How to Split a PDF: Extract or Remove Pages

A 120-page report where you only need pages 14 to 19. A scanned bundle with three blank pages in the middle. A contract you need to send without the confidential appendix. All of these are the same family of job: changing which pages a PDF contains. The trick is knowing which tool fits which job, because splitting, extracting, removing and reordering sound alike but give different results.

Four jobs, four tools

You want to...	Use
Break one PDF into several smaller PDFs	Split PDF
Keep only certain pages and discard the rest	Extract PDF Pages
Delete certain pages and keep the rest	Remove PDF Pages
Change the order of the pages	PDF Organizer

If you're not sure, ask which list is shorter. Keeping three pages out of 120 is extraction; deleting three pages out of 120 is removal. They produce the same kind of file, but it's much quicker to type the short list.

Splitting a PDF into parts

Split PDF gives you two approaches:

• By range: either custom ranges, such as pages 1 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 to the end, or fixed chunks, such as every 10 pages. Each range becomes its own PDF.
• By pages: extract all, which turns every page into its own single-page PDF, or select pages to pick specific ones.

When the result is more than one file, you get them together in a single zip download, so you don't have to save them one at a time. A one-page result downloads as a plain PDF.

Splitting is the right choice for things like separating chapters of a long document, breaking a combined scan into one file per person or invoice, or cutting a big file into pieces that each fit under an email size limit.

Extracting specific pages

When you want one new PDF made of particular pages, use Extract PDF Pages. You type the pages as comma-separated numbers or ranges, for example 1, 3, 7-9, and the tool builds a new PDF in that order. The original isn't changed.

Typical uses are pulling out a signature page, sending a client only the section that concerns them, or grabbing a single diagram from a long manual.

Removing unwanted pages

Going the other way, Remove PDF Pages deletes the pages you list and keeps everything else. It's the tool for blank pages left by a scanner, cover sheets you don't need, or pages with private information that shouldn't be shared. Pages are named the same way, for example 2, 5, 11-12.

One caution: if the reason for removing a page is privacy, check the result carefully. Removing a page deletes it from the new file, but the original file still contains it, so don't send the original and don't overwrite your only copy until you've checked the new one.

Reordering pages

If the pages are all there but in the wrong order, use PDF Organizer. You give the new page order, listing every page exactly once, such as 3, 1, 2, 4. This is common after scanning a stack of paper that went through the feeder in the wrong sequence. Page that's sideways? Rotate PDF fixes it.

How page numbers work

Pages are always counted from 1, in the order they appear in the file, regardless of the page numbers printed on them. Page "iv" in a front-matter section is still just whichever number it falls at in the file. Open the PDF in a viewer first and note the file's own page numbers, shown in the viewer's page box, rather than the printed ones.

Common workflows

• Send part of a long document. Extract the relevant pages, then check them, then send the extract.
• Clean up a scan. Remove blank pages, then reorder if needed, then compress the result. Our guide to compressing a PDF without losing quality explains what to expect.
• Combine pieces from several files. Extract the pages you want from each, then join the extracts with Merge PDF. See how to merge PDF files.
• Split a bundle into separate documents. Use custom ranges so each range becomes one document, and name them clearly.
• Make page numbers continuous. After editing pages, add numbering with Add Page Numbers.

Things to check

• Password-protected files have to be unlocked before their pages can be changed. Our post on protecting and unlocking PDFs covers that.
• Bookmarks and links that point to pages you've removed may no longer work in the new file.
• File size. Splitting a PDF doesn't always make each part proportionally smaller if images are shared between pages. If size is the problem, compress as well.
• Limits. Without an account you can upload files up to 20 MB, and 30 MB with a free account, so very large PDFs may need to be handled in parts.

The short version

Use Split PDF to cut a document into several files, Extract to keep specific pages, Remove to delete specific pages, and Organizer to change the order. Count pages from 1 in file order, check the result before you delete the original, and combine tools in sequence for bigger clean-ups. For more on what you can do with PDFs, see The Complete Guide to Working With PDFs Online.