Split a PDF or extract pages: choose the right operation

One shorter file or several separate files?

Start with the output you need. If you want to send three chapters to three different people, split the document into groups. If you only need the introduction and a few diagrams in one attachment, extract those pages instead. Removing unwanted pages is another route to a shorter document, but it reverses the meaning of the numbers you enter.

KitForma offers these as separate tools so that the intention stays clear. Split PDF downloads a ZIP containing individual PDFs. Extract PDF pages downloads one PDF. Delete PDF pages keeps the pages you did not list. Keep the source file open nearby until you have checked the result.

Use page positions, commas and semicolons deliberately

Numbers refer to the page position in the PDF, starting at one. A report whose printed page 1 follows a cover and contents page may need PDF page 3. Check the viewer’s total page position rather than relying on the printed footer.

For splitting, semicolons separate output files. Commas combine selections inside a group, and ascending ranges include both endpoints. Leave the groups field empty to create one PDF for each page. Do not add a trailing semicolon or an empty group.

Split: 1-3;4-6
Result: a ZIP containing two PDFs with 3 pages each

Extract: 1, 3-5
Result: one PDF containing pages 1, 3, 4 and 5

Run a small, verifiable selection first

For a long report, test one chapter before preparing all the groups. Repeated pages are allowed across different split groups, which is useful when each chapter needs the same cover. A page cannot appear twice inside the same group.

1. Choose the source PDF in Split PDF or Extract PDF pages, according to the output you need.
2. Enter valid page numbers or ascending ranges. For extraction, an explicit selection is required.
3. Create the output. Unzip a split download before inspecting the individual PDFs.
4. Check the first and last page in every group, then compare each group’s page count with the intended range.

Review page positions before adding visible numbers

Deleting or extracting pages changes their positions in the new file. Inspect that file before a second operation; Delete PDF pages does not detect blank pages automatically. If an eight-page result has a cover and contents page, open Number PDF pages, enter 3-8 and start numbering at 1. The first two pages stay unchanged; the following six receive numbers 1–6.

Source/result: 8 pages
Pages: 3-8
Start numbering at: 1
Page 3 receives 1; page 8 receives 6

Keep document features and practical limits in mind

These page-copy operations support files up to 40 MB and source documents up to 300 pages. Split output also has a 300-page total limit across its groups, so repeating a large common section can reach the limit even when the original is shorter.

Supported form appearances are flattened; interactive fields, bookmarks and document-level links are not preserved. Encrypted and signed documents are unsupported. Splitting is not a method of preserving a digital signature on a newly created file.

Selected files are processed in your browser, but you still need to save the output before closing the page. Rename the extracted chapters for their recipients instead of sending a folder of unexplained part numbers. If a chapter is missing a title or begins mid-table, revise the range using the original rather than editing an already shortened copy with changed page positions.