using binders.

Note: The Binder PDF Merge feature is no longer recommended for generating PSMF binders. As of the 22R3 release, Vault SafetyDocs includes dedicated PSMF document types, along with the ability to generate PSMF PDFs that automatically include logbooks for audit purposes. Using this feature is highly recommended as it eliminates the need for custom configuration and manual processes to create compliant PSMF binders. For more information, see Manage PSMF Binders and Logbooks. If you have existing custom configuration for PSMF binder generation, you can continue to use it following the documentation on this page.

Prerequisite

Before you can combine and merge documents into a PDF, your Admin must configure the user action. Defining User Actions for Document States provides more information.

Security Considerations

Review the following security considerations before you combine and merge a PDF binder:

The merged PDF will contain all documents within the binder, regardless of your viewing permissions on each document.
Any user who has access to view the binder will be able to view all documents in the merged PDF, regardless of the individual document security settings.

Contact your Admin for more information on permissions and security settings.

Create a Binder

From the menu bar, select Create > Binder.
On the Create Binder page, select a document type using the document type selector.
(Optional) Select a binder template. This option is only available if the selected document type has associated binder templates.
Click Next.
Complete binder fields associated with the document type. An asterisk (*) indicates a required field.
Click Save to create the binder and return to the My Documents view.

Adding Binder Content

You can add and arrange documents in the binder, including sections, to customize what’s included in the generated PDF. When the PDF is generated, the ordering of documents and sections within the binder is maintained.

If you rearrange binder documents, Vault Safety does not update previously generated merged PDFs. You must merge the binder again to reflect the order in a merged PDF.

Generated PDFs include all links and bookmarks from each document in the binder. Vault Safety also respects any version binding settings while combining and generating the PDF. Setting Version Binding provides more information about version binding.

Supported Document Types

You can combine and merge any type of document in a binder that has a viewable rendition. Supported File Formats lists the file formats supported for viewable renditions.

Note: Vault Safety does not support nested binders when generating a merged PDF. Any content inside of nested binders will not be included in the PDF.

Add Documents to a Binder

Open the binder.
Select Edit Binder.
From the binder header area, select Add, and then select one of the following options:
- To add a document from the Vault Library to the binder, select Existing Document.
- To upload and add a document from your machine, select Upload File.
Once you have added the documents, select Done Editing.

Create Document from Template

You can quickly add documents created from templates to specific binder sections.

Select the binder section, and then in the Actions menu, select Create > Document from Template.
In the Choose document type field, select the applicable document type.
In the Choose template field, select the template, and then select Next.
Enter the document metadata in the Document Panel, and then select Save.

Result

The document is added to the selected binder section. When first created, the document is in the Planned lifecycle state. For information on how to update the placeholder content from the template, see Vault File Manager for Windows.

Arrange Documents in a Binder

Open the binder.
Select Edit Binder.
Select and drag each document to the appropriate order.
Select Done Editing.

Result

When you combine and merge the binder, the resulting PDF arranges the documents in the same order.

Merge a Document Binder to PDF

Complete the following steps to merge the binder to PDF:

Open the binder.
From the All Actions menu, select Merge Binder to PDF. Depending on how your Admin configured it, this action may be labeled differently in your Vault.

Result

The merged PDF is added to the binder under Attachments.

View and Download the Merged PDF

You can view and download the merged PDF from the Vault notification or the binder attachments.

From the Notification

Once the merge PDF action is complete, Vault sends a Vault notification and email to the user who initiated the action, with a link to download the PDF. The notification contains a table listing which documents did and did not merge.

From the Binder

Open the binder.
Expand Attachments. You must be in the Mixed View or Field View to see this section.
Select the name of the attachment.
A viewable rendition of the file appears in a new window.
To save the PDF to your machine, select Download.

Merged PDF Limits

Each time that you combine and merge a PDF on a binder, a new attachment is added to that binder. A binder can have a maximum of 50 attachments.

If you reach this limit and need to combine and merge a new PDF on a binder, you must delete another attachment first.