Split PDF
Extract a page range from a PDF and save it as a new document. Everything runs locally in your browser, so your file stays private.
Input
Drop a PDF here
or click to browse
Settings
How to split a PDF
Choose a page range, and the tool copies those pages into a new PDF. The original isn't changed.
- 01
Drop in the PDF
The tool reads the file in your browser and shows its page count, so you know the range you can choose from.
- 02
Enter the first and last page to keep
Pages are numbered from 1, the same as the page counter in most PDF viewers. For a single page, enter the same number in both boxes. The range has to sit inside the document, so 3 to 7 of a 5-page file is rejected.
- 03
Extract, then download
The new file is named after the original plus the range, for example report-pages-3-7.pdf, so several extracts from one document don't overwrite each other.
How the pages are copied
The tool uses pdf-lib, a JavaScript PDF library, to open your document, create a new empty PDF and copy the chosen pages into it. A copied page keeps its original content stream: the same text, vector drawings, fonts and images. Nothing is redrawn or recompressed, so the extract looks exactly like the original pages and text stays selectable.
File size follows the content. We built a 40-page text-only PDF of 42 KB and extracted from it: one page came out at 1.7 KB and ten pages at 11.1 KB. With a scanned document the pages are images, so each page carries its own share of the size and the extract shrinks roughly in proportion. A page that uses a large embedded font or a big background image brings that resource along, even if it's a single page.
Page numbers that don't match
The range uses physical page positions, not the numbers printed on the pages. A book PDF with a cover and 12 pages of Roman-numeral front matter has printed page 1 at position 14. If your viewer shows something like "14 (1 of 320)", use the first number.
Watch for blank pages too. Scans often include blank backs of pages, so what looks like pages 5 to 8 on paper may be positions 9 to 16 in the file. A quick look at the thumbnails in your viewer saves a second attempt.
The range to enter for common jobs
Most splits are one of a handful of patterns. Here's what to type, using a 40-page document as the example.
| You want | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Just the first page | 1 | 1 |
| Everything except the cover | 2 | 40 |
| Everything except the last page | 1 | 39 |
| The last 5 pages | 36 | 40 |
| One page from the middle, say page 17 | 17 | 17 |
Some jobs need two passes. To remove a single page from the middle, such as page 17, extract 1 to 16 and 18 to 40, then join the two files with Merge PDF. Odd or even pages only, or a reordered set, aren't possible with a single range.
Why people extract pages
Sending one chapter, not the whole manual
Pull pages 41 to 58 out of a long report and email just those, without sharing the rest of the document.
Separating invoices from a bulk export
Accounting tools often export a month of invoices as one PDF. Extract each client's pages and send them separately.
Meeting an upload size limit
When a portal caps uploads at 2 MB, sending only the pages it asks for is often enough to get under the limit.
Dropping a cover sheet
Extract pages 2 to the end to remove a fax cover or a title page in one step.
What's not carried over
- One continuous range per run. For pages 1 to 3 and 9 to 12, run the tool twice and join the results with Merge PDF.
- Bookmarks and the document outline aren't copied, because they belong to the whole document rather than to pages.
- Links that jump to pages outside the range won't work in the extract, and fillable form fields may not behave as they did in the original.
- Password-protected files that need a password to open can't be read. Remove the password in the app that created the file first.