Portable Document Format (PDF) files are commonly used to share documents in a way that preserves the original formatting. However, sometimes you may need to extract a single page from a PDF file to save or share separately. There are several easy methods to accomplish this on both Windows and Mac operating systems.
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Methods to Extract a Single PDF Page
Here are 5 simple ways to extract a single page from a PDF document:
1. Use Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free PDF viewer application. Although its editing capabilities are limited, you can extract and save a single page from a PDF file in just a few steps:
- Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Click on Tools > Export PDF
- Select All Pages and click Export
- In the pop-up box, choose Adobe PDF as the file type
- Enable the Save Pages as Separate Files option
- Click Export and save the file containing only the desired page
Pros: Simple, works directly within the PDF reader
Cons: Need to export and save each page one by one
2. Use Web-Based PDF Converters
There are many free online PDF tools that allow extracting single pages from a PDF:
- Smallpdf – Intuitive web app, no signup required
- ILovePDF – Simple interface, fast extraction
- PDF2Go – Supports many other PDF conversions
To extract a page:
- Go to one of the webpage converters above
- Upload your PDF file
- Select the Extract Pages option
- Enter page numbers to extract
- Download extracted file
Pros: Fast, no software install needed
Cons: File size or daily usage limits
3. Use Microsoft Edge Browser
Microsoft Edge web browser includes built-in PDF viewer and basic editing tools. You can save an individual page from a PDF file as follows:
- Open PDF file in Microsoft Edge
- Click Print in the top toolbar
- Under Page Range, type page number to extract
- Click Print and change destination to Microsoft Print to PDF
- Save extracted file
Pros: Simple, uses existing web browser
Cons: Only works for Microsoft Edge browser
4. Use Preview App (Mac Only)
On Mac OS, you can use the Preview application to extract pages from a PDF:
- Open PDF in Preview
- Go to File > Print
- In PDF box below, choose Save as PDF
- Enable Selection Only and select page number
- Click Save to extract page
Pros: Built into Mac OS, easy to use
Cons: For Mac users only
5. Use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is paid PDF editing software with full set of tools. Extracting a page is straightforward:
- Open PDF file in Acrobat Pro DC
- Go to Organize Pages tool
- Right-click page thumbnail and select Extract Pages
- Select page number and click Extract
- Save extracted file
Pros: Robust set of editing tools
Cons: Paid software
So those are 5 easy ways to extract a single page out of a PDF document using common software tools. The method you choose depends on your operating system and budget.
Tips for Extracting PDF Pages
Here are some useful tips when extracting pages from PDF files:
- Double check extracted page number before saving
- Name the saved file appropriately for easy organization
- Optimize and reduce file size if needed before sharing
- Password-protect extracted file to prevent unauthorized access
- Use optical character recognition (OCR) to make scanned PDF text searchable
- Combine with other tools like merge PDF, split PDF, or compress PDF as needed
Rather than extracting pages, you can also share snippets or sections of a PDF file in other ways:
- Copy and paste text – Select text passages and paste into another document
- Take screenshot – Use Snip & Sketch tool to capture part of a PDF page
- Share link to page – Get shareable link to direct page in Adobe online viewer
- Highlight sections – Use annotation tools to highlight parts to share
These options allow you to share relevant sections of a PDF without needing to extract pages.
Conclusion
Whether you want to separate an individual page from a long report or extract specific pages from a large document, extracting pages from a PDF file is simple using the right software tools. Both Windows and Mac operating systems provide built-in options to export and save a single page, or you can use free online converters to quickly extract a page from a PDF. With the relevant page saved as a separate file, you can easily share or send only that content instead of the entire document.