How to Remove Pages From a PDF
By the Datatool360 team ·
A blank page at the end, a cover sheet that should not be there, or a page with private details that you do not want to send: removing pages from a PDF is a small job that people often search for. Here are two simple ways to do it in your browser, and a check to be sure the pages are really gone.
Way 1: keep the pages you want (Split PDF)
Removing pages is the same as keeping all the others. In Split PDF you choose the pages to keep, and the result is a new PDF without the rest.
- Open the Split PDF tool and add your PDF.
- Choose Page Range and type the pages you want to keep. To remove page 5 from a 10 page file, type 1-4, 6-10. To remove the last two pages of a 10 page file, type 1-8. The dash means “from … to …”.
- Or use Visual Select and click the pages you want to keep in the thumbnails. The thumbnails and the typed range always show the same pages.
- Check the line above the button: it should say one PDF with the number of pages you expect. Then press Split PDF.
The original file is not changed. You get a new file, so if you remove the wrong page, you simply start again.
Way 2: click the unwanted pages away (Merge PDF)
If you would rather see what you delete, the Merge PDF tool can do it with a single file. Add your PDF, switch to Page Mode, and every page appears as a small picture. Remove a page with the cross in its corner, and press Merge PDFs. The result is the same file without those pages.
This way is handy when you do not know the page numbers but you recognise the page when you see it.
Which way should you use
- You know the numbers, or you want to remove a whole block: use Split PDF with a page range. It is the fastest.
- You want to look at every page and decide: use Merge PDF with Page Mode.
- You want to take pages out in order to send them separately: use Split PDF twice: once for the pages you keep, and once for the pages you take out.
Make sure the page is really gone
Both ways build a new file from the pages you kept, so the removed pages are not hidden somewhere inside it. That is different from covering a page or cropping it, where the content may still be in the file. Still, open the new file and scroll through it before you send it. Check the page count, and look at the pages around the place where you removed something.
If the page you removed held private details, remember that the same details may also appear on other pages, in a header, a footer or in the text itself. Search for the name or number in the new file as well.
Good to know
- Pages that were rotated stay rotated.
- Bookmarks are not copied into the new file, and in Merge PDF fillable form fields may stop working. The pages look the same.
- A password protected PDF cannot be changed as it is. Unlock it first with the Lock & Unlock PDF tool.
- If the result is too large to send, run it through Compress PDF.
Keep reading
- How to Split a PDF Into Pages or Smaller FilesHow to split a PDF into smaller files: keep a page range, odd or even pages, single pages, equal parts or chapters, and how the results are downloaded.
- How to Merge PDF Files and Images Into One PDFCombine several PDFs and images into one file: pick only some pages, put them in the order you want, and what to do about password protected files.