Guides
How to split a PDF by page range
Cut one PDF into several — a chapter here, an appendix there — using range syntax, and get them back as a ZIP.
A 60-page scan holds three separate documents. A report has an appendix that only one person needs. Splitting by range gets you exactly the pieces you want in one pass, rather than extracting them one at a time.
The range syntax
Split PDF takes a comma-separated list of ranges. Each range becomes its own PDF:
1-3,4-6,7-12That produces three files: pages 1 to 3, 4 to 6, and 7 to 12. Leave the field blank instead and you get one PDF per page — useful for separating a batch of scanned single-page documents.
Why the result is a ZIP
Splitting produces several files, and a browser can only hand you one download. So the pieces are packed into a ZIP. Open it and you will find the individual PDFs inside, ready to use.
Split, extract, or remove?
Three tools sound similar and do different jobs:
- Split PDF — one file in, several files out (a ZIP).
- Extract Pages — one file in, one file out containing only the pages you chose.
- Remove Pages — one file in, one file out with the pages you chose taken away.
If you want a single tidy excerpt, Extract Pages is the shorter route. Split is for when you need the document broken into multiple pieces at once.
Page numbers are the positions in the PDF, which will not match printed numbering if the document has unnumbered covers or front matter. Check the thumbnails before you commit.
Putting pieces back together
Split too finely, or want to recombine a subset? Merge PDF takes the pieces and joins them in whatever order you arrange them — so nothing you do here is one-way.