Which kind of split do you need?
Under “Split by”, you decide how your PDF is turned into new files. Extracting pages is not a separate tool but one of four modes. It always combines your selection into exactly one new PDF. The other three modes can create multiple files. How many depends on your groups, the page count of the PDF and the chosen package size. A single group, a one-page PDF or a package that covers all pages also results in just one file in those modes. Per run, you process one PDF of up to 50 MiB (52,428,800 bytes) and at most 250 pages.
If you want to separate a PDF into individual files, “Each page → one PDF” is the direct route: each page ends up in its own file. If several pages should stay together, use custom ranges or a fixed number of pages. The table shows what to expect. You can then check the result in the preview of each individual output file.
- Click “Choose PDF” and select your file.
- Set the appropriate mode under “Split by”.
- Depending on the mode, enter the page ranges, click the pages you want or set the number of pages per output file.
- Click “Split PDF”.
- Check each output file in the preview and save them individually or together as a ZIP archive.
Selected pages in one PDF
If you only need certain pages, for example for an official application or a job application, choose “Selected pages → one PDF”. In the “Page ranges” field, you enter individual pages and ranges, separated by commas. You specify a range with a hyphen. Everything you list with commas goes into the same new file.
Example: From a 13-page PDF, 1-3,5 creates a new PDF with four pages, namely pages 1, 2, 3 and 5. The order of your input matters: with 5,1-3, the new PDF starts with page 5, followed by pages 1, 2 and 3.
Prefer clicking to typing? “Click to select pages” is only available in this mode. It opens a grid with the page numbers of your PDF; it does not show thumbnail images of the pages. With “Select all” and “Clear selection”, you can quickly start over. Pages you click are added in ascending order. To get a different order, type it into the field.
An empty selection is not silently treated as “everything”: if the field is empty and no page is clicked, the tool rejects the job. Your original PDF stays complete in any case, including the pages you didn’t select. If your goal is rather to get rid of a few pages and keep the remaining pages, deleting is the more suitable route.
Custom ranges in multiple PDFs
With “Custom ranges → multiple PDFs”, you decide yourself how many files are created and what goes into each one. The semicolon is the dividing line between two files. Within a group, you combine pages and ranges with commas as described above.
Example: Your sample file Dokument.pdf has 13 pages. Pages 1 to 8 should stay together, page 9 should stand alone, and pages 10 to 13 should again form one file. You enter 1-8; 9; 10-13 and get three PDFs.
The tool derives the file names from the name of your source file and numbers the parts consecutively. There is no separate name field; you can rename the saved files afterwards as usual.
Groups may overlap: with 1-2; 2-3, page 2 is in both files. Within a group, however, the same page may appear only once. The tool rejects these inputs:
- an empty group, such as 1-8;; 9
- a page that appears twice in the same group, such as 1-3,2
- a descending range such as 5-3
- a page beyond the end of the document, such as 14 in a 13-page PDF
Pages you don’t name in any group are missing only from the new files. They are still contained in the original.
Fixed number of pages per file
If your documents consist of sections of equal length, for example nothing but two-page forms, choose “Fixed number of pages per PDF”. Under “Pages per output file”, enter a whole number from 1 to 250; the default is 2. The tool then cuts the PDF from front to back into packages of that length. This way, for example, you can automatically split every two pages.
The number of files results from 7 ÷ 2 = 3.5, rounded up to 4. If the page count doesn’t divide evenly, the last file is shorter. It remains a separate file and is not appended to the previous one.
This mode counts pages only. It does not recognize where an invoice ends or a chapter begins, and it does not split by bookmarks, by even and odd pages, or by megabytes. If your sections vary in length, it’s better to set the boundaries yourself as custom ranges.
Check and save the results
After “Split PDF”, a separate download link appears for each output file, and each of them is a standalone PDF. If there are multiple files, choose under “View output file” which one you want to check. The “Result preview” then shows exactly that generated file, and you scroll through it page by page. Three quick questions are worth asking:
- Does the number of files match what you expected?
- Does each file contain the right pages in the right order?
