Organise

Split a PDF into separate files

Three different things get called “splitting”, so there are three modes. Whichever you choose, the exact list of files you would get is shown before a single one is built.

On this device

Choose where the cuts go

The list underneath updates as you type. Nothing is built until you ask for it.

    Opened on this device · never transmitted

    What this tool does, exactly

    Three modes
    At my ranges cuts the document where you say, and each range becomes its own file. Every page separately gives one file per page. Fixed size gives chunks of N pages — 1-10, 11-20, and so on.
    The preview
    Before anything is built, the tool lists the files you would get and the pages in each. Splitting is one of the easiest operations to get subtly wrong, and finding out from a folder of forty downloads is the expensive way to learn.
    What you get
    Each piece is a proper PDF with its own page tree, carrying the fonts and images those pages need. More than one file also arrives as a single .zip, because no browser will start thirty downloads in a row.
    What it drops
    The document's metadata. Each piece is built from scratch, so no title, author or timestamp travels from the original into the parts.

    About this tool

    What is the difference between the three modes?

    “At my ranges” treats each range you write as one output file, so 1-3, 4-8 gives two documents. “Every page separately” gives one file per page. “Fixed size” cuts the document into equal chunks — every 10 pages, say — which is what you want for a long report that has to be sent in pieces.

    Why do I get a .zip as well?

    Because browsers, and Mobile Safari in particular, refuse to start thirty downloads in a row. When there is more than one output the files are also packed into a single archive so one tap gets everything. Each file is still listed underneath if you only want one.

    Can I see what I will get before it happens?

    Yes, and that is the point of the preview. As soon as you choose a mode the tool lists the files it would produce and the pages in each. Nothing is built until you press the button.

    Does splitting change the pages?

    No. The pages are copied into new documents exactly as they were, with their fonts, images and annotations. What changes is the container, not the content.

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