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How to Split a PDF into Multiple PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac)

By Erin Wright

Collection of office supplies with text overlay "How to Split a PDF into Multiple PDFs in Adobe Acrobat"In a recent tutorial, we extracted pages from a PDF in Adobe Acrobat. Today, we’re going to split a PDF into multiple PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.

You may be wondering…

What Is the Difference between Splitting PDFs and Extracting Pages?

The split option lets you create new PDFs according to the number of pages, file size, or top-level bookmarks in the original PDF. This option is best for segmenting long documents, such as saving chapters as individual files.

The extract pages option lets you save individual pages, page ranges, even or odd pages, or landscape or portrait pages as separate PDFs. This option is best when you need to separate a small number of specific pages from a longer document.

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other videos about Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Adobe Acrobat DC. These steps also apply to Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Adobe Acrobat 2017. In addition, these steps are similar for PC and Mac users. The few differences between the two systems are explained within the individual steps.

Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, doesn’t offer a way to split PDFs.

How to Split a PDF into Multiple PDFs

  1. Open the PDF that you want to split.
  2. Select the Tools tab.
Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 1.Tools tab
  1. Select Organize Pages in the Tools Center.
Organize Pages button in the Tools Center in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 2. Organize Pages button
  1. Select Split in the Organize Pages toolbar.
Split button in the Organize Pages toolbar in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 3. Split button
  1. Select an option from the Split by menu:
    • Number of pages
    • File Size
    • Top-level bookmarks
Split by menu in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 4. “Split by” menu
  1. If you selected Number of pages or File Size, enter the number of pages or megabytes into the secondary menu.
"Split by" secondary menu in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 5. “Split by” secondary menu
  1. Select Output Options.
Output Options button in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 6. Output Options button
  1. Select the folder where you want to save your new PDFs in the Output Options dialog box:
    • The Same Folder Selected at Start is the location of the PDF you are splitting.
    • A Folder on My Computer lets you select another folder or accessible cloud storage such as OneDrive.
Target Folder options in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 7. Target Folder options
  1. (Optional) If you selected A Folder on My Computer, select the Browse button on a PC (figure 8) or the Choose button on a Mac (figure 9).
Browse button in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat on PC
Figure 8. Browse button (PC)
Choose button in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat on Mac
Figure 9. Choose button (Mac)
  1. (Optional) Find and select the folder in the Select Folder for Output Files dialog box, and then select the Select Folder button on a PC (figure 10) or the Choose button on a Mac (figure 11).
Select Folder button in the Select Folder for Output Files dialog box in Adobe Acrobat on a PC
Figure 10. Select Folder button (PC)
Choose button in the Finder in Mac
Figure 11. Choose button (Mac)
  1. Select your file labeling options.

The default option will place an underscore followed by the label “Part” and the part number after the original file name, such as MyOriginalPDF_Part1.pdf.

File Labeling options in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 12. File Labeling options
  1. (Important Step!) Ensure that Do not overwrite existing files is checked to prevent accidentally deleting the original PDF.
"Do not overwrite existing files" in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 13. “Do not overwrite existing files” option
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Output Options dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 14. OK button
  1. Select the blue Split button in the Organize Pages toolbar.
Blue Split button in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 14. Split button
  1. Select the OK button in the dialog box stating that your PDF was successfully split.
OK button in the dialog box stating the document has been successfully split in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 16. OK button

Your new PDFs should now appear in the folder you selected during step 8.

Related Resources

How to Use the Split View in Adobe Acrobat

How to Create a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat

How to Combine Files into One PDF in Adobe Acrobat

Updated May 27, 2022

Filed Under: Adobe Acrobat

Home » How to Split a PDF into Multiple PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac)

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