How to Extract Pages from a PDF on Windows
On Windows you can extract pages by printing just those pages from Microsoft Edge to Microsoft Print to PDF, which writes a printed copy that loses its links and bookmarks. File Acture's Split PDF takes the pages you type, such as 2-4, copies them as they are and saves each range as its own PDF in one run.
Updated October 1, 20266 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 PC with what Windows gives you, and a way that keeps the pages as they are and handles several sets at once.
How do you extract pages from a PDF with Microsoft Print to PDF?
Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl+P and choose Microsoft Print to PDF under Printer. Set Pages to Custom and type the pages you want, such as 4-9, or several ranges at once, such as 1-3, 7. Click Print and give the new file a name.
Everything you list goes into one new file, so for one set of pages that's enough, and it can also leave out pages you don't want. The catch is that you get a printed copy rather than cut-out pages: links, bookmarks and form fields don't survive, and a scan can come out larger than it was.
Each print job writes one file. For ten separate sets you go through the dialog ten times, name each file by hand and keep track of the pages you have already saved.
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 in Folder. 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 Windows?
Print the pages you keep. In the Edge print dialog, type everything except the pages you want gone, such as 1-3, 6-10 to drop pages 4 and 5 of a 10-page file, and the result is one new PDF, with the printed-copy catch above.
File Acture works the same way round: you type the pages you keep. For 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 Windows
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 PC; see pricing for Pro.
How to extract pages from a PDF with File Acture
- 1
Add the PDF
Open Split PDF 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, use Folder to choose where the files go.
- 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 PC.
Free to try · runs on your PC
| Task | Microsoft Print to PDF | File Acture Split PDF |
|---|---|---|
| One set of pages, such as 4-9 | Yes: print the range from Edge | Yes: type 4-9 |
| Pages that aren't next to each other, in one file | Yes: list them all under Pages, as a printed copy | Type the ranges, then join the parts with Merge PDFs |
| Each range as its own file | One print job per file | Yes: all in one run |
| Web links and form fields on the pages you keep | Lost: the copy is rebuilt from the print output | Kept: pages are copied as they are |
Questions
How do I extract pages from a PDF on Windows?
Print just those pages from Edge to Microsoft Print to PDF with a custom page range, or open Split PDF in File Acture, choose Custom ranges and type the pages you want, such as 2-4.
How do I extract a single page from a PDF on Windows?
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?
With Microsoft Print to PDF, list them all under Pages in one print job. 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?
Not with File Acture: the pages are copied as they are, so text and images stay exactly the same. A printed copy is rebuilt from the print output and loses links and bookmarks.
How do I delete pages from a PDF on Windows?
Print the pages you keep to Microsoft Print to PDF, or type the pages you keep in File Acture, 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.