How to Split PDF Files

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 1,139,677 times.

Are you working with a PDF document that you want to break into multiple files? Splitting PDFs is quick and easy if you have the right software. If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can use the built-in Split Document function to split the pages up. But if you need a free option, don't worry—we've found plenty of options. To learn how to separate or split pages in your PDF file, read on!

Method 1 of 4:

Using Google Chrome

Step 1 Open the PDF.

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Open the PDF file in Google Chrome. The easiest way to do this is to drag the PDF file into an open Chrome window. [1] X Expert Source

Step 2 Click the Print icon.

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Click the Print icon. It's the icon that resembles a printer in the upper-right corner. This displays the Print menu.

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Step 3 Select

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Select "Save as PDF" as the Destination. Use the drop-down menu next to "Destination" to select "Save as PDF".

Step 4 Select

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Select "Custom" next to "Pages". Use the drop-down menu next to "Pages" to select "Custom". This allows you to create a new PDF from a range of pages. [2] X Research source

Step 5 Enter the range of pages that you want to create as a new document.

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Enter the range of pages that you want to create as a new document. Use the text field below the "Pages" drop-down menu to enter the pages you want to save as a new PDF. For example, let's say you have a 10-page PDF file that you want to split, with the first 7 pages in one file and the last 3 in another. In the Pages section, you would enter "1-7" to create a PDF file with the first 7 pages. [3] X Expert Source

Step 6 Click Save.

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Click Save . It's the blue button in the lower-right corner [4] X Expert Source

Step 7 Type a name for the PDF.

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Type a name for the PDF. Use the field next to "File name" to enter a name for the split PDF. It is recommended you give the new PDF a different name from the original.

Step 8 Click Save.

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\n"> Click Save . This saves a new PDF file with the range of pages you selected. [5] X Research source

Step 9 Repeat the process to create more documents.

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Repeat the process to create more documents. If you need to create another document for the other pages, repeat these steps to create another document and use another range of pages to save the next document. For example, if you want the next document to contain pages 8-10, just enter "8-10" as the range of pages below "Custom" in the print menu.

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Using CutePDF (Windows)

Step 1 Download the CutePDF software.

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Download the CutePDF software. Unlike OS X, Windows does not come with any software that can manipulate PDF files. CutePDF is a freeware program that allows you to easily split PDF files from any program that can open them. Use the following steps to download CutePDF: [6] X Expert Source

Step 2 Install CutePDF.

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Step 3 Install the Converter program.

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Step 4 Open the PDF file that you want to split.

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Open the PDF file that you want to split. Double-click a PDF file to open it in your default PDF reader. CutePDF works from within any PDF program. You can open the PDF in Adobe Reader or a web browser.

Step 5 Open the Print menu.

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Open the Print menu. You can typically open the Print menu by click File followed by Print or by press Ctrl (Command on Mac) + P. In a web browser, click the icon that resembles a printer in the upper-right corner. [7] X Expert Source

Step 6 Select

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Select "CutePDF Writer" from your list of available printers. CutePDF acts as a virtual printer, and creates a PDF file instead of printing the document. [8] X Research source Select CutePDF Writer" in the drop-down menu next to "Printers" or "Destination". [9] X Expert Source

Step 7 Select the option to print a range of pages.

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Select the option to print a range of pages. By default, the Print menu is set to print all pages. Click the "Pages" radio option, or drop-down menu to select the option to print a range of pages.

Step 8 Enter the range of pages you want to split into a new document.

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Enter the range of pages you want to split into a new document. Use the field below the Pages option in the print menu to specify a range of pages you want to convert into a new PDF. For example, if you want pages 1 through 5 to be converted to a new PDF, you would enter "1-5" in the field. By specifying the pages, you'll create a new document from the pages you select. [10] X Expert Source

Step 9 Click Print or Save.

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Click Print or Save . This button is usually in the lower-right corner. You'll be prompted to give it a name and select the location.

Step 10 Type a name for the PDF.

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Type a name for the PDF. Use the field next to "Filename" to enter a name for the split PDF. It is recommended you give the new PDF a different name from the original.

Step 11 Click Save.

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Step 12 Repeat the process to create more PDFs.

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Repeat the process to create more PDFs. If you need to create another PDF for the pages you didn't save, repeat these steps to create another PDF for the rest of the pages.

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Using Preview (macOS)

Step 1 Open the PDF file in Preview.

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Step 2 Click the View menu and select Thumbnails.

