Split PDF

Three ways to split a PDF

Splitting means different things depending on what you want in the end, so the tool has three modes rather than one.

• Extract pages copies the pages you choose into one new PDF. Use it to pull one chapter from a book, a single invoice from a batch, or only the signed pages of a contract.
• Split by ranges turns each range you type into its own PDF and gives you all of them in a ZIP file. Typing 1-3, 4-6, 7 produces three files. Use it to break a combined scan into separate documents.
• Split every N pages cuts the whole document into equal parts. With N = 1 you get one PDF per page; with N = 10 a 45-page file becomes four ten-page files and one five-page file.

Writing page ranges correctly

Ranges use plain numbers separated by commas. A single number selects one page, and two numbers joined by a hyphen select a run of pages. So 1-3, 5, 8-10 selects pages 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10. Spaces do not matter. The numbers must be within the length of the document, a range must go forwards (3-1 is rejected) and open-ended ranges such as 5- are not accepted, so type the last page number.

The tool shows how many pages your PDF has as soon as you choose it, so you can check the end of a range before you run it. When a range is invalid you get a specific message rather than a broken file.

Practical uses

Sending part of a document is the most common reason. Instead of emailing a 200-page report, send the ten pages the recipient needs. It is smaller, quicker to open, and it avoids sharing information they should not see, such as pages with other clients' data or internal notes.

Splitting also helps with limits. If an upload form accepts files up to a certain size or number of pages, split the document into parts that fit. Scanned batches often arrive as a single file: split by ranges to separate a passport, a bank statement and a letter into their own PDFs, and then name each one clearly.

Do not lose the original

Splitting never changes your original file; it creates new files from copies of its pages. Keep the original until you have checked the parts. A good habit is to open the first and last output file and confirm the first and last pages are the ones you expected, especially when you used several ranges.

Output names include the range or part number, for example report-part-02-pages-4-6.pdf, so you can tell files apart without opening them.

Related jobs

To join the parts back together in a different order, use Merge PDF. To fix pages that were scanned upside down before you split, use Rotate PDF. If the resulting pieces are still large, Compress PDF reduces their size. The overview of merging and splitting PDF files covers common workflows that combine these steps.

Password-protected files must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF, because the page content cannot be copied while it is encrypted.

Privacy and limits

The pages are copied in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, so you can safely split payslips, tax forms, IDs and legal documents. Files up to 200 MB are accepted; if your device struggles with a very large file, split it in stages, for example first into halves and then into smaller parts.

Splitting copies pages as they are. Links between pages and bookmarks that point to pages you did not include will not work in the new file, and form fields keep their values but may lose calculations that depend on other pages.