How to use it
- Press Choose a file or drop one PDF. Its name, page count and size appear above the options.
- Under What to do, pick one of the four ways to split.
- For the first two options, type the pages in the Pages box, for example 1-3, 5, 8-. For splitting every N pages, set Pages per file.
- Press Split. Each new PDF gets its own Download button, and when there are several you can save them all as one ZIP file.
The four ways to split, with examples
All four options make new files and only read the PDF you dropped. Here is what each one gives for a 10-page file called report.pdf:
| Option | What you type | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Extract pages into one new PDF | Pages: 1-3, 5, 8- | 1 file of 7 pages: report-pages-1-3,5,8-10.pdf |
| Split into one PDF per range | Pages: 1-3, 5, 8- | 3 files: report-pages-1-3.pdf, report-pages-5.pdf, report-pages-8-10.pdf |
| Save every page as its own PDF | Nothing | 10 files: report-page-1.pdf to report-page-10.pdf |
| Split every N pages | Pages per file: 4 | 3 files: report-pages-1-4.pdf, report-pages-5-8.pdf, report-pages-9-10.pdf |
When the page count doesn't divide evenly, the last part is shorter: 10 pages in fours gives 4 + 4 + 2.
How to type page ranges
The Pages box understands the way people usually write page numbers:
5– page 5 only1-3– pages 1, 2 and 38-– page 8 to the last page-4– the first page up to page 4all, or an empty box – every page- Separate parts with commas, semicolons or spaces:
1-3, 5and1-3 5mean the same.
Numbers past the end are trimmed, so on a 10-page file 8-20 becomes 8-10. A range typed backwards, like 6-2, is read as 2-6. If the box holds something else, such as letters, the tool asks you to fix it instead of guessing.
With Extract, the pages follow the order you type: 5, 1-3 puts page 5 first, and a page typed twice appears twice. That makes Extract a quick way to pull pages out and reorder them in one go.
Page numbers count from the start of the file
The numbers here are positions in the file: the first page is always 1, even if the document prints "i" or "ii" on its front pages or starts its own numbering later. If a report has a cover and a contents page, its printed page 1 is probably page 3 here. When in doubt, look at the thumbnails in Organize PDF pages first.
What each new file contains
Every new PDF holds copies of the chosen pages with their text, pictures, highlights and web links. Nothing is redrawn or compressed, so text stays selectable and the quality is exactly the same.
A few things belong to the whole document rather than to pages, and they aren't carried over: bookmarks, and the original's title and author details. A digital signature won't be valid in a part either, because each part is a different document from the one that was signed.
Each part also has to include the fonts and pictures its pages use. Several small parts added together can therefore come to more than the original file.
Saving many parts at once
Saving every page of a 40-page file makes 40 PDFs. Instead of pressing Download 40 times, use the button that saves them all as one ZIP file, split-pdf.zip, then unzip it on your device. The ZIP is made in your browser as well, like the PDFs inside it: nothing is uploaded at any step. How the privacy works.
Questions
- How do I remove a single page from a PDF?
- Choose Extract and type the pages you want to keep. To drop page 4 from a 10-page file, type
1-3, 5-. To pick pages visually instead, use Organize PDF pages. - Can I split several PDFs at once?
- One at a time. Drop the next PDF when you're done with the first; the files you already made stay in the list until you press Clear list.
- Does splitting reduce the quality?
- No. Pages are copied, not converted, so the parts look exactly like the original pages.
- Can I split a password-protected PDF?
- No. The tool will say the file is password-protected. Remove the password in the app that made the PDF, save a copy, and split that.
- Why is the total of my parts bigger than the original?
- Each part has to carry the fonts and images its pages use, so shared material is stored again in every part. Splitting into many single pages shows this most.