How to Save Individual Pages of a PDF: 5 Easy Methods

Have you ever come across a huge PDF file that only has two or three pages of interest to you?

Extracting these pages and storing them on your device can save you a lot of time and effort when searching for information.

In this guide, we will show you how to save individual pages of a PDF using five of the easiest and most convenient methods. 

We will also share some tips on how to store and access these pages quickly and easily. 

1. Use your internet browser to save a single page of a PDF file

Here is a step by step procedure of how to use Google Chrome to save a page from a PDF.

1. Open the main PDF file

2. Click on three dots in the upper rightmost part of your Google Chrome browser

3. Click on ‘Print’ (this will open the PDF file in a new window)

4. Click the drop-down menu next to ‘Destination’ and select ‘Save as PDF’

5. Click the drop-down menu next to ‘Pages’ and choose ‘Custom’

6. Type in the page numbers you wish to save as a single .pdf

7. Click on ‘Save’

Note: You can follow a similar procedure to export a PDF page on any other internet browser. 

2. Save individual pages of a PDF with Preview for macOS

Mac users can use Mac’s default PDF viewer, Preview, to save a page from a PDF. 

1. Open the file in Preview 

2. From the Menu bar, Click on ‘View’ > ‘Thumbnails’

3. Press Command and hold as you click on each individual page you wish to extract

4. Drag the thumbnail to your desktop

5. A new file will automatically be created with the extracted pages, while the original file will keep its contents

3. Use Adobe Acrobat DC to save one page of a PDF

Adobe Acrobat is one of the most commonly used software to extract pages from a PDF.

1. Open your Organize Pages tool (in the Tools centre or through the shortcut in the right pane)

2. Click on the ‘Select File’ button and open up the PDF file

3. Select ‘Extract’ in the toolbar that shows up on your workspace

4. Click on the pages you want to extract (Hold the Ctrl-key for Windows or the Command button on Mac as you click on the pages)

5. Click ‘Extract’, create a new PDF file with the highlighted pages and save it

Note: You can also use this PDF editor to delete the pages you extracted from the original file. 

4. Save individual pages of a PDF with an online tool 

There are several online tools you can use to split a PDF and save separate pages. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use Smallpdf, an easy-to-use platform that lets you edit and convert PDFs for free. 

1. Open smallpdf.com in your web browser 

2. Go to ‘Split PDF’ and either drag or upload the file you want to split 

3. You can either choose ‘Extract every page into a PDF’ if you want to save a PDF as separate pages or ‘Select pages to extract’ to extract only the pages you need

4. Click ‘Split PDF’ and download the file to your device, Google Drive or Dropbox

5. Export a PDF page with a PDF converter 

You can also download a PDF converter that lets you extract a single page from a PDF without any hassle. 

There are several to choose from, but we will focus on PDFsam—a free, open-source app that is available on Windows, Mac and Linux. 

1. Download PDFsam from their site

2. Install the program and run it

3. Add the file you wish to save pages from (either click on ‘Browse’ or drag and drop the file) 

4. Split the PDF file. You can separate the entire file into separate pages, extract certain pages or spilt up the file by every “n” page 

5. Select where you wish to save the extracted file

6. Name the folder and save the file on your device

Note: You can also split the PDF file by bookmark (for example, separate each chapter of a book) or by size (for instance, divide a 10Mb file split into 3 smaller files of 4Mb, 4Mb and 2Mb)

Can You Always Extract Pages From .PDF?

There are certain instances when trying to cut pages from a PDF using the methods mentioned above won’t work.

If you have a Read-Only PDF file

You cannot edit a Read-Only document, which means it will not be possible to save individual pages from that PDF. 

If you have a password-protected PDF

A password-protected PDF cannot be saved to a separate file either. The owner of the file will have to remove the encryption from the PDF so you can edit or split the document.

Are There Other Ways to Extract a Page From a PDF?

There are other methods to save 1 page of a PDF. 

You could copy the text manually and paste it to another document application like Microsoft Word. Bear in mind that the copy might not always have the same formatting or font, and it becomes even more complicated when there are images involved. 

You can also capture a portion of the file as an image. However, you would need a separate tool to edit the image file. 

Tips on How to Save Individual Pages of a PDF 

Finally, here are some tips and tricks that will help make the process even easier.

Check what kind of file you are dealing with

As mentioned above, if you have an encrypted or Read-only file it might be a good idea to contact the owner of the file to unlock the document. If that is not possible, try to find the information you need from a different file. 

Choose an extraction method that gives the best and fastest result on your device

We’ve outlined several options for saving a PDF on separate pages that could be helpful. If you are going for extraction software like Adobe Acrobat or Wondershare PDFelement, make sure your device meets the installation requirements.

Also, consider the purpose of extracting the files. If you are one of the 4.2 million Brits working from home and you need to send a single page of a PDF to your colleague or supervisor, avoid using an online converter as the upload time could take longer (especially if you are dealing with a large file). 

Backup your files

It’s a good idea to back up your files (both the original and the extracted documents) in case your device or files get corrupted. 

Rename the extracted files accurately 

If you’re cutting up a file into a handful of separate pages, renaming them accurately can save you a lot of time and trouble when overwriting files. It will also avoid confusion when you are trying to access information, as well as stop you from sending out the wrong document—which could be embarrassing if you are sending a professional message or an email to multiple people at once.

Bottom Line

Extracting one page from a PDF or splitting up a larger file into smaller ones is a straightforward procedure. All you need to do is choose the method that is most convenient for you. Now that you know how to save individual pages of a PDF, you can save more time and optimise your workflow.