PDF documents are generally used to help protect the original content in documents, but PDF-formatted documents can be more difficult to parse than other formats. If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can use the program's built-in Split Document function to split it up. Then, for those of you who don't want to pay to use Acrobat, there are various free solutions for splitting PDFs.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Google Chrome
Step 1. Open the PDF file in Google Chrome
The easiest way to open a PDF in Chrome is to drag it into an open Chrome window.
- You can also right-click the PDF file, select "Open With", and click Google Chrome from the list of available programs.
- If the PDF doesn't open in Chrome, type chrome://plugins/ in Chrome's address bar, then click the "Enable" link under "Chrome PDF Viewer".
Step 2. Click the "Print" button from the row of buttons that appears when you hover over the lower-right corner of the Chrome window
Step 3. Click the Change button below the list of printers
Step 4. Select "Save as PDF" in the "Local Destinations" section
Step 5. Enter the page range you want to create as a new document
For example, if you want to split a 10-page PDF into two documents, and want pages 1-7 in the new document, enter "1-7" to create a 7-page document. You will be able to repeat the above steps to create a second document
Step 6. Click "Save", then give the file a name
You can also choose where to save the file.
Step 7. Repeat the above steps to create another document
With this step, you can create two or more new documents from the original.
For example, after creating a 7-page and 3-page fragment of a document, open the original, go to printing options, and set the print range to "1-7" and "8-10". Now, you have two new documents, a 7-page document and a 3-page document
Method 2 of 5: PDFSplit! (online)
Step 1. Visit splitpdf.com in your browser
This site is one of the most widely used document solving service provider sites.
- If you want to split a private or confidential document, click the "secure connection" link on the main page.
- If the document you want to break is particularly sensitive, consider one of the offline methods described in this article.
Step 2. Drag the document you want to split into the "drop a file here" box
If that doesn't work, click the "My Computer" link, and select a file from your computer.
You can also split PDF files stored in your Google Drive or Dropbox account
Step 3. Enter the page range for the first document
For example, if you want to split a 12-page PDF into two documents of 5 and 7 pages long, enter "1 to 5" to create the first document
Step 4. Click "More" to create a second document
This feature allows you to split a single document into two different documents without having to repeat all the steps.
For example, after entering "1 to 7" in the first line, you can enter "8 to 12" in the second line. When confirming the split, you will get two documents at the same time
Step 5. Check the "Customize split files' names" column
You can enter a different name for each fractionated document.
Step 6. Click the Split button
after finishing setting the settings. The newly split document will download in a ZIP archive.
Double-click the ZIP file to view the document
Method 3 of 5: Preview (OS X)
Step 1. Open the PDF file in Preview
This Mac built-in program lets you perform basic edits without the help of third-party programs.
- If your PDF file doesn't open in Preview, right-click the file you want to split, then click "Open with" → "Preview".
- The process of splitting a PDF file with Preview will take a little longer than using Chrome or an online program. Therefore, if you are in a hurry, consider the previous steps.
Step 2. Click "View", then select "Thumbnails"
You will see a list of pages in the PDF file.
Step 3. Drag each file you want to split to the desktop
When you drag a page from the "Thumbnails" frame to the desktop, you'll get a PDF file of that page. Repeat these steps until you have finished splitting the document.
For example, if you have an 8-page PDF file and want to create a 4-page file, drag all four pages to the desktop
Step 4. Open the first page of the document into Preview
After splitting the document, you must put it back together.
When opening a PDF, make sure the Thumbnail View option is enabled
Step 5. Drag each page from the desktop to the thumbnail view in order
You can reorder the pages if needed.
Step 6. Click "File" > "Save" to save the file as a PDF
This new file will contain all the pages you extracted from the original PDF.
Method 4 of 5: CutePDF (Windows)
Step 1. Download CutePDF
Unlike OS X, Windows does not provide a PDF manipulation program. CutePDF is a free program that allows you to share PDF files from any program.
- Go to cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp and click "Free Download" and "Free Converter".
- If you only need to split one file, consider splitting the file with Google Chrome or an online file splitter as both steps are faster. Installing CutePDF is highly recommended if you are going to split a lot of PDF files.
Step 2. Run CuteWriter.exe to install CutePDF
Like other free programs, CutePDF will try to install adware during the installation process. Click Cancel on the first offer screen, then click "Skip this and all remaining".
Step 3. Run converter.exe to install the required program CutePDF
Click Setup to install it. Unlike CuteWriter, you don't have to worry about adware in the converter program.
Step 4. Open the PDF file you want to split from any program, such as Adobe Reader or a web browser
Step 5. Open the Print menu by clicking "File" → "Print" or pressing Ctrl+P
Step 6. Select "CutePDF Writer" from the list of available printers
CutePDF acts as a virtual printer, and will generate a PDF file instead of printing a document.
Step 7. Enter the page range you want to break
By writing pages, you will create a new document containing the pages you entered.
Step 8. Click Print to save the document
You will be asked to name the document and choose a save location.
Repeat the steps above to break up one document into several new documents
Method 5 of 5: Adobe Acrobat
Step 1. Open the PDF file that you want to split
If you have a paid version of Adobe Acrobat, you can use it to split PDF files. Unfortunately, this function is not available in the free version of Adobe Reader. If you're using the free version of Adobe Reader, consider one of the other steps in this article.
Step 2. Click the "Tools" button on the left side of the window to open the tools pane
Step 3. Open the "Pages" section of the tools panel
Step 4. Click the "Split Document" button
Step 5. Enter the number of pages for the new document
Acrobat lets you break up a document with a predefined number of pages. For example, if you set the number of pages to 3, you will get a fraction of the file containing 3 pages..
You can also choose to split the file according to the markers, or according to the maximum file size
Step 6. Click the Output Options button to select a file storage location
You can save the file to the same folder as the original file, or to another folder. You can also set the file name.
Step 7. Click OK to split the file
Your file will be saved in the location you specified earlier.
