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How to make a printable photo contact sheet (PDF) with file names

By Blink Brief · Updated  · How pages are made

A contact sheet puts a whole shoot on a few pages of small photos, each labeled with its file name, so your client can reply "DSC_0412 and DSC_0419" instead of "the one by the window." You choose 4 things: the paper size, the number of columns, a file-name label under each photo, and PDF as the output. Below are the steps in a browser, Adobe Bridge, Lightroom Classic, XnView MP, a Mac, and Windows, each checked against the vendor's own help pages, except Windows, where Microsoft has none and the steps come from its Q&A forum.

Short answer

  • The settings: Letter for US clients or A4 elsewhere, 4 to 6 columns, the file name under each photo, a title line with the client's name and the date, and page numbers. Save as PDF.
  • Adobe Bridge (a free download): click Output, drag the photos onto the Output Preview canvas, select Include Filename, then click Export to PDF.
  • Lightroom Classic: in the Print module, pick a contact sheet template, choose Photo Info › Filename in the Page panel, and print to your computer's PDF option.
  • Nothing to install: a browser contact sheet maker. The free ones differ in watermarks and PDF export; 10 contact sheet makers compared lists what each one's free version does.

Our product

Contact Sheet: free, in your browser. Add JPEG, PNG, or WebP photos, choose US Letter or A4 and 2 to 8 photos across, label each photo with its file name, its frame number, or both, and download a PDF. No watermark and no sign-up, and your photos are never uploaded.

Open Contact Sheet

Step by step with our free Contact Sheet tool

  1. Open the Contact Sheet tool. No sign-up. It runs in your browser, so the photos stay on your computer.
  2. Add your photos. Drag photos or a whole folder onto the box, or click Choose photos or Choose a folder. JPEG, PNG, and WebP work; HEIC works if your browser can open it. RAW files such as CR3, NEF, or ARW are listed as skipped, so export JPEGs from your editor first.
  3. Lay out the page. Under Paper, choose US Letter or A4, then the orientation, then 2 to 8 under Photos across the page. The number of rows follows from those choices.
  4. Choose the label under each photo: File name, Frame number, Number and file name, or No label.
  5. Set the order. File name sorts numbers the way you count, so DSC_2 comes before DSC_10. Order added keeps the order you added them in.
  6. Add a title and page numbers. Put the client's name and the shoot date in the title at the top of each page. Page numbers at the bottom are on unless you turn them off. The background can be white or black.
  7. Download it. Click Download PDF, or Download JPG pages for one image file per page, or Print. The tool doesn't save your sheet, so download the PDF before you close the tab.

Choose Number and file name if your client might call you: a frame number is quicker to say, and a file name finds the original on your disk. The file names in the PDF are text, so your client can copy one into a reply.

Adobe Bridge: a PDF contact sheet with file names in the Output workspace

Adobe's Bridge page is titled "Download Adobe Bridge for Free", and Bridge installs through Adobe Creative Cloud. Its Output workspace builds the PDF itself, from photos in any folder.

  1. In Bridge, open the folder with your photos, so they show in the Content panel.
  2. Click Output in the standard workspace.
  3. In the Output Settings panel, choose a template from the Template drop-down (the default is 2 x 2 Cells), or choose Custom.
  4. Drag the photos from the Content panel onto the canvas in the Output Preview panel. Drag them on the canvas to change their order.
  5. In Document, set Page size and Orientation, and select Include Filename. Select Include File Extension too if the client should see ".jpg".
  6. In Grid and Margins, set the rows and columns under Grid Layout.
  7. In Header and Footer, select Include Header for the client's name and the date, and Include Page Number.
  8. Click Export to PDF in the Output Preview panel.

No Watermark is selected by default. Under PDF Properties you can set an Open Password, so only the client can open the file. Choosing a template and then changing any setting turns the template into Custom; save it with the button next to the Template drop-down to reuse it.

Lightroom Classic: a contact sheet with file names in the Print module

  1. In the Library module, select the photos. Put them in a collection if you'll print the same set again.
  2. In the Print module, choose a contact sheet template in the Template Browser.
  3. Choose the paper size and printer, if needed.
  4. In the Page panel, select Photo Info and choose Filename. (Sequence prints numbers such as 1/9, 2/9 instead.)
  5. To change the grid, set the rows and columns under Page Grid in the Layout panel. For page numbers, select Page Options › Page Numbers in the Page panel.
  6. Click Print.

Adobe's help gives the Print module 2 destinations: a printer, or Print To › JPEG File in the Print Job panel. It describes no PDF option. For a PDF, click Print and pick your computer's PDF option: on a Mac, open the PDF menu in the print dialog and choose Save as PDF; on Windows 10 and 11, choose the Microsoft Print to PDF printer.

XnView MP: a contact sheet with file-name labels

XnView MP runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. XnView's FAQ gives the steps in one line: "Select the images in XnView MP, then choose Create > Contact sheet." In that dialog you set the rows, columns, page size, and captions (file name, EXIF data, or your own text), and choose the output: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or PDF. The FAQ doesn't name the fields inside the dialog, so look for those settings by what they do.

