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Delete unwanted pages from a PDF file for free with desktop apps or online tools
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Is there a page in your PDF document that doesn't need to be there? You can easily delete any PDF page, blank or not, using free tools on your computer. This wikiHow article will show you how to remove pages from a PDF file using your Windows or Mac computer, Google Chrome, SmallPDF, and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Quick Steps
- Open a PDF and press CTRL + P .
- Select Microsoft Print to PDF as the Destination .
- Select Custom from the Pages drop-down menu.
- Type the pages you want to keep.
- Click Print .
- Select a save location and click Save .
Steps
-
Open the PDF file. By default, it should open in your preferred browser.
- On both Windows 10 and 11, you can use the built-in Microsoft Print to PDF feature to keep only specific pages, therefore "deleting" unwanted pages.
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Press Ctrl + P . This will open the Print menu.Advertisement
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Click the "Destination" drop-down menu. You'll see a list of available printers and other destinations.
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Click Microsoft Print to PDF . This will be listed in the drop-down menu.
- If you don't see this option, do the following to enable it:
- Open the Start menu.
- Type "turn windows features on or off".
- Click the first option.
- Check the box next to Microsoft Print to PDF .
- Click OK .
- If you don't see this option, do the following to enable it:
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Set "Pages" as Custom . Click the drop-down menu to see more options. By default, this will be preset to All .
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Specify the pages you want to save. You only need to include the pages you want to keep; don't include the pages you want to delete.
- For example, to keep all pages except
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 from a 20-page document, enter the following:
- 1-3, 5, 10-12, 14-20
- For example, to keep all pages except
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 from a 20-page document, enter the following:
-
Click Print . This is the button at the bottom of the screen. A new window will open.
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Select a save location and click Save . The new PDF will be saved to your computer, without the unwanted pages.
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Press ⌘ Command + P . This will open the Print menu.
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Set "Pages" as Selected Pages in Sidebar . By default, this will be preset to All .
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Select the pages you want to keep. Click the thumbnails in the sidebar to select them.
- Deselect the pages to "delete" them from the new document.
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Click the down arrow next to "PDF". This is towards the bottom of the menu. You'll see a list of options.
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Select Save as PDF . This will be listed in the drop-down menu.
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Click Print . This is the button at the bottom of the screen. A new window will open.
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Select a save location and click Save . The new PDF file will be saved, without the unwanted pages.
- You can also enter information such as the Title, Subject, and Keywords to make the file easier to find later.
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Open the PDF file in Google Chrome. If Google Chrome isn't your default PDF viewer, right-click (or Command-click) the file, click Open with , and then select Google Chrome .
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Click the Print icon. This is in the top-right corner of the page. A printing menu will open.
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Set "Destination" as Save as PDF . Click the drop-down menu to see more options. If you have other printers connected, you'll also see them here.
-
Set "Pages" as Custom . Click the drop-down menu to see more options. By default, this will be preset to All .
-
Specify the pages you want to save. You only need to include the pages you want to keep; don't include the pages you want to delete.
- For example, to keep all pages except
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 from a 20-page document, enter the following:
- 1-3, 5, 10-12, 14-20
- For example, to keep all pages except
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 from a 20-page document, enter the following:
-
Click Save . This is the blue button at the bottom.
- A pop-up window will open.
-
Select a save location and click Save . For some devices, the default location may be set to the Downloads folder.
- The new PDF will be saved to your computer without the undesired pages.
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Go to https://smallpdf.com/delete-pages-from-pdf in a web browser. This opens SmallPDF's Delete Pages from PDF tool. SmallPDF is a free online tool you can use to quickly remove pages from a PDF.
- You can use SmallPDF to delete pages from 2 PDFs each day for free. If you want unlimited edits, you can get a 7-day free trial , which also allows you to make other changes to PDFs in your web browser.
- With all third-party websites, avoid uploading files with sensitive information.
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Click CHOOSE FILES . It's at the middle of the page.
- You can also drag-and-drop the PDF into the purple box.
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Select your PDF and click Open . This uploads your file to SmallPDF and displays the pages as thumbnails (small images).
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Hover your mouse cursor over a page you want to delete. You'll see a few icons appear at the top of the thumbnail image.
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Click the trash icon on the page. It's at the thumbnail's top-right corner. This removes that page from the file. [2] X Research source
- Repeat this step for all other pages you want to delete.
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Click APPLY CHANGES . It's the blue-green button at the bottom-right corner. This removes the selected pages and displays a preview.
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Click Download to save the file. This saves the new version of the PDF to your computer.
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Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat . This is a paid program that allows you to extract pages from a PDF. [3] X Research source .
- This feature is not available in the free version of Adobe Acrobat (Reader).
- If the PDF doesn't open in Acrobat, right-click the file, choose Open with , and then select Acrobat .
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Click Organize Pages . It's in the right panel (in the secondary toolbar). You'll now see thumbnails (small versions of each page) in the Document area.
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Select the page you want to delete . Click the thumbnails in the Document area.
- If you want to select multiple pages at once, click the Page Thumbnails button in the left panel to display thumbnails in a panel called "Page Thumbnails." Then, press and hold Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) as you click each page you want to delete in that panel.
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Click the trash icon to delete the selected page(s). If you just selected one page, click the trash icon right next to it. If you selected multiple pages, click the trash icon at the top of the Page Thumbnails panel.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow can I split a PDF file for free?Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.Use a free PDF printer! Go to the "print" menu while your PDF is open and select the page range you'd like to separate from the rest of the PDF. In the settings, switch your regular printer to a PDF printer—this saves the PDF as a new file. This can be done on any program that's viewing the PDF as long as you have a PDF printer installed (like CutePDF).
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QuestionIn my Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, there is no option for "Print to PDF" in the Print command. What can I do?Community AnswerJust open the file in your internet browser, then click print or Ctrl+ P. In the Destination, chose "Save to PDF", then enter the page numbers you want. Click Save and you're done!
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QuestionWhat should I do if there is no "delete" icon in the thumbnail pane?Community AnswerThen you are using Adobe Reader, which is what most people have for just reading PDFs (not creating them). To delete pages, go to "print to PDF" in the print command. Chose to print only the pages you want to keep. Click print or create PDF. Then the pages will be gone.
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Tips
- If you sign up for a trial version of Adobe Acrobat Pro or SmallPDF, you will be charged immediately after the trial period ends. To avoid being charged, be sure to cancel your subscription in advance.Thanks
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About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Open the PDF in Preview.
2. Click the View
menu and select Thumbnails
.
3. Select the page(s) you want to delete.
4. Press Delete
on the keyboard.
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 2,567,735 times.
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