NOTATIO

I have an older Windows machine that the kids use, which has CutePDF installed. It's highly efficient for three main tasks:

• Combining PDFs (e.g., consolidating multiple documents into one file).
• Adding pagination (either as a header or footer).
• Protecting files (restricting opening or printing).

What are the alternatives for macOS? I'm not interested in a subscription model like Adobe Acrobat. I'm looking for something efficient and affordable. Even the process of combining PDFs on macOS seems to be quite problematic, especially if the document is lengthy and takes ages to complete.

I've not been able to find a definite answer on their website, but have you tried Acrobat Reader, the free version? It has plenty of features already, and Combine may be one of them. Alternatively, with an Adobe account and going to acrobat.adobe.com, you can combine files online.
Alternative that are not subscription? Hard to find, honestly.
There was PDF Expert, before they became a subscription as well.
Preview can do it with drag & drop, but it's clunky at best.
It may be possible to purchase Acrobat Pro (which is still the best overall piece of software for this) for a one time fee, but they certainly do not advertise it flashily. I will let you know if I find something else.

I ended up buying an older version of Adobe that did not have the subscription model. Fully functional, and pretty cheap.

I bought PDF Expert years ago. They are now are encouraging people to subscribe, but there is still a purchase option. There is a free download to test it.

https://pdfexpert.com/

I see. 200€ for a PDF application that will put page numbers seems overkill. I might just go to Windows for that purpose (a bit awkward).

have anyone used the online version of CutePDF? It can do the same things online.
Acrobat can't do everything, you still need a sub.

OCTO wrote: ↑11 Apr 2024, 19:24 Even the process of combining PDFs on macOS seems to be quite problematic, especially if the document is lengthy and takes ages to complete.

You can combine PDFs with the "Create PDF" Quick Action in the right-click Contextual menu. They will be combined in the order that they are listed, so if you sort Z to A, or by Date, that will affect the order.

MacOS has PDF creation and editing built-in, so there are hundreds of cheap apps on the app store that combine PDFs, and perform any number of other actions. (Given how easy it is to implement, I wouldn't pay £1.99 for most of them, though!)

Scoring Notes also has some sophisticated PDF combiners and booklet makers.

I have created my own set of python scripts, which are "wrapped" inside Automator workflows, and these are all available in the same Quick Action menu.
This includes adding page numbers; adding "1 of N" to a set of parts; and encrypting (though the password is written into the script...!) macOS used to come with python bundled in, but they removed it, so you have to install it yourself, which is annoying. One day, I might make some sort of app thingy.