PDF Split
Split a PDF into per-page or per-range files.
Overview
The PDF split tool breaks a single multi-page PDF into smaller files — one PDF per page, one PDF per page range, or a single PDF containing only the selected pages. The page content, fonts, and embedded resources are preserved exactly.
Office workers extracting one invoice from a monthly statement, students grabbing a single chapter, and legal staff isolating specific exhibits reach for this when only part of a long PDF is wanted. Long-tail searches that lead here include "split PDF by pages online", "extract page range from PDF", and "save single PDF page as new file".
How it works
A PDF (ISO 32000) is a tree of indirect objects: a Catalog points to a Pages tree, which points to individual page objects with their content streams and resource dictionaries. Splitting walks the page tree, picks the page objects matching the requested range, and writes a new PDF whose Catalog and Pages tree reference only those pages.
Indirect-object IDs are rewritten in the output to be contiguous, and resources referenced from the kept pages are copied across; resources referenced only from dropped pages are pruned. The result is a structurally valid PDF, smaller than the original, that visually renders exactly the chosen pages.
Examples
- Pull pages 1, 4, and 7 from a 20-page contract into a single excerpt PDF.
- Burst a 100-page report into 100 single-page PDFs for a document management system.
- Extract chapters as 10–25, 26–48, and 49–end ranges from a book PDF.
- Save just the cover page of a longer document as a standalone PDF.
FAQ
Are bookmarks preserved?
Outline entries that point to retained pages are preserved; entries pointing to dropped pages are removed. The resulting outline may be smaller than the original.
Will the file size shrink proportionally?
Usually yes, but not exactly. Shared resources duplicated into each split (fonts, embedded images) can push the total split size above the original — that is expected for one-page-per-file bursts.
What happens to form fields spanning multiple pages?
Form fields are page-bound in PDF; a field that lived on page 5 stays with page 5 in whichever split it lands in. Cross-page calculations may stop working if their target field is split off.
Can it split a password-protected PDF?
The PDF needs to be unlocked first. Splitting cannot modify a page tree it cannot decrypt.
Does the original file change?
No. Splitting produces new files; the source is untouched.