How to split a PDF on a Mac

Preview can pull pages out of a PDF on a Mac in two ways: drag thumbnails to the desktop, or print a page range to a new PDF. Both make one new file per attempt, so splitting a long document into many parts becomes a chore the browser tool does in one pass.

The built-in way on a Mac: Preview

  1. 01

    Open the PDF in Preview and choose View → Thumbnails.

  2. 02

    Click the first page you want, Shift-click the last, then drag the selected thumbnails onto the desktop or into a Finder window. A new PDF with just those pages is created.

  3. 03

    Alternatively choose File → Print, set Pages to a From and To range, then choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu at the bottom left.

Where it falls short

  • One part per drag or print; splitting into every page, or every few pages, means repeating it many times.
  • The dragged file is named after the original, so several parts need renaming.
  • Print to PDF re-renders the pages and drops links and form fields.

Do it in the browser instead

The same Split PDF tool as the main page, running in Safari or Chrome on a Mac. Nothing is installed and the file is processed on your device.

Processed in your browser. This file never leaves your device.

  1. 01

    Choose the PDF

    Open the tool in Safari or Chrome on your Mac and choose the file, or drag it from the Finder straight onto the page.

  2. 02

    Pick how to split

    by page ranges, into fixed-size chunks, or one file per page

  3. 03

    Download the result

    Click Split. Several parts download together as a .zip, each named with its page range.

Preview or the browser tool?

 PreviewPDF Spree
CostFree, built inFree, no account
Text stays selectableYesYes
File leaves your deviceNoNo — processed in the browser
Works on other devicesNo, this platform onlyYes, any modern browser

Split PDF on a Mac: questions

More PDF tasks on a Mac

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