- Is a page missing at the boundary between two ranges, or does one appear twice unintentionally?
If you created multiple files, the tool additionally offers “Download all files as ZIP”. The ZIP archive is just packaging. It contains the same PDFs that you can also download individually, and they don’t necessarily get smaller. Not every upload form and not every recipient accepts ZIP files. If PDF is explicitly required, save the files individually. If the archive can’t be created for some reason, a notice appears, and the individual PDF links remain usable.
Example: The input 1-8; 9; 10-13 produces three links for Dokument-teil-1.pdf, Dokument-teil-2.pdf and Dokument-teil-3.pdf, plus the ZIP download for all three.
Your source file is not changed in the process, because all parts are new files. The PDF is processed in your browser, without being uploaded to a processing server. If you later want to turn saved parts back into one file, you can combine the PDF parts again. There you select them again, because they are not passed over automatically from this page.
Page numbers and document features
All page numbers in the tool refer to the position in the file, not the number printed on the page. Page 1 is always the first page of the PDF, even if it is a cover page without a number or shows a Roman numeral i.
Example: A report begins with a cover page and four pages numbered in Roman numerals from i to iv. The printed “page 1” is therefore the sixth page of the file. If you want printed pages 1 to 3, you enter 6-8.
The printed numbers stay as they are. If you extract the page with the printed 12, the 12 is still there in the new file, even though it may now be the first page. No automatic renumbering takes place.
What is carried over is the page content itself, not a screenshot of it. So an existing text layer comes along. Whatever is selectable or searchable in the original stays that way in the new files. However, splitting does not perform text recognition. Scanned pages without a text layer therefore remain plain images and do not become searchable. Anything that goes beyond the individual page, on the other hand, is not guaranteed: bookmarks, metadata, comments and links may be missing from the new files or work differently, as may PDF/A or PDF/UA conformance. If your PDF contains annotations or links, the tool points this out. In that case, open the saved parts and test bookmarks and cross-references, especially those pointing to pages that ended up in a different part.
For confidential documents, one point is important: a page that is carried over comes with everything it contains. Text that is merely covered in black or hidden may still be present in the new file. So extracting pages is no substitute for redaction. Sensitive content must be removed beforehand using a method designed for that purpose.
The tool does not accept some PDFs. A file cannot be split if it:
- is digitally signed or certified,
- is encrypted or password-protected,
- contains interactive form fields, including XFA forms and empty signature fields,
- is set up as a PDF portfolio or contains file attachments,
- uses optional content layers,
- is damaged or empty, or is not a readable PDF of version 1.0 to 1.7 or 2.0.
By the way, a scanned or photographed signature on a page is not a digital signature. On its own, it does not prevent splitting.
Splitting by pages does not guarantee a target size
When splitting, you decide which pages go into which file, but not how many bytes a file has. A single page with a high-resolution photo can on its own be larger than ten pages of text. With a fixed number of pages per PDF, the packages therefore have the same number of pages; only the last one may be shorter. With 7 pages in packages of two, for example, that’s 2, 2, 2 and 1 page. That still doesn’t make the packages the same size: even two packages with the same page count can have very different numbers of bytes.
In addition, fonts or images shared by several pages may be copied into every output file that needs them. Combined, the parts may then be larger than the original. All output files of one run may total at most 100 MiB (104,857,600 bytes). This limit can apply even if your source PDF is under 50 MiB. With very large files, browser memory may also run short before that.
Example with assumed values: According to its instructions, a portal allows 5 MB per file. You split a 12-page dossier with 4 pages per output file into three PDFs. If pages 5 to 8 contain several photos, the second file may be over the limit, while the other two stay well below it. You only see the actual resulting sizes from the saved files.
- First, find out whether the recipient accepts multiple files at all and how much they allow in total. With the calculator, you can check file count and total limit.
- Save the parts and read the actual size of each individual file.
- If a part is too large, you can reduce an output file to fit a limit. Select the saved file there; this works for files up to 50 MiB.
- If the recipient accepts only a single file, splitting won’t help. In that case, try reducing the complete PDF in the same way.