How to Extract Pages from a PDF on Mac
In Preview you can extract pages by selecting their thumbnails and dragging them to the desktop, or by printing a page range to a new PDF, one set at a time. File Acture's Split PDF takes the pages you type, such as 2-4, and saves each range as its own PDF in one run.
Updated October 1, 20265 min read
By the File Acture team
Page 4 of a statement, one chapter of a 300-page report, the signature page of a contract: you rarely need a whole PDF, only some of its pages. Here's how to pull them out on a Mac with what the system gives you, and a quicker way when the file is long or you need several sets at once.
How do you extract pages from a PDF in Preview?
Open the PDF in Preview and choose View > Thumbnails. Click the first page you want, Shift-click the last one to take a whole run of pages, or Command-click to add pages that aren't next to each other. Then drag the selection to the desktop: Preview creates a new PDF with just those pages.
Another way is File > Print…: enter the page range, then choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu in the print dialog. That writes one new file with those pages, and the original stays as it was.
For one set of pages that's enough, and there is nothing to install. It gets tedious in a long file, where you scroll the sidebar to find page 187, and for several sets as separate files, where you repeat the whole routine once per file.
How to extract pages from a PDF with File Acture
Open Split PDF, choose Custom ranges under Split, and type the pages you want in Ranges. Separate the ranges with commas: a single number is one page, 2-4 is page 2 through 4, and 10- means page 10 through the last page.
- 2-4: one PDF with pages 2, 3 and 4.
- 7: one PDF with page 7 only.
- 10-: one PDF with everything from page 10 to the end.
- 2-4, 7, 10-: three PDFs, one per range. Ranges may overlap.
Where do the extracted pages go?
Each range is saved as a PDF named after its pages, such as “Report - pages 2-4.pdf” or “Report - page 7.pdf”. They land in a new folder called “Report (split)” inside Documents › File Acture › PDF, or inside the folder you choose with Save to. Your original stays unchanged.
How do you get several ranges into one PDF?
Add the parts to Merge PDFs, drag the rows into the order you want and click Merge. The order of the list is the order of the pages in the new file.
Is anything lost when you extract pages?
The pages are copied as they are, so text, images and fonts aren't re-encoded, and nothing is uploaded. Two things change: a link or bookmark that pointed to a page you left out stops working, and a PDF viewer numbers the new file's pages from 1, even if the original used its own page numbering such as i, ii, iii.
How do you delete pages from a PDF on a Mac?
In Preview, make a copy first with File > Duplicate, select the pages you don't want in the thumbnail sidebar and press Delete (or choose Edit > Delete), then save. It's quick, and it's all you need to drop a few pages.
File Acture works the other way round: you type the pages you keep. To drop pages 4 and 5 of a 10-page file, type 1-3, 6- in Ranges. You get the pages before and after the gap as two PDFs, and Merge PDFs joins them back in order. The original stays untouched either way.
How do you extract only the pages a form asks for?
Application forms often want just the key pages: the signature page, the pages with your results, a handful out of a long report. Extract exactly those first. Fewer pages is also the simplest way to a smaller file, because every page brings its own images.
If the extract is still over the size a form allows, compress it to the number the form asks for.
Tips for extracting pages on a Mac
Count pages by their position in the file, type the ranges in the form File Acture expects, and unlock protected PDFs first.
- Page numbers are positions: 1 is the first page of the file, whatever number is printed on it.
- Typing the ranges: use commas between ranges and a hyphen inside a range. If the field doesn't look like 1-3, 5, 8-, File Acture asks you to fix it before it runs.
- A page that doesn't exist: if you type a page past the end, File Acture says how many pages the file has and saves nothing.
- Sideways pages: fix them with Rotate Pages before or after extracting.
- Locked PDFs: a PDF that needs a password to open must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.
- The whole file in pieces: for one file per page or equal chunks, see Split PDF.
- Batches: the free version splits up to 5 PDFs per run, with 3 runs on each Mac; see pricing for Pro.
How to extract pages from a PDF with File Acture
- 1
Add the PDF
Choose Split PDF in the sidebar and drag in your PDF, or click Choose Files….
- 2
Choose Custom ranges
Under Split, choose Custom ranges.
- 3
Type the pages you want
In Ranges, type them, such as 2-4 for one run of pages or 1-3, 7, 10- for several.
- 4
Pick a folder
Under Output, choose where the files go with Save to.
- 5
Split
Click Split. Each range appears as its own PDF in a new folder named after your PDF.
Extract the pages you need from any PDF, right on your Mac.
Free to try · runs on your device
| Task | Preview | File Acture Split PDF |
|---|---|---|
| One set of pages, such as 4-9 | Yes: drag the thumbnails out or print the range | Yes: type 4-9 |
| Pages that aren't next to each other, in one file | Yes: Command-click the thumbnails and drag them out | Type the ranges, then join the parts with Merge PDFs |
| Each range as its own file | One drag or print per file | Yes: all in one run |
| Delete a few pages | Yes: select the thumbnails and press Delete | Type the pages you keep, then merge the parts |
Questions
How do I extract pages from a PDF on a Mac?
In Preview, select the page thumbnails and drag them to the desktop. In File Acture, open Split PDF, choose Custom ranges and type the pages you want, such as 2-4.
How do I extract a single page from a PDF on Mac?
Type that page number under Ranges, such as 5. The page is saved as its own PDF, named like “Report - page 5.pdf”.
Can I extract pages that aren't next to each other into one PDF?
In Preview, Command-click the thumbnails and drag them out together. In File Acture, each range becomes its own PDF, so type the ranges and then join the parts with Merge PDFs.
Does extracting pages reduce quality?
No. The pages are copied as they are, so text and images stay exactly the same.
How do I delete pages from a PDF on a Mac?
In Preview, select the unwanted thumbnails on a copy and press Delete. In File Acture, type the pages you keep, such as 1-3, 6-, and merge the parts.
What happens if I type a page the PDF doesn't have?
File Acture tells you how many pages the file has and saves nothing.