XnView MP is free "for private, educational, public services or non-profit use." Its FAQ adds: "For commercial use in a company, a paid license is required." One license is €29.00.

Mac: a contact sheet from Photos or Preview

Photos

  1. In Photos, click Library in the sidebar, then select the photos.
  2. Choose File › Print.
  3. Select the Contact Sheet format. Apple notes that with this format you can resize the printed photos.
  4. Click Print. In the print dialog, open the PDF menu and choose Save as PDF, or click Print to send it to your printer.

Apple's Photos guide doesn't say whether file names can print under the photos. If they must, use one of the other methods.

Preview

Open the photos in one Preview window and choose View › Thumbnails. Command-click the ones you want, then choose File › Print and select Selection. To fit several on a sheet, choose a number from the Pages per Sheet menu in the Layout section. Apple's Preview guide mentions no file-name labels.

Windows: the Contact Sheet layout in Print Pictures

Microsoft's support site has no help page for this layout. The steps below come from answers on Microsoft Q&A.

  1. In File Explorer, select the photos.
  2. Right-click the first photo of the selection and choose Print. On Windows 11, choose Show more options first, then Print. One answer reports that the print order starts from the photo you right-click.
  3. In the list of layouts, choose Contact Sheet (35). The file name prints below each photo.
  4. For a PDF, choose Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer, which Microsoft says is included in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Since a 2025 Windows 11 update, people on Microsoft Q&A report that the print dialog is skipped and each photo prints on its own page. One answer there suggests choosing Photos as the photo viewer in Settings › Apps › Default apps; one person reports it brought the dialog back, another that it didn't. If it still happens, use Bridge, XnView MP, or a browser tool.

Which method to use, including Lightroom Classic alternatives

  • A folder of files, full file names, a password on the PDF: Adobe Bridge. It's free and works from folders, with nothing to import first.
  • Photos you already picked in Lightroom Classic: its Print module, so the sheet holds only the frames you selected in the Library module.
  • Windows, macOS, or Linux, for personal work: XnView MP, free for private use. Company use needs a €29.00 license.
  • A quick print on a Mac when file names don't matter: the Contact Sheet format in Photos.
  • Windows with nothing to install: the Contact Sheet (35) layout, if your PC still shows the Print Pictures dialog.
  • No Lightroom subscription: Bridge, XnView MP, or a browser tool. Lightroom Classic comes with Adobe's Lightroom plan at US$11.99 a month, billed monthly on an annual plan. Contact sheet makers compared lists the free and pay-once options, with their limits.

Send the contact sheet to a client for picks

  1. Name the PDF for the client, with the shoot and the date: Rivera-family-proofs-2026-11-02.pdf.
  2. Say how to answer. Ask for the file names or frame numbers of their picks, how many their package includes, and the date you need them by.
  3. Match the picks to your files. The names on the sheet are the names of your originals, so a search for each name finds the photo to edit.

Turn the client's reply into a list of file names

To do it by hand:

  1. Paste the client's reply into a text editor.
  2. Put each file name or frame number on its own line, and delete the other words.
  3. Delete any name that's there twice, then search your folder for each one.

This PDF has no way to mark picks, so the picks come back in an email that you retype. Proofing links collect them for you: ContactSheetMaker and ContactSheetKit include them on their Ultimate plans at $19 a month, and PhotoPartage from €4.99 a month. Make Contact Sheet, a free browser tool, exports an HTML gallery file that your client opens to pick photos and send the selection back. Lightroom Classic can share a synced collection as a link for comments and likes; Adobe's page says anyone with an Adobe ID can open it.

Our product · in development

Blink Proof: a private proofing link of your contact sheet. Your client stars picks and comments on frames, and you get the picked file names in one line, to paste into Lightroom Classic's Library Filter (Text › Filename › Contains). Planned price $9/month.

Join the early list

Questions

How do I put file names on a contact sheet?

In Adobe Bridge, select Include Filename in the Document settings of the Output workspace. In Lightroom Classic, select Photo Info › Filename in the Print module's Page panel. In XnView MP, choose the file name as the caption. On Windows, the Contact Sheet (35) print layout adds the file names on its own.

Can I make a contact sheet without Photoshop or Lightroom?

Yes. Adobe Bridge is a free download with its own PDF contact sheet. XnView MP is free for private use. Browser tools need no install at all.

Is there a free contact sheet maker with no watermark?

Yes. ImgTweak's page says "No watermark", and Adobe Bridge selects No Watermark by default. ContactSheetKit's free exports "carry a small credit line", and PhotoPartage's free exports keep a "Created with PhotoPartage" credit. Contact sheet makers compared has the rest.

Letter or A4?

Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) for clients in the US and Canada, who will print on it. A4 (210 × 297 mm) almost everywhere else.

Sources

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