Splitting large PDF and Word documents: one file or several, with examples
Very large documents are hard to e-mail, upload or print. The splitter either keeps your document as one file or cuts it into several. This guide explains both choices, the four ways to cut, the 2, 4, 6 and 8 pages-per-sheet layouts, the page count and the progress bar. A longer guide with pictures is linked below.
Common uses
Print on less paper
Keep one file and put 4 pages on each sheet: a 40-page report becomes 10 sheets.
E-mail and portal limits
Cut by size to keep every file under 5, 10 or 20 MB so each attachment goes through.
Chapters and sections
Type page numbers such as 1-45, 46-120, 121-300 to cut at chapter boundaries.
Sharing only what is needed
Type 12-18 to pull out just the pages one person needs instead of sending the whole book.
Printing a thick document
Cut a 1000-page file into files of 200 pages with 4 pages per sheet, then print part by part.
Word reports
Turn a long Word report into a PDF handout, 2 pages per sheet, or cut it into sections for review teams.
One file or several files
'One file' keeps the whole document and only changes how the pages are laid out. 'Several files' cuts it into smaller PDFs and gives you a ZIP of all of them. Pick one, and a line under the settings tells you what you will get.
One file: pages on each sheet
Choose 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 pages per sheet. Pages are placed left to right, then row by row. Example: 40 pages at 4 per sheet make one PDF of 10 sheets; at 2 per sheet, 20 sheets; at 8 per sheet, 5 sheets.
Several files: pages in each file
Every file has the same number of pages and the last one holds the remainder. A 230-page file with 50 pages in each file gives 5 files: 50, 50, 50, 50 and 30 pages.
Several files: equal parts
Say how many files you want and the pages are divided as evenly as possible, with the extra pages going to the first files. 10 pages in 3 files gives 4, 3 and 3; 1000 pages in 8 files gives 125 pages each.
Several files: page numbers
Type ranges separated by commas, for example 1-50, 51-120, 130. Each range becomes one file and a single number is a one-page file. Ranges may overlap, pages you leave out are not included, and an end page past the last page is simply cut off.
Several files: largest size
Enter a limit in MB. The tool measures each file and adjusts the number of pages until every file fits, which suits documents with heavy and light pages. A single page larger than the limit cannot be made smaller by splitting.
Page and slide counts
Next to the file you add, the tool shows its length - exact for PDF and PowerPoint, 'about' for Word. It is read in your browser, so nothing is uploaded for it, and with the count known the preview shows the real result, such as 'You will get 5 files: 50, 50, 50, 50 and 30 pages'.
The progress bar
A green bar shows the upload, then what the tool is doing. A sweeping block means it is working but cannot yet say how far along it is, for example while a Word file is converted.
Big files
Files up to 200 MB are uploaded in resumable pieces. The work runs at low priority behind the scenes, files appear as they are ready, and everything is deleted two minutes after your download finishes.
Troubleshooting
It says the PDF is protected
Remove the password in a PDF program first; the splitter cannot open locked files.
It asks me to choose 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 per sheet
With 'One file' and 1 page per sheet a PDF would stay exactly the same, so pick a number of pages per sheet.
A file is bigger than my limit
A single page can be larger than the limit. Compress the document first, or raise the limit slightly.
No page count is shown
Old formats such as .doc, .rtf and .ppt do not carry a count that can be read in the browser. The exact count appears once the tool has read the file.
The Word file takes long
Long Word documents are converted to PDF with a full layout engine, which can take a few minutes; the progress bar shows what stage it is in.
Available in 55 languages
The whole site - menus, buttons, guides and messages - can be switched to 55 languages, including English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, Nepali, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Use the language menu in the top bar; your choice is remembered, and the file formats and tools work exactly the same in every language.