Do you need to divide a large PDF into several smaller pages? Find out how to split a PDF using Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. We’ll also show you a free alternative method.
If you have a lengthy PDF but only want specific parts, you can split it into separate sections or pages and even remove unwanted parts. This allows you to work with or share only the content you require.
On this page, you’ll discover how to divide a PDF into multiple files using Adobe Reader DC and Adobe Acrobat. We also introduce the best free online PDF splitter.
Adobe Reader DC is used for reading the PDF file on the computer, it acts as a reader for viewing the PDF files. It will not be able to edit the PDF file and doesn’t provide a built-in PDF splitting feature.
PDF splitting capabilities are available in Adobe Acrobat Standard DC and Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, which are advanced versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader, designed for business users with specialized needs. They offer tools for tasks like combining PDF documents and splitting PDF documents.
Thus you can’t split PDF files in Adobe Reader or Adobe Reader DC for free. To perform this task, you would need to purchase Adobe Acrobat starting at $14.99/mo.
However, PDFgear, the best FREE PDF editor, offers an alternative solution.
For users who already have an Adobe Acrobat DC subscription, below is the guide on how to split PDF files in Adobe Reader Standard DC and Adobe Reader Pro DC.
This method works with Acrobat DC, Acrobat 2020, and Acrobat 2017 on Windows and Mac computers.
Step 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro. Go to the “File” menu and select “Open” to load the PDF file you want to split.
Step 2. Click on the “Tools” tab in the top left. Under the “Pages” section, select “Split Document.”
Step 3. In the “Split Document” dialog box, choose how you want to split the PDF: by number of pages, file size, or top-level bookmarks.
Step 4. If you select “Number of pages,” specify how many pages you want each new PDF to contain.
Step 5. Click the “OK” button to start the splitting process. Save the split PDF files to your desired location.
As mentioned, the splitting feature is only available from Acrobat Standard DC and Adobe Acrobat Pro DC versions, making it a must to get a paid subscription. So how to split PDF files in Adobe Reader for free?
For those who’d rather not fork out yet, here comes the best free alternative to Acrobat DC: PDFgear. PDFgear is the best free online PDF splitter that helps to split one PDF document by page, into multiple PDF documents of any amount. The flexible service also allows you to flexibly customize the pages that each document contains.
Below are 3 simple steps to split PDF using PDFgear.
Navigate to the PDFgear online PDF splitter tool. Drag and drop your PDF document into the PDF splitter UI to upload the PDF to PDFgear free PDF splitter.
From the box below, type in the corresponding numbers to define the number of PDF documents you intend to split your original PDF into, and the pages each document contains.
When ready, hit the Split button to process.
The documents will be split in just 2 seconds. When it’s done, hit the blue Download button to download the zipped split PDF documents.
One limitation of the online PDFgear splitter is its inability to handle multiple documents simultaneously, coupled with a document size restriction of under 50MB. Additionally, a stable internet connection is required for seamless operation.
However, these constraints are lifted when you download PDFgear onto your Windows, Mac, iPhone, or iPad. With the downloaded version, you can batch-split multiple files without restrictions on file size or quantity.
It allows for the customization of splitting rules tailored to different files and operates independently of network connectivity. Furthermore, no account registration or subscription fee is necessary.
PDFgear offers to split all types of PDFs. Users can enjoy batch splitting, unrestricted splitting, and customize the splitting, all free of charge.
PDFgear is a free PDF tool for all your PDF management needs. You can use PDFgear to convert formats between PDF, Word, PPT, Excel, JPG, etc., split PDF, compress PDF to 300 KB or less, edit PDF, annotate PDF, flatten PDFs, etc.
The best part about PDFgear is that it’s completely free to use. Above that, PDFgear doesn’t ask you to sign up for an account, and it doesn’t have feature limitations against free users – so be sure to give it a try, there are tons of other practical features waiting for you to find out!
Since the PDF splitting feature of Adobe Acrobat is only available in the paid versions of Acrobat DC and Acrobat Pro DC, it’s not possible to split PDF documents in Adobe Reader DC for free. However, with the recommended free online PDF tool PDFgear, splitting PDF documents for free is possible.
To split PDF documents with PDFgear is simple, drag and drop your PDF document into the PDF splitter box, define the desired splitting manner, and hit the split button. The PDF document will be split as defined in 2 seconds.
Yes, PDFgear is a cross-platform service that works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android phones, and iOS phones. On your mobile phone, you can access PDFgear from: pdfgear.com and convert/compress your PDF documents with ease!
PDFgear is a cross-platform PDF converter that allows you to convert PDF file formats on Windows 10, Windows 11, Mac, Linux, Chromebooks, and laptops.
PDFgear is an all-in-one document converter tool that supports a wide scope of input and output file formats including PDF, Word, Excel, PPT, JPG, HEIC, etc.
PDFgear is a completely safe and clean service. PDFgear is TSL encrypted and PDFgear does not save your files. Upload files will be permanently deleted once the browser is shut down.
In conclusion, it’s not possible to split PDF files in Adobe Reader DC for free, you need a subscription, which is paid. However, with the best free Acrobat alternative PDFgear, you can easily split PDF documents just like what you do in Acrobat Pro DC, yet PDFgear is completely free to use and doesn’t have limitations of any kind.
Anywho, try PDFgear on your own, and you’ll agree with my opinions!