How do page ranges work?

Use commas to separate ranges and hyphens to mark each range's start and end. "1-5, 8-12, 20" creates three output PDFs: pages 1-5 in one file, pages 8-12 in another, and page 20 alone in a third. Single pages can be listed without a hyphen ("3" means just page 3). The same page can appear in multiple ranges — useful for distributing one cover page with several different sections.

Are my files private when I split here?

Yes — Split runs entirely in your browser via pdf-lib. Your PDF is read into memory locally, the cuts happen locally, and the resulting ZIP is generated client-side. Nothing is uploaded, so even confidential contracts and bank statements stay on your device.

What happens to bookmarks and form fields when I split?

Page content (text, images, fonts) is preserved at full fidelity in every output file. Bookmarks that point to pages within a single output range are kept; bookmarks pointing across the cut are dropped from the resulting parts. Form fields and digital signatures from the source are preserved per page — if a multi-page form is split mid-field, the affected fields appear unchanged on the page they live on but lose their cross-page context. For form-heavy PDFs, prefer Extract Pages instead.

How to split a PDF into separate files

Splitting comes up whenever a PDF is one logical unit but needs to be distributed in pieces — sending each contract section to a different reviewer, separating an annual report into per-quarter files, or extracting a single chapter from a textbook PDF for class. PDFly offers four modes to match the slice you need:

**Page ranges** for explicit slicing ("1-5, 8-12, 20"), **Every N pages** for regular cuts ("split every 10 pages"), **Individual pages** to explode the PDF into one-page files, and **Selected split points** to mark cuts visually on the page preview. All four run in-browser via pdf-lib.

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Step 1 — Open the Split tool
Open the Split tool. The upload screen titled "Split PDF File" is where every split flow begins.
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Step 2 — Upload your PDF
Click "Select PDF file" and pick the PDF you want to split — or drag it onto the page. The thumbnail strip then shows every page so you can plan the split.
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Step 3 — Pick a split mode
In the sidebar, choose how you want to split. "Extract page ranges" extracts arbitrary slices like 1-5, 8-12, 20. "Split every N pages" cuts at fixed intervals — handy for chapter-sized chunks. "Split into individual pages" gives one file per page. "Split at selected points" lets you click between pages in the preview to mark each cut.
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Step 4 — Split and download
Set the naming pattern (default puts a number suffix on each output) and click "Split PDF". PDFly cuts the PDF in your browser and bundles the resulting files into a ZIP for download — usually within a second or two.