Break one PDF into several smaller files

A 118-page bundle and a portal that wants six uploads

Say you work in a small law office. Opposing counsel sent exhibits-a-f.pdf, 118 pages, and the court's e-filing portal wants each exhibit as its own upload by noon tomorrow. Exhibit A runs from page 1 to 14, B from 15 to 40, and so on down to F.

That is a cut-at-chosen-pages job: six parts, every page in exactly one of them, in the order it already has. A bookkeeper with march-statement.pdf, holding 30 one-page invoices that the accounting software wants one at a time, has a different job: one file per page. The two jobs use different PDFGym tools, so pick yours before you start.

Pick the tool by the result you need

Cutting at chosen pages, step by step

1. Open Split PDF and press Choose a PDF, or drop the file on the page. It is read in this tab and never uploaded.
2. Scroll the thumbnail grid. Page 1 is already marked Starts part 1.
3. On the first page of every following part, press Start a new file here. For the exhibit bundle that means pages 15, 41 and so on: the page where each exhibit begins, not the one where the previous exhibit ends.
4. Read the Files to create list. It shows each part with its page range, and the status line says how many files you will get. Undo, Redo and Reset boundaries fix a wrong mark.
5. Press Split PDF. Each part is written, reopened and compared with its source pages.
6. Download the ZIP. The parts are numbered in order and carry their page range in the name, so you can see at a glance which file holds pages 41 to 63.

Giving every page its own file

For the 30 invoices, open Extract PDF pages, press Select all, switch the output to Separate PDFs and run it. Each page becomes a checked one-page PDF inside a single ZIP, and the download starts by itself when the check passes.

The page numbers in the file names are padded with leading zeros: at least two digits, three once the count reaches 100. That keeps -page-09 ahead of -page-10 in any folder instead of sorting page 10 straight after page 1. If you need to drop a few pages first, simply leave them unselected.

Mistakes that force a second attempt

Going by printed page numbers. A cover, a contents page or roman-numbered front matter pushes the file positions away from the numbers in the footer. Each tile shows its position in the file, so use that.

Marking the last page of a part. The boundary goes on the page that opens the next part. Marking page 14 instead of page 15 moves the last page of Exhibit A into Exhibit B. Check the ranges in Files to create before you press the button.

Expecting to reorder while splitting. Split PDF keeps every page in its original order and puts each one in exactly one part. To move or drop pages, run Organize pages first, then split the result.

Splitting only to beat an email limit. Four attachments the recipient has to put back together is a poor trade. Run Compress PDF before anything else, and cut the file only when the size target is still out of reach.

A password-protected file. These are refused at the start. If you know the password, remove it with Unlock PDF, then split.

What each part keeps and loses

Pages are copied into the new files rather than redrawn, so text stays selectable, scans keep their resolution and every page keeps its size. The check confirms that: each page must match its source text and its width and height, or the split is refused and your original stays as it was.

Things that live at document level are another story. The title, author and similar properties are cleared from every part. If the source has bookmarks, form or signature fields, page labels or attachments, the tool tells you on loading that the new files may not keep them. A digital signature never carries into a part, because it covered the complete original.

When something other than a browser tool fits better

One quick range on a computer you trust. Most systems can print to PDF. Open the file, choose a page range in the print dialog and save as PDF. Fine for one range; tedious for six.

The same split every day. If a scanner or billing system drops a 200-page batch on you each morning, a script with a command-line tool such as qpdf, or a capture system that splits on barcodes or separator sheets, will save more time than clicking boundaries.

Signed or certified documents. When each part must keep a valid signature, ask the sender for separately signed files instead of cutting the bundle yourself.

Need the parts back as one document later? Merge PDF joins them in the order you set.