Split a PDF or extract pages
Take only the pages you need from a PDF, break a long document into several files, or turn every page into its own PDF. Page previews show what is on each page, so you do not need to know the numbers in advance. The file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
Three ways to split
- Extract pages copies the pages you choose into one new PDF. Click the thumbnails, or type numbers such as 1-3, 7, 10-12. Use it to send only the signed page of a contract, or to drop a blank page by selecting everything except that one.
- Split every page makes a separate PDF for each page and downloads them together as a zip file. Useful when a scanner put a stack of separate documents into one file.
- Split by ranges makes one file per range. Typing 1-4, 5-9, 10-22 gives three PDFs, for example to separate the chapters of a report or the months in a bundle of statements.
Page positions are not always printed page numbers
The numbers you type are positions in the file, counted from the very first page. They often differ from the numbers printed on the pages. In a report with a cover and four pages of roman-numbered front matter, printed page 1 is at position 6. If you are working from a table of contents, check the thumbnails before you extract.
What the new files contain
Pages are copied, not re-rendered, so text stays selectable and images keep their original quality. Bookmarks from the original are not carried over. An extracted page is sometimes larger than you would expect: fonts and images that the whole document shares are stored once in the original, and each new file needs its own copy of whatever its pages use.
Removing or reordering pages
To remove pages, use Extract pages and select everything except them. Typing 1-4, 6-12 gives you a copy without page 5. To change the order of pages, split the document into parts and join them in the new order with Merge PDF.
Splitting to get under an upload limit
When a portal rejects a file for being too big and accepts more than one upload, splitting is the cleanest fix because nothing loses quality. A 30 MB scanned application can go up as three files of about 10 MB. If only one file is allowed, try the PDF compressor instead, or combine the two: extract just the pages that are required, then compress that smaller file.
Limits
Password-protected PDFs have to be unlocked before they can be split. Previews are shown for the first 120 pages; for longer documents, type the numbers of the later pages. Very large files are limited by your device's memory rather than by the tool.