How to Split PDF into Multiple Files on Mac and Windows

We are much likely to work on PDF files, because it is the prevailing file format with high security and versatility to present digital contents. However, when we encounter large PDFs or need to assign specific pages of a PDF to different members for collaboration, we will have to split PDF pages.

This article will introduce 6 ways to split PDF pages on Mac and Windows. We will learn how to split PDF into individual pages or multiple files with Cisdem PDFMaster, Preview, Automator, Adobe Acrobat or free PDF splitters, even if you are splitting a large or dozens-of-page PDF.

 Cisdem PDFMaster

Split/Extract PDF Pages as New PDFs Easily and Safely

• Separate PDF Pages into multiple files.
• Extract one particular page or several pages and rename it.
• Organize pages: delete, add, rotate, replace, crop.
• Edit the existing texts, images and links in PDF easily.
• Create and fill out fillable PDF forms.
• Convert/Create PDF to/from other various format.
• OCR scanned PDF in 15+ languages.

Free Download macOS 10.13 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

Easiest Way to Split PDF into Multiple Files on Mac and Windows

As stated in the beginning, maybe you need to split a long PDF file into multiple files and distribute them to project team members. Or perhaps the important information you need is on only a specific page of PDF, so you expect to split PDF into individual pages and save them as separate documents.

Whatever your reason for splitting a PDF, it will be a quite easy and quick task if you have a right tool. Among various options, we recommend you to consider an affordable PDF tool offline, since most online tools carry the risk of information leakage. Here we found that Cisdem PDFMaster is an optimal option to split PDF, for both Mac and Windows users. 

With its PDF Split tool, users can quickly split a PDF into multiple files by equal page quantity, for example, you can split a 25-page PDF to 5 PDF files, each has 5 pages. Also, it lets you extract a particular page or several pages from a PDF as you want. Besides splitting PDF pages, Cisdem offers many other tools to manipulate PDF pages, including cropping, deleting, rotating, inserting and replacing PDF pages.

Other Main Features of PDFMaster

• Edit the existing texts, images and links in PDF easily.
• Annotate or comment PDF with a full set of markup tools.
• Create and fill out fillable PDF forms.
• Convert/Create PDF to/from other various formats.
• OCR scanned PDF to searchable PDF or editable formats in 15+ languages.
• Protect PDF with password, redaction, watermark or digital signature.

• Support batch processing when converting, creating, compressing, unlocking or protecting PDF.

Now, Check How to Split PDF into Multiple Files on Mac and Windows.

1. Download and install Cisdem PDFMaster to your Mac or Windows. Run it.
   Free Download macOS 10.13 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
2. Import the PDF into program by selecting Open Files.
3. Go to the Page tab and choose Split feature from the secondary menu.
4. Enter the pages number and select a output folder to store the separated PDF files.

5. If everything is perfect, click OK, then all the separated PDF files will be saved in destination folder.

Split PDF on Mac for Free

For Mac users, you will be happy to know that two applications included in your macOS are capable of splitting PDF, so you don't even need to install any additional software, and both of them are entirely free to use.

# 1. Preview

Preview is the built-in tool to open, view, markup and organize PDF pages on macOS. There is no Split tool in Preview, but you can still use Preview to split PDF pages. However, you can only split a PDF by specific page range, in other words, Preview allows splitting a PDF into another PDF with manually selected PDF pages only.

How to Split PDF on Mac Free with Preview?

1. Open the PDF file in Preview.
2. Select the thumbnails of pages you want to split on mac. It can be single page or multiple pages.
3. Drag and drop the thumbnails of selected PDF pages to your desktop or a folder. Your PDF will be partially split.
4. Then choose other pages, drag and drop to the output folder to finish splitting.

# 2. Automator

Another way to split PDF pages on Mac for free is using Automator, it helps split multiple PDF files efficiently with a created workflow, however, you can only split a PDF into individual pages on Mac with Automator, that's to say, your PDF file will be split into one-page PDF files.

How to Split PDF on Mac with Automator?

1. Go to Finder > Applications, open Automator app.
2. Click on Workflow > Choose.
3. Go to Library > Files & Folders > Ask for Finder Items, drag and drop Ask for Finder Items to the right window and adjust the settings.
4. Go to Library > PDFs > Split PDF, drag and drop Split PDF to the right window and adjust the settings.
5. Click the Run button at the top right.
6. Navigate to the PDF file you want to split, click Choose to split PDF pages.
7. To split another PDF, click the Run button again and find the PDF for splitting.

How to Separate PDF Pages Online Free

Those who don't use Mac don't have to be discouraged, as there are still plenty of online options to separate PDF pages for free. But we do not recommend this as the first choice, because many online tools may contain malicious ads that can easily infect your device, and pose privacy risks as well. In order to avoid such situations as much as possible, we have selected two relatively safer ones from numerous online options.

# 1. Google Chrome

Most of web browsers support reading PDFs, including Google Chrome. You can use the Print function to split a PDF file, it allows splitting odd pages only, even pages only or pages of custom page range.

How to Separate PDF Pages Free Online with Google Chrome?

1. Open a new tab in Google Chrome, drag and drop the PDF file to the tab for opening.
2. Click on Print button at the top right.
3. Choose the page range you want to split. Then click Save to split PDF pages.

# 2. ilovepdf

ilovepdf is an online free PDF toolkit offering rich features: split, merge, compress, convert, protect, unlock, organize and edit PDFs. With its Split PDF tool, you can split PDF pages into multiple files by custom ranges or by fixed ranges. But, it may take some time to upload and download your files, especially for large PDFs. 

How to Separate PDF Pages Free Online with ilovepdf?

1. Go to ilovepdf.com/split_pdf.
2. Click on Select PDF file to add your file.
3. Choose Split by range, pick Custom ranges or Fixed ranges, then add the ranges to split your PDF to multiple files.
4. Click on Split PDF.
5. Download the split PDF files to your Mac or Winodws.

How to Separate PDF Pages Using Adobe Acrobat on Mac and Windows

If you have installed Adobe Acrobat on your Mac or Windows, it helps separate PDF pages too. Adobe Acrobat offers more criteria and output options to separate a PDF file, it can split PDF pages by numbers of pages, maximum file size, bookmark, and allows saving split PDF files in specified folder.

Here Are Steps to Separate PDF Pages in Adobe Acrobat.

1. Launch Adobe Acrobat.
2. Go to Tools > Organize Pages > Select a File, open the PDF file that you want to separate pages.
3. Click on Split icon in the top menu.
4. Choose how you want to separate the PDF pages, by numbers of pages, file size or bookmark.
5. Click on the Split icon and click OK to separate PDF pages on your Mac or Windows.

Conclusion

We have many more options to split a PDF file, each option offers different settings to split PDF pages. If you work on PDFs very often, install a professional toolkit like Cisdem PDFMaster on your Mac or Windows for more PDF tasks. In the case that you prefer web tools for PDF splitting, don't update confidential and private PDF files, it may bring potential risks of information leakage since it requires uploading your files to a 3rd party server.