How to Split a PDF into Separate Pages or Extract a Range

Splitting a PDF is the opposite of merging one. Instead of combining files, you pull a chapter, a single page or a set of pages out of a larger document without disturbing the rest. It is one of the most useful PDF skills to have, because the person you are sending something to rarely needs all 40 pages, and some of those pages often shouldn't go to them at all.

When you actually need to split a PDF

• Sending only what is relevant: one signed page from a 40-page contract, the invoice page from a bundled statement, or the single form an office asked for.
• Keeping other people's information out: a batch scan of several clients' documents, or a report with internal sections, should be cut down before it leaves your hands.
• Getting under an upload limit: a portal that rejects a 30 MB file will often accept the six pages it actually needs.
• Breaking up a long document: chapters of a scanned book, or sections of a manual for different teams.

Sending only the relevant pages is both courteous and prudent. The recipient doesn't have to hunt for them, and nothing leaves your hands that didn't need to.

How to split a PDF online

1. Open the Split PDF tool and add your PDF.
2. Type the pages you want in the range box, for example 1-3, 5, 10-15. Use a hyphen for a run of pages and commas to separate parts.
3. Click Extract Selected Pages. You get a new PDF containing exactly those pages, ready to download. Your original file is untouched.

The split runs on our server. Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, the pages are copied out, and the result is held only temporarily so you can download it.

How page ranges work

The range box is more flexible than it looks:

Two details are worth knowing. First, pages come out in the order you type them, so the range box doubles as a simple way to reorder pages: 3, 1, 2 puts page 3 first. Second, page numbers that don't exist in the document are skipped, and a backwards range such as 8-5 selects nothing. Write ranges from low to high.

Getting several separate files

Each run produces one PDF. To break a document into several pieces, for example chapter 1, chapter 2 and the appendix, run the split once per piece: 1-12, then 13-27, then 28-34. Each pass takes seconds.

The reverse also works. If you need pages scattered across a document to end up in one file, list them all in a single range, or extract them separately and combine the pieces with the Merge PDF tool. Split-then-merge is the standard way to rearrange any PDF's contents.

Splitting vs deleting pages

If you want to remove a page or two and keep everything else as one document, use the Delete PDF Pages tool instead. Splitting is for when the selected pages should become their own file, not just disappear from the original. A quick way to choose: if the list of pages you want to keep is shorter, split; if the list you want to remove is shorter, delete.

Does splitting affect quality?

No. Pages are copied structurally, not re-rendered. Text that was selectable stays selectable, images keep their resolution, and the extracted file is indistinguishable from a document that only ever had those pages. That also means the new file is roughly proportional in size: extracting 5 pages from a 50-page scan gives you about a tenth of the size.

Common mistakes

• Off-by-one page numbers. The page number printed on a document (the "page 7" in the footer) often differs from its position in the file, because covers, contents pages and blank pages count too. Use the page number your PDF viewer shows in its toolbar, not the printed one.
• Sideways scans. If some pages were scanned at the wrong angle, split first and then fix the extracted file with the Rotate PDF tool.
• Password-protected files. An encrypted PDF can't be split until it is unlocked. Remove the password with the Unlock PDF tool (you need to know it), split, and re-protect the pieces if they will be shared.
• Not checking the result. Open the extracted file and check its first and last page before sending. It is the fastest way to catch a mistyped range.

Frequently asked questions

Can I split a PDF into individual pages?

Each run gives you one file, so for single-page files, run it once per page (1, then 2, and so on). That is quick for short documents. For a long document that needs bursting into hundreds of pages, desktop software is the better tool.

Will the extracted pages keep links and form fields?

The visible page content carries over intact. Interactive features that depend on the rest of the original document, such as links to pages you didn't extract, can stop working, so check those if they matter.

Is my file stored?

The file is processed on our server and the result is held only temporarily so you can download it. It isn't kept in an account or shared. For very sensitive documents, the PDF editor can delete and reorder pages entirely on your device. It uploads nothing unless you choose to create a share link.

How do I reorder pages instead of extracting them?

Type every page in the order you want, for example 1, 3, 2, 4-10. The output contains all the pages in the new order.