About the Split PDF tool
A single long PDF is not always what you want to hand someone. Maybe only pages 4 through 9 of a report matter to your colleague, or you need to break a scanned book into one file per chapter. The Split PDF tool cuts a PDF down to just the pages you specify, or explodes it into individual one-page files, all inside your browser.
Splitting is the mirror image of merging, and the two often get used back to back: someone scans a whole folder of paperwork as one long PDF, and then needs to split it back apart into the individual documents it actually contains, in whatever grouping makes sense for filing or sending. Because the split happens locally, you can experiment freely — try a page range, check the result, and try again — without waiting on repeated uploads to a remote service each time.
How to split a PDF
- Upload the PDF you want to split.
- Choose whether to extract a specific page range or split every page into its own file.
- If you're extracting a range, type it in using commas and dashes, like 1-3,7,10-12.
- Click Split PDF. The tool downloads either a single trimmed PDF or one file per page, depending on the mode you picked.
Tips for best results
- Before typing a page range, open the PDF in any viewer and note the page numbers exactly as they're numbered in the file — a scanned cover page can shift everything by one compared to the printed page numbers inside the document.
- Use "split every page into its own file" when you're not sure exactly which pages you need yet; it's often faster to skim ten small single-page files than to guess a range wrong twice.
- Ranges can mix single pages and spans in one go: 1,4-6,9 pulls page 1, pages 4 through 6, and page 9 in a single pass.
- If your browser blocks the multiple downloads that "split every page" produces, look for a one-time permission prompt near the address bar and allow it, or switch to a specific page range instead.
Common ways people use this
- Pulling the signature page out of a long agreement to send for a quick e-signature.
- Breaking a scanned magazine or book into per-chapter files for easier reading.
- Extracting just the appendix from a lengthy report.
- Separating a multi-invoice PDF batch into individual invoices.
- Isolating a single lease or contract from a PDF where a scanner combined several documents into one file.
Good to know
Splitting into individual pages downloads one file per page rather than a single zip archive, since that keeps the tool from needing any extra libraries just for compression. For a 100-page document that means 100 separate downloads, so a specific page range is usually the more practical choice for very long files.
Frequently asked questions
What format do I use for the page range?
Use commas to separate individual pages or ranges, and a dash for a range: 1-3,5,8-10 extracts pages 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10.
What happens if I leave the range field blank?
Leaving it blank in range mode extracts every page, which is equivalent to making a copy of the original file.
Can I reorder pages while splitting?
Splitting keeps the original page order. If you need to reorder pages too, use the Organize PDF tool afterward.
Does the tool renumber pages inside the new file?
No, the extracted pages keep their original content exactly as it was; nothing is added or removed from the page itself.
Can I split out several separate ranges into several separate files in one pass?
Not in a single run today — each run of the tool produces either one file for one range, or one file per page. To get, say, pages 1-3 and pages 8-10 as two separate files, run the tool twice with a different range each time.
Will splitting affect the quality of scanned pages?
No. Each extracted page is copied exactly as it exists in the source file, so any scanned image keeps its original resolution and any text stays fully sharp and selectable.
Can I extract pages from the end of the document without counting from the front?
The range field currently expects page numbers counted from the front (page 1 onward), so for a document where you know you want "the last 5 pages," check the total page count first and work out the equivalent range — for a 40-page file, that would be 36-40.