Extract PDF Pages

When do you need to extract pages from a PDF?

When you only need a small part of a big file: the grades page from a long transcript for a university application, the ID and address pages from a fully scanned admin file, or the one chapter that concerns you in a hundred-page manual. Instead of deleting dozens of pages one by one, you type only the pages you want to keep and get a new, smaller PDF that contains just those.

What the tool does exactly

The tool copies the pages you list in the "Page range to extract" field into a new PDF. Pages are not redrawn or recompressed, so text stays selectable and images keep their original quality. A few details worth knowing:

• Order is fixed: pages appear in the new file in their original order, however you type them. Entering 8,2 gives page 2, then page 8.
• Duplicates collapse: if you list the same page twice, or two ranges overlap, the page appears only once.
• Ranges go low to high: 4-9 works; 9-4 or an open-ended 7- is not counted.
• Numbers above the file's page count are skipped without a warning. Arabic-Indic digits and the Arabic comma are accepted too.

How to extract pages

1. 1
   Choose a PDF or drag it onto the box. Thumbnails of the first 12 pages appear so you can spot what you're looking for.
2. 2
   In "Page range to extract", type the pages you want to keep, for example 1,3,5-8.
3. 3
   Click "Process Now". The result message states how many pages were extracted; check it matches what you expected.
4. 4
   Click "Preview Result" to check, then "Download Result" to save extracted_pages.pdf.

Extract, remove or split?

A simple rule: if you keep fewer pages than you discard, extracting is quicker. If you only want to drop a few pages, Remove Pages fits better. If you want every page of the file spread across several equal-sized files, use Split PDF.

Need the pages in a different order than the original? Extract them first, then rearrange them with Organize PDF. To combine selected pages from two different files, extract from each one separately and join the results with Merge PDF.

Limitations

• Each run produces one file. To make several files from the same source, run it again with a different range and rename each download, since the file name is always the same.
• Numbering follows the page order in the file, not the numbers printed on the pages.
• Bookmarks (the side outline) are not carried into the new file.
• Files with a password or permission restrictions are refused with an explanatory message. Open them first with Unlock PDF, then try again with the unlocked copy.

Where is the processing done?

Pages are copied inside your browser by the pdf-lib library, so your file never leaves your device at any stage, and the original stays exactly as it was.

Extract Pages: frequently asked questions