Have a PDF file that’s riddled with blank pages or content that you just don’t need? You can delete them swiftly and retain only the pages that are relevant to you. This tutorial shows various methods that will delete pages from a PDF file.
Good to know: need to search inside a PDF file? Follow these steps.
If you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your device, use it to quickly delete pages from your PDF. Note that this feature is only available in the Pro version of Acrobat.
Select your file and open it in Acrobat. Click Edit from the menu on the top left. Under the Modify Page section, click Organize pages to get a birdseye view of all the pages in your PDF.
Hover your mouse over the thumbnail of a page you want to delete, and press the trashcan icon. Click OK in the pop-up to apply the changes.
Once you’ve deleted all the pages, don’t forget to save the new file you’ve created.
Tip: if you don’t have an Adobe subscription, you can try the free Adobe web tool to remove unwanted pages from a PDF. Just sign in with a free account first!
You can also delete pages from a PDF via the Adobe Acrobat mobile app. Open the PDF, and press the three dots in the upper-right corner. Select Edit PDF from the menu.
Tap Organize pages at the bottom.
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Select the pages you want to delete, press the trashcan icon, then tap Delete in the pop-up. Save the latest version of the PDF.
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FYI: did you know that you can turn a picture into a PDF using your iPhone? Learn how in this guide.
On Mac, you can use the Preview app to remove any unwanted PDF pages.
Open the PDF in Preview, and go to View -> Contact Sheet.
Select the pages you want to delete, and hit the Delete key.
Another method to quickly remove any pages from a PDF file is to use the ubiquitous Print to PDF function. You can access it from most places, including your browser or Adobe Acrobat. (It’s free to use.) This example demonstrates how to use Print to PDF through the Chrome browser.
Right-click your PDF file, and select Open with -> Chrome (or your browser of choice).
Click the Print icon in the upper-right corner.
Change the Destination to Microsoft Print as PDF or Save to PDF, depending on the browser, if it’s not already set to that.
Next to Pages, click All, and switch to Custom. Add all the pages you want to keep in the new document. Depending on the length of your document you can write something like: “1, 2, 4, 5” to exclude page number 3. Alternatively, write “1-10, 14-18” to exclude pages 11, 12, and 13.
Press Print at the bottom, rename, then save the newly created PDF.
This option is also available in your PDF viewer app. If you don’t have one installed on Android, your phone will open PDFs with Google Drive, which has an option similar to Print to PDF.
Open the PDF in Google Drive, and press the three dots in the upper-right corner. Select Print.
At the top of the page, tap Select a printer, and switch to Save as PDF.
Tap on the downward-facing icon underneath Paper size. Tap under Pages, and select Range to choose which pages you want to skip. Add them below following the same instructions we shared in the previous section.
Press the floppy disk icon to save your new document.
On iPhone and iPad, you won’t see the Print to PDF option, yet you can still remove some pages from your PDF. In the Print Options screen, deselect the pages that you want to remove by checking Page View, then save this new file, or share it with others.
Tip: check out these alternative PDF readers if you don’t want to rely on Adobe’s solution.
Canva is a popular graphics design tool, but did you know it also has an option to delete pages from a PDF? You’ll need to sign up with an account to access this feature, but if you’re willing to do that, the process is quite easy.
Go to this Canva page, and click the Upload your file button.
Go to the page(s) you want to delete and click the trash can-like icon.
When you’re done, click the Download button in the top right to save the new PDF.
You can also use the mobile app to edit your PDF.
Open the Canva app on your device, and tap Projects at the bottom.
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Tap the three dots in the upper right, and select Upload.
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Upload your PDF, then tap on the PDF to open it.
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Press on the horizontal three dots at the top, and select View all pages. Tap on a page, and press Delete. Then, save the new PDF.
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There are also other tools to help you delete pages from a PDF.
Now that you know how to remove useless pages from your PDF files, perhaps you’d like to expand your knowledge even further. You can, for example, learn how to convert a PDF into an Excel spreadsheet. If you’re unable to open a PDF in Chrome, we have solutions for that as well.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.
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Alexandra Arici - Staff WriterAlexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.
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