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Click the View menu and select Thumbnails . The view menu is in the menu bar at the top. Select "Thumbnails" from the drop-down menu. This will display a list of all the pages in a panel to the left.

Step 3 Hold ⌘ Command or ⇧ Shift and click the pages you want to split.

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Hold ⌘ Command or ⇧ Shift and click the pages you want to split. Click the pages in the panel to the left to select them. Hold the Command key and click to select multiple pages. Hold the Shift key to select multiple pages in a row.

Step 4 Drag and drop.

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Drag and drop the selected pages onto your desktop. This will create a new PDF with all the pages you have selected.

Step 5 Repeat to create multiple documents.

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Repeat to create multiple documents. To create multiple split files, simply hold Command or Shift and select the pages you want to split into a separate PDF. Then click and drag them onto the desktop to create a new PDF with those pages.

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Using Adobe Acrobat DC Pro

Step 1 Open the PDF you want to split in Adobe Acrobat.

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Open the PDF you want to split in Adobe Acrobat. If you have the paid version of Adobe Acrobat installed, you can use it to split your PDFs. You can't split PDFs with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, so if that's all you have you'll need to use one of the other methods in this article. [12] X Expert Source

Step 2 Click the Tools.

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Step 3 Click Organize Pages.

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Step 4 Click Split.

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Click Split . It's in the panel at the top of the page. It's next to an icon that resembles scissors.

Step 5 Select how you want to split the document.

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Select how you want to split the document. Use the drop-down menu at the top next to "Split by" to select how you want to split the document. You can split it by the number of pages, file size, or top-level bookmarks. [14] X Research source

Step 6 Enter the number of pages or file size you want each split file to have.

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Step 7 Click Split.

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Click Split . It's the blue button at the top. This will split the document by the specifications you set.

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Expert Q&A

What program splits PDF files? Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Answer

Try using CutePDF or Adobe Acrobat. With Adobe Acrobat, you'll have to use the paid version to split your PDF.

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How do you create a new PDF? Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Answer

Use a virtual printer. Open the PDF and then select the pages that you want to cut out. Then, using either Adobe Acrobat, Google Chrome, or another application (like CutePDF), print the PDF and choose to save it as a new PDF. This will create a new, edited version of the original PDF with just the pages you need.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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  1. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  2. ↑https://www.gtricks.com/chrome/heres-a-neat-trick-to-split-pdf-files-using-google-chrome/
  3. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  5. ↑https://www.gtricks.com/chrome/heres-a-neat-trick-to-split-pdf-files-using-google-chrome/
  6. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  8. ↑https://www.jeffersonstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/de_fac_handout1_cutepdf.pdf
  9. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  1. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  2. ↑https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/open-pdfs-and-images-prvw81f73d4e/mac
  3. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 10 June 2020.
  4. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/split-pdf-pages.html
  5. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/split-pdf-pages.html
  6. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/split-pdf-pages.html

About This Article

Co-authored by: Computer & Tech Specialist

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 1,139,677 times.

How helpful is this? Co-authors: 17 Updated: March 21, 2024 Views: 1,139,677 Categories: Editing PDF Documents

1. Open the PDF in Chrome.
2. Press Command + P or Ctrl + P.
3. Choose Save as PDF as the destination.
4. Enter a page range for the new PDF.
5. Click Save and then Save.
6. Press Command + P or Ctrl + P.
7. Enter the page range for the second PDF.
8. Click Save and then Save.

Did this summary help you? Yes No Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,139,677 times.

Reader Success Stories

N. Wild Dec 14, 2022

"Oh. My. Goodness. I cannot tell you how helpful this was! I frequently need to pull one page out of a 2,500+ page PDF to send digitally without having adobe acrobat reader. The google chrome option for this specific task will get me by until I purchase the software." . " more

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Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Computer & Tech Specialist Click a star to vote % of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 17 Updated: March 21, 2024 Views: 1,139,677

"Oh. My. Goodness. I cannot tell you how helpful this was! I frequently need to pull one page out of a 2,500+ page PDF to send digitally without having adobe acrobat reader. The google chrome option for this specific task will get me by until I purchase the software." . " more

Rated this article:

"I used the Print feature in Google Chrome and it worked like a charm! I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner! I had a document with more sensitive information so I didn't want to upload it online, but didn't have Acrobat to split the PDF. Thanks!" . " more

"Thank you so much! I used this to help split an invoice file into individual files and send it to each customer, without the need for extra software!" . " more

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