Preview does not label the feature as Split PDF, but it can separate pages without another app. You can drag pages out as individual PDFs or save a chosen page range as a new file.
These steps apply to Preview on recent macOS versions.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if you need to send one page from a large PDF, divide a document into smaller chunks, or remove pages while keeping the original safe.
Drag Pages Out as Separate PDFs
- Open the PDF in Preview.
- Choose View > Thumbnails.
- Select the page thumbnail you want. Hold Command and click to select more than one.
- Drag the selected thumbnail out to the desktop or a Finder window.
- Preview creates separate PDF files for the pages you dragged out, while the original stays unchanged.
Save a Page Range as a New PDF
- Open the PDF in Preview.
- Press Command + P to open Print.
- In the Pages section, choose a range and enter the first and last page numbers.
- Open the PDF menu in the lower-left corner.
- Choose Save as PDF.
- Name the new file and save it.
Related PDF Split Tricks
Trim Instead of Extract
Show thumbnails, delete the pages you do not want, then use File > Export as PDF. Duplicate the original first if you want a safety copy.
Large PDFs
For documents with hundreds of pages, the Print method is faster. Save ranges such as 1-50, 51-100, and 101-150 as separate files.
Reduce File Size
If the exported PDF is still too large, open File > Export and try the Reduce File Size Quartz Filter. Image quality may drop, so check the result.
Sources
- Apple Support: Edit PDFs in Preview on Mac
- Apple Support: Combine PDFs using Preview on Mac
- Apple Support: Print documents on Mac