How To Create A Multi Page PDF with Inkscape

• January 30, 2023
• Nick Saporito
• 18 comments

For the longest time, making multi-page PDFs with Inkscape was a process that requires several workarounds and third-party applications. But thanks to an update in version 1.2 (and beyond,) it can now all be done within the software. In this tutorial I’ll be showing you how.

Last year, Inkscape released version 1.2, which came with a new tool– the Page Tool. This tool allows you to create multiple pages on your canvas, order them by number, and then save them as a multi-page PDF. Let’s have a look at how it works.

Create Multi-Page PDFs With Inkscape

The following video will walk you through the entire process of using the Page Tool to create multi-page documents in Inkscape:

Continue on for the written instruction.

Step 1: Access the Page Tool and use it to add new pages to your document

To get us started, open a new document. You will notice that you have a single white page within your document. The gray space around the page represents the canvas area outside of your pages and will not be included in the saved PDF.

The Page Tool location is highlighted in red above. Click the image if you need to enlarge it.

Access the Page Tool in the lower left-hand corner of the toolbar. It is represented by an icon that depicts a couple of pages.

With the Page Tool selected, you will see an option to add a new page to your document. Click that button to add a new page to your document:

The new page document is highlighted in red above.

If you need to change the size of the page, you can do so manually by clicking and dragging the nodes at the corners of the pages, or you can choose from one of the templates in the dropdown menu in the tool settings menu.

Step 2: Assign the order of the pages as needed

Whenever you add new pages to a document in Inkscape, the original page will serve as page 1 of the PDF document you save as. Every additional page will be added in numerical order. So, if you add a new page, it will be page 2. Adding another page in addition will be page 3, and so on.

If you need to change the page order of your document, simply click on one of the pages with the Page Tool enabled and use the menu interface in the tool settings bar to change its order:

Use the left and right arrow icons to move the order of the selected page back and forward.

Step 3: Save the document as a PDF file

Once you are ready to save your multi-page PDF, all you have to do is navigate to:

File > Save As

When prompted, choose PDF from the file type menu and click save. You will then be asked to choose the settings for your PDF document. Leave the defaults as they are (unless you need different settings for whatever reason) and click save.

Locate your PDF document and open it. It should be multi-paged according to the page order in Inkscape.

In Conclusion

Inkscape has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years, and the new Page Tool is just one of many welcomed additions. Thanks to this new feature, creating multi-page documents in Inkscape has never been easier!

Learn To Master The Software Gain a complete understanding of your favorite design apps with my comprehensive collection of video courses. Each course grants access to our private community where you can ask questions and get help when needed.   81 Videos   11 Modules The Inkscape Master Class Tutorials, quizzes and practice exercises for learning every tool & feature in Inkscape. Add to cart Price: $17   82 Videos   10 Modules The Affinity V3 Master Class Tutorials, quizzes and practice exercises for learning every tool & feature in Affinity. Add to cart Price: $22   98 Videos   7 Modules Illustrator Master Class Tutorials, quizzes and practice exercises for learning every tool & feature in Illustrator. Add to cart Price: $17   70 Videos   9 Modules GIMP Master Class Learn how to use all of the primary tools and features in the GIMP application. Add to cart Price: $17 View All Courses