The PDF & Word Splitter does one of two things with your document: it either keeps it as one file or cuts it into several files. Everything else on the screen is a detail of one of those two choices. This guide shows each option with a small picture and a worked example, so you can see the result before you press the button.
The two choices: one file or several files
The first thing the tool asks is What do you want?
| Choose | When it fits | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| One file | You do not want to cut anything, but you want the pages arranged differently - for example 4 pages on each sheet to print on less paper. | 1 PDF |
| Several files | The document is too big or too long for one file, or different people need different parts. | 2 or more PDFs, plus one ZIP with all of them |
Both choices accept PDF and Word files (.docx, .doc, .odt, .rtf). A Word file is first turned into a PDF with a full layout engine, so the pages are the same ones you would get when printing. The result is always PDF.
One file: put 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 pages on each sheet
With One file nothing is cut. The tool lays several pages on every sheet, in reading order: left to right, then the next row down. This is the quickest way to make a handout, to proof-read a long document on fewer sheets, or to print a thick file on less paper.
Example: a 40-page report. Choose One file, then 4 per sheet. You get one PDF with 10 sheets - the first sheet holds pages 1 to 4, the second pages 5 to 8, and so on.
| Pages on each sheet | Layout on the sheet | 40-page document becomes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (normal) | 1 page | 40 sheets (nothing changes) |
| 2 | 2 side by side | 20 sheets |
| 4 | 2 × 2 | 10 sheets |
| 6 | 3 × 2 | 7 sheets (the last one holds 4 pages) |
| 8 | 4 × 2 | 5 sheets |
When you pick more than one page per sheet two extra options appear. Paper sets the sheet size (Automatic is A4; letter, legal and many other sizes are listed). Draw a frame around each page adds a thin border so the pages are easy to tell apart on a busy sheet. The tool chooses the sheet direction that keeps the pages as large as possible, which is usually landscape for 2, 6 and 8 portrait pages per sheet.
If you pick One file with 1 page per sheet and your file is already a PDF, nothing would change, so the tool asks you to choose 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16. (A Word file with 1 per sheet is simply turned into a PDF.)
Several files: cut by the number of pages in each file
Choose Several files, then Number of pages in each file. Every file gets the same number of pages and the last file holds whatever is left. This suits chapters of equal length or batches for review.
| Document | Pages in each file | You get |
|---|---|---|
| 230 pages | 50 | 5 files: 1–50, 51–100, 101–150, 151–200, 201–230 |
| 230 pages | 100 | 3 files: 100, 100 and 30 pages |
| 1000 pages | 100 | 10 files of 100 pages |
Several files: cut into a number of equal parts
Choose Number of files (equal parts) when you know how many files you want but not how long each should be. The pages are divided as evenly as possible; when they do not divide exactly, the first files get one extra page.
Example: 1000 pages in 8 files gives 8 files of 125 pages. If you ask for more files than there are pages, you simply get one page per file.
Several files: cut at the page numbers you type
Choose Page numbers I type when you know exactly where each section starts. Write the pages of each file, separated by commas: 1-45, 46-120, 121-300. Each range becomes its own file.
| You type | You get |
|---|---|
1-50 | One file with pages 1 to 50 |
1-50, 51-120, 130 | Three files: 50 pages, 70 pages and a single page |
12-18 | One file with just pages 12 to 18 - the quickest way to pull out the pages one person needs |
1-10, 5-15 | Two files that share pages 5 to 10 - ranges may overlap, so a page can be reused |
990-2000 on a 1000-page file | One file with pages 990 to 1000 - an end page past the last page is simply cut off |
You can separate ranges with commas, semicolons or new lines, and write a range as 5-9, 5 - 9 or 5 to 9. A range written backwards (9-5) is read as 5 to 9. Pages you leave out are simply not included. If a range starts after the last page, the tool tells you the document has fewer pages instead of making an empty file.
Several files: keep every file under a size
Choose Largest size of a file (MB) when an e-mail, a portal or a messaging app limits the size of an attachment. Type the limit - for example 10 - and the tool makes as many files as needed, each under that size. Pages are never cut in half, so every file ends on a page boundary.
How it works: the tool estimates how many pages fit, writes a file, and measures it. If the file is too big it is thrown away and written again with fewer pages; if it is much smaller than the limit, the next file gets more pages. Example: a 120-page scan of 60 MB with a 10 MB limit has pages of about 0.5 MB each, so each file holds roughly 17 pages and you get about 7 or 8 files.
One thing to know: a single page that is larger than your limit cannot be made smaller by splitting. If one page of a scan is 12 MB, its file will be over a 10 MB limit. Reduce the document first with the File Size Reducer, then split it.
Using both: cut the file and arrange the pages
The two steps are independent. Step 1 decides how many files you get; step 2 decides how many pages sit on each sheet inside every one of them. Example: a 1000-page document, Several files with 200 pages in each file, and 4 per sheet, gives 5 files of 50 sheets each - handy for printing part by part, double-sided.
Page and slide counts
As soon as you add a file, the tool shows how long it is next to its size - for example 230 pages. The same appears for PDFs in the PDF Merger and for PowerPoint files in the PPT Merger (38 slides), and the merger adds them up for you. This count is read inside your browser from the file's own index; the file is not uploaded for this, so even a very large file is counted in a moment.
- PDF - the exact number of pages.
- PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppsx) and OpenDocument slides (.odp) - the exact number of slides.
- Word (.docx) and .odt - shown as about 12 pages, because the number is the one your word processor stored when the file was last saved. The final PDF can differ by a page or two if fonts or printer settings differ.
- Old formats (.doc, .rtf, .ppt, .pps) do not carry a count that can be read this way, so none is shown at first. The exact count appears as soon as the tool has read the file on the server.
When the count is known, the line under the settings turns into a live preview: with 230 pages and 50 pages per file it reads You will get 5 files: 50, 50, 50, 50 and 30 pages. It updates as you change the numbers.
The progress bar
When you press the button, a green bar shows what is happening, in the same colour in light and dark mode.
Big files are uploaded in safe pieces, so a short network drop does not restart the upload. The files appear in the list one by one while the rest are still being made, so you can download the first ones straight away, or take everything as one ZIP.
What the files are called
Names say what is inside and end with the time, so files never overwrite each other. Several files: report_part01_p1-50_14_32.pdf (part 1, pages 1 to 50, made at 14:32). One file: report_4-per-sheet_14_32.pdf. The ZIP is called split_parts_14_32.zip.
Which settings do I need?
| I want to… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Print a 100-page PDF on fewer sheets | One file · 4 per sheet (or 2, 6, 8) |
| E-mail a 60 MB PDF | Several files · Largest size of a file · 10 MB |
| Give every chapter its own PDF | Several files · Page numbers I type · for example 1-45, 46-120, 121-300 |
| Share only pages 12 to 18 | Several files · Page numbers I type · 12-18 |
| Cut a document into 4 equal parts | Several files · Number of files · 4 |
| Review a long document in batches of 50 pages | Several files · Number of pages in each file · 50 |
| Turn a Word report into a PDF handout, 2 pages per sheet | One file · 2 per sheet |
| Print a 1000-page file part by part, 4 per sheet | Several files · 200 pages in each file · 4 per sheet |
Limits and good to know
- Up to 200 MB, 20,000 pages and 500 files in one go. If your settings would make more than 500 files, use bigger parts.
- Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened. Remove the password in a PDF program first.
- Splitting copies pages as they are: text stays selectable and pictures keep their quality. Several pages per sheet scale each page down to fit.
- Nothing is kept. Your files are removed two minutes after your download has finished (30 minutes if you never download).