How to extract selected pages from a PDF

You may need a few pages from a long document rather than the entire file. Extracting them creates a separate PDF while leaving the original file unchanged on your device. Cadava’s Split PDF tool lets you select pages and ranges in your browser without uploading the source file.

Find the file page numbers

Page numbers printed inside a report may differ from the positions in its PDF file. A cover, contents page, or introduction can shift the numbering. The extraction tool uses file positions starting at 1, not numbers printed in the page artwork.

If the report’s printed “page 1” is the fourth PDF page, entering 1 extracts the cover, not that printed page. Open the source in a viewer and confirm the file positions before you begin.

Enter pages and ranges

Open Split PDF, choose a standard PDF, and wait for its page count. Enter your selection in Pages to extract:

• 1-3 selects the first three file pages.
• 1, 4, 7 selects three individual pages.
• 5, 1-3 puts page five first, followed by pages one through three.
• 1-3, 3-5 includes pages one through five, with the repeated page three included once.

Select Extract pages, then download the result. Each run creates one PDF containing the selection, not a ZIP archive or an individual download for every page. To make separate chapter files, run the tool once for each chapter range.

Resolve invalid selections

Page zero, pages beyond the document’s end, reversed ranges such as 8-3, and incomplete entries such as 2, are rejected. Use commas between entries and hyphens inside ranges. There is no need to include the word “page.”

This version supports unencrypted, standard PDFs up to 20 MB and 300 pages. Interactive forms and signed form fields are rejected. Other document features, including bookmarks, digital signatures, attachments, and accessibility tags, may not be preserved. Use a dedicated PDF application if those features are essential.

Check and share the result

Review the first page, last page, page order, and page count before sending the new file. Extracting fewer pages does not automatically remove private information from pages you keep. Nor is it a redaction tool: use a proper redaction workflow if you need to remove sensitive content within a page.

If your next step is to combine the extract with another document, use Merge PDF. For ongoing document work on Android, explore CavaPDF and check its current Google Play feature list.