How to extract pages from a PDF into a new file

Extract, split or delete: which do you need?

• Extract pages when you want one new PDF with some of the pages, for example the signed page of a contract or three exhibits out of fifty. The original stays complete.
• Split a PDF when you want several new files: one per page range, one every few pages, parts under a file size, or one per bookmark.
• Delete pages when the document itself should lose them, for example the blank backs of a double-sided scan. That changes the document, as a new version, instead of making a copy.

How to extract pages from a PDF in PDFZyro

1. 1Open Extract pages on the Home page and choose the PDF from your documents, or upload it. If the document is already open, choose Extract pages… from its Tools menu.
2. 2In Pages, type the pages you want, separated by commas: single pages and ranges, for example 1-3, 5, 8-. A range with no end, such as 8-, means page 8 to the end. The dialog shows how many pages the document has.
3. 3Type a name for the new document if you like. If you leave it empty, it's named after the original with the pages in brackets, for example Contract (pages 1-3).
4. 4Click Extract. The pages are copied in the background and saved as a new document in the same folder as the original.
5. 5Click Open it to read, download or share the new PDF. The original document hasn't changed.

Picking pages by sight instead of by number

1. 1Open the PDF with Organize pages to see every page as a thumbnail.
2. 2Select the pages you want: click one, Shift-click to select a run of pages, or Ctrl-click (⌘-click on a Mac) to add pages from anywhere in the document.
3. 3Click Extract selected pages to a new document… in the toolbar. The page numbers are filled in for you; add a name and click Extract.
4. 4If the button is greyed out, save or discard the changes you've made in Organize pages first: Extract copies pages from the saved document.

Choosing the order of the extracted pages

The new document follows the order you type, not the order of the original. Typing 7, 1-3 gives a PDF that starts with page 7, followed by pages 1, 2 and 3. A page you list twice is copied only once.

That makes Extract a quick way to build a short pack from a long document, such as the cover page, the signature page and one schedule, in the order your reader needs them. For finer changes, open the new document in Organize pages to drag pages around, rotate them or add blank pages.

Extracting pages from an earlier version

In PDFZyro, every edit is saved as a new version, and Extract works on the version you're looking at. To copy pages out of an older version, for example a page you deleted last week, open that version from the document's version history, then choose Extract pages… from the Tools menu. The pages are copied into a new document, and the history isn't changed.

What comes with the extracted pages

• The pages themselves, unchanged: text stays sharp and selectable, and pictures keep their quality.
• Bookmarks that point to the pages you extracted. Bookmarks to pages you left out are removed.
• The original's document properties, such as its title and author. If you're sending the pages outside your organization, remove hidden data from the new document first.
• Nothing else: the pages you didn't choose aren't hidden in the new file, they're left out completely.

Other ways to extract pages from a PDF

• Print to PDF: in the print dialog, choose Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows or Save as PDF on a Mac, enter the pages you want and save. It works for a simple range, but links, form fields and bookmarks may be lost.
• Preview on a Mac: show the thumbnails (View, then Thumbnails), select the pages you want, choose File, then Print, pick Selected Pages in Sidebar and save as PDF.
• Adobe Acrobat: the paid version's Organize Pages tool has an Extract option. The free Acrobat Reader can't extract pages.

Tips for extracting pages

• A password-protected PDF has to be unlocked first. If you know the password, use Remove password, then extract from the unlocked version.
• Pages extracted from a digitally signed PDF don't carry a valid signature. Keep the signed original as your record and share the extract as a copy.
• To send the pages as pictures, convert the new PDF with PDF to JPG.
• If the pages contain details the reader shouldn't see, redact them in the new document before you